Okay, here’s the final installment of me talking about some unique traits of Radio. Today I’m talking about action.

Radio has the ability to create demand and spark immediate action in a large audience. Here’s an example:

I’m in my car, I hear on the Radio about a big, one day only, super blow-out sale at my absolute most favorite store on earth. Guess where I might just decide to steer my car? To my favorite store!

• I heard it on the Radio; it’s happening now, I can respond and act instantly.

Now replace the “big, one day only sale” with “a tornado coming down Main St.”, and I might just decide to steer my car in a different direction…

• I heard it on the Radio; it’s happening now, I can respond and act instantly.

This kind of immediate action can be tricky to accomplish with other types of media.

• I might have to wait until I find a copy of a newspaper to read about the sale, and I definitely won’t hear about the tornado until a later edition.
• Google and the yellow pages only help me if I already know about the sale and need more info or a phone number. In other words, they don’t create demand for the sale; they only satisfy demand that already exists.
• A billboard isn’t very helpful with a time sensitive “One Day Only” sale since it takes time to plan, purchase, print, and plaster a new billboard…only to remove it the next day. And I don’t think I’ll ever hear about a tornado from a billboard unless the tornado itself launches the billboard on top of my car.

This is no bash on Newspapers, Google, The Yellow Pages, or Billboards, but a reminder that every type of media has strengths and limitations.

Radio has the ability to connect with a large audience instantly, communicate what’s happening right now, create demand, and spark immediate action.

Do you want to spark immediate action out of your potential customers, or will they come around on their own?