Direct Response in Radio Advertising

Findings

29% of Radio Advertisements Use Toll-free Numbers

800 is Preferred to 888 and 877

The 800 prefix is still the favorite (66%) by far. Twenty-four percent of toll-free numbers in advertisements use the 888 prefix and 10% use the 877 prefix.

Vanity Numbers are the Favorite

Of the toll-free numbers used, vanity numbers are the favorite for the 800 (66%), 888 (79%), and 877 (92%) prefixes. Overall, 72% of radio advertisements using a toll-free number use a vanity number.

Telecommunications, Internet Service Provider, Beauty, and Banking/Credit Industries are the Most Frequent Users of Toll-free Numbers

By industry, there are some leaders in using toll-free numbers as response mechanisms. Seventy-two percent of telecommunications advertisements use them, as do 69% of Internet service provider, 63% of both beauty and banking/credit, 60% of insurance, and 58% of travel advertisements. Other frequent users are sports (54%), health care (49%), lodging (48%), clothing (44%), pharmaceuticals (41%), employment (40%), education (39%), furniture (36%), public service announcements (35%), transportation (34%), real estate (33%), and office equipment (30%).

In the home improvement, furniture, and office equipment industries, 100% of the advertisements (of the sample in this study) with a toll-free number use a vanity number. In the Internet service provider industry 98% do, while the telecommunications (96%) and media (95%) industries are similarly high (see Chart 7). Other heavy users include education (89%), automotive (86%), television (86%), clothing (83%), insurance (83%), computers (80%), sports (80%), real estate (80%), miscellaneous services (79%), and transportation (77%).

Sports and News/Talk are the Favored Programming Formats for Toll-free Numbers

Sports is the favorite format for advertisements using a toll-free number, with 48% using this response mechanism, compared with 45% in the News/Talk format.

Of the toll-free numbers used, 87% are vanity numbers in the adult contemporary format, while 81% are vanity in the rock format, 80% in the CHR/pop format, 77% in the news/talk format, 76% in the country format, and 73% in the alternative rock format.

Minority Use the Phrase "Toll-free"

Twenty-five percent of advertisements with a toll-free number using the 888 prefix use the phrase "toll-free." Similarly, 19% of those using the 877 prefix, while 17% of those using the 800 prefix use the phrase.

Straight Vanity Numbers Require Least Clarification

Straight vanity numbers are spelled out (e.g., 800-N-E-W-C-A-R-S) in only 17% of ads. Mixed numbers (those incorporating numbers and letters, e.g., 800-555-CARS) are spelled out in 27% of ads. Similarly, mixed numbers state the numeric equivalent of their number twice as often as straight vanity numbers.

Nearly Half Cite Toll-free Number Once

Nearly half (49%) of toll-free numbers are only cited once in advertisements. Thirty percent are cited twice, 13% are cited three times, 4% four times, and 4% five or more times. The maximum number of citations is seven.

Many Local Numbers Cited Without Area Codes

Forty-one percent of local phone numbers in advertisements use only a seven digit number, without the area code.

24% of Radio Advertisements Use Internet Addresses

Twenty-four percent of radio advertisements contain an Internet address.

Web Site, Internet Service Provider, Employment, and Computer Industries are the Most Frequent Users of Internet Addresses

By industry, there are some leaders in using Internet addresses as response mechanisms. 100% of web site advertisements use them, as do 81% of Internet service provider, 59% of employment, 50% of computer, 46% of banking/credit, 45% of travel, 40% of office equipment, 29% of media, and 27% of pet advertisements.

Sports, News/Talk, CHR/Pop, and Alternative Rock are the Favored Programming Formats for Internet Addresses

The sports format is the favorite for advertisements using an Internet address as a response mechanism. In the sports format, 42% of advertisements use this response mechanism, compared with 35% in news/talk, 34% in CHR/pop, and 30% in alternative rock.

Majority Cite Internet Address Only Once

The majority (53%) of Internet addresses are only cited once in advertisements. Fifteen percent are cited twice, 18% are cited three times, 6% four times, 6% five times, and 2% six or more times. The maximum number of citations is eleven.

Minority Use Toll-free Number and Internet Address

Only nine percent of the advertisements feature both a toll-free number and an Internet address. Of these, 6% use an Internet address that exactly matches the phone number (i.e., www.800newcars.com). All of the exact matches are vanity 800 numbers.

Overall, 44% of advertisements have either a toll-free number or an Internet address, or both.

Toll-free Numbers and Internet Addresses are Favorite Direct Response Mechanisms

Toll-free numbers (29%) and Internet addresses (24%) are the most often used direct response mechanisms. The only other significant devices are street addresses (10%) and local phone numbers (9%). E-mail addresses are found in less than 1% of ads.

57% of Advertisements Use Some Form of Direct Response

Overall, 57% of radio advertisements contain a direct response device.

Published July 11, 2000
Copyright © 2000, 800 Response. All rights reserved.

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