Effectiveness of Radio Advertising for SMEs in the UK

RESEARCH PROJECT
(A Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness of
Radio Advertising for SMEs in the UK)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background of the research....................................................................................................3
Research problem...................................................................................................................4
Research aim, objectives and questions.................................................................................4
Research rationale..................................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................6
Radio advertising – Effectiveness and Costs..........................................................................6
The ability of radio advertising to build brand trust and awareness.......................................6
The ability of radio advertising to drive sales........................................................................8
Justification...........................................................................................................................10
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................11
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS..........................................................................................16
Questionnaire........................................................................................................................16
Interview analysis.................................................................................................................26
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.............................................................................28
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................31

INTRODUCTION
Background of the research
Radio advertising can be defined as a method of buying of the commercials for the
promotion of the company’s goods and services. The advertisers generally pay commercial radio
stations in order to promote the products and services to the customers in business market. In
radio advertising, there are different forms of commercials that advertiser of the company use for
promoting their brand in the public in order to gain high success and growth in the competitive
market (Pedreño-Santos and Garcia-Madariaga, 2022). Therefore, it is considered to be the most
cost effective method that help small and medium scale enterprises in engaging more number of
customers within the business market. It also helps in reaching out more number of customers in
the market and this results in delivering best customers experience. Radio advertising helps in
targeting the right audience so that they can gain high value and growth in the competitive
market and this results in acquiring more number of customers also. Advertisers pay a good
amount for commercials so that they make an advertising of their products and services to the
targeted customers because it is also considered as a cost effective method (Bolgareva, 2019).
The main benefit of radio advertising is that it helps in increasing the level of engagement among
customers which results in gaining more number of customers and in acquiring large share in the
market. With the help of sponsor advertisement, the company can ensure that their advertisement
reach to more number of the listeners which this helps in improving the loyalty and commitment
level of the customers (Reddy and et. al., 2021).
According to the information seen in last decades, marketers have given great
significance to digital marketing and television in the detriment of radio advertisement (Segijn,
Voorveld and Vakeel, 2021). Every type of business and company require advertising for
building recognition of the brand and creating long-run profitability (Tahoun, 2020). Google
search also plays significant role for advertising the business, directing the potential company to
use digital marketing however none to radio advertisement (Ieva and Ziliani, 2018) . The
promotional and advertisement channels are generally expensive and more tough to be used by
small and medium enterprises. Radio has the capability of reaching wider audience (Neupane,
2019). But this promotional and advertisement do not get the needed attention. Businesses which
are small in size generally do not have right people, time and budget. Digital marketing is the

kind of marketing which needs more money and experienced media content and it also requires
great significance for implementing activities of marketing on a continuous basis (Taylor and
Carlson, 2021). Thus, it is determined that radio is one of the affordable channels for promotion
and advertisement of the organisation (Hrabovskyi, 2021). It has unique strengths which include:
cost-efficiency, reach, target ability and frequency. As per the limited number of resources small
and medium enterprises can easily use radio advertisement to reach out their existing as well as
potential customers in the short period of time (Venediktovna and et. al., 2020).
Research problem
The main problem identified in the present research is about building brand awareness
and trust in the mind of customers about their services and products in order to gain more share
in the market. Radio advertising helps the companies in promoting their business products and
services in an effective manner and this results in gaining more share in the market for
developing high growth and success. This helps in increasing the brand awareness and customer
loyalty towards using that particular product from the business and is also considered as a cost
effective method against other marketing methods.
Research aim, objectives and questions
Research aim
Therefore, the aim of this research proposal is to critically evaluate the effectiveness of
radio advertisement for SMEs in the UK. The findings may benefit small to medium enterprises
that do not have the tangible and intangible resources to advertise their business using the other
existing promotional channels.
Research objectives
 To identify the ability of radio advertising to build brand trust and awareness in the case
of SMEs
 To analyse the ability of radio advertising to drive sales in the case of SMEs.
Research questions
 Is radio advertising still effective or SMEs should look more at other advertising channels
to promote their businesses?
 Is radio advertising more cost effective than other types of advertising?

Research rationale
The main purpose of carrying out this present research is to determine the role and
effectiveness of radio advertising in the small and medium scale enterprises. Radio advertising is
considered as an effective method of marketing which helps in promoting the services and
products delivered by the small and medium scale business in the wider market in order to reach
more number of customers (Koval, Dorrler and Schillo, 2022). It is important for advertisers to
choose the cost effective and less time consuming method so that they promote their goods and
services in the market and dealing with the customers in more effective way. In the present
research the researcher also focuses on determining the ability of radio advertising in driving the
sales and profitability of the business organisation in an effective and efficient manner. In the
following research, the researcher also fulfils dual perspectives which re defined as personal and
professional objectives. In terms of personal objectives, the investigator will gain knowledge
about radio advertising and its benefits to the organisation to support and have better promotion
of its products and services (Kyrylenko, 2021). This helps the researcher in improving their
future career and in dealing with the marketing at the time of any job related topic in an effective
manner. While on the other hand, in case of professional objective, the researcher will gain
knowledge and skill related to radio advertising and how it helps business organisations in
increasing their sales and growth in the competitive market. This helps students in gaining more
success in the future for having a higher level of the viability and reliability in the business
(Hirano, and et. al., 2022).

LITERATURE REVIEW
Radio advertising – Effectiveness and Costs
Radio advertising generally means an advertising efforts featured via FM, AM, online
radio or satellite. By using radio advertising, the large number of audience can gain the
information. In UK, for advertising on radio it mainly cost 50£ and £2000 a block. In order to
advertise on different social media platforms or search engine between 0.75p and £2.75 per click
and also the costs of developing media content on a regular basis, while TV advertising starts
from £2,000 (WARC, 2021).
Radio advertising helps in reaching to wide number of audience and also promote the
products and services in effective and efficient manner. Advertisers generally pay commercial
radio stations for airtime and in return the radio station advertise the products and services to its
listening audience (Weinberger et., al, 1994). Organisation generally use digital marketing so
that they can customise the ads based on the search or purchases of users. Radio advertisement is
a kind of audio advertisement that engages customers with audio and also it provides huge
selection of channels according to the geographical location (Charlesworth, 2014). By using
radio advertisement, organisation can reach to its target audience with frequency (Sagar, 2021).
Radiogauge brings innovation in the voice technology that leads to greater shopability and
interactivity. With the help of radio advertising SME can avail various benefits as it helps in
improving the performance and profitability of business (Martín-Santana et al., 2018). Radio
advertising is consisted as cost effective method for promoting the products and services than
other media. In UK, there is a rapid increase in the number of people listening to radio. The radio
advertsising in UK provides reach with 89% of audience that listen the commercial radio every
week. The use of radio advertising is cost effective for businesses as it is low risk media with
high impact advertising. With the help of radio, businesses can have their dream ad without
running up a hefty creative bills. It is important to have right script and excellent sound designer
in order to bring alive the theatre of the mind.
Radio plays an important role in improving the brand awareness and attracting more and
more customers towards the brand. By using radio advertising, businesses can provide ample
opportunity for message to reach its target customers (Radiocentre, 2022). It is being identified

that 48% of listeners are aware of the brands that advertise their products and services on radio
and 12% of them are likely to purchase the products of that brand.
Ability of radio advertising for building brand trust and awareness
According to Stroink and Edwards (2021), company focuses on developing their
activities and brand in order to attract maximum number of loyal customers towards the brand
and boost the performance of business. For introducing the new products and services in market,
it is necessary for an organisation to advertise by adopting different tools that helps in reaching
to wider audience. With the help of advertisement, company can promote their brand and its
products in effective manner. One of the cost effective medium for advertising the goods is radio
advertising. It is a one of the tool that helps in boosting the sale and performance of businesses in
significant manner with frequency. Company can use radio advertisement by paying to
commercial radio stations and in exchange they will broadcast the ad to the selected target
audience (Bayer, Srinivasan, Riedl, and Skiera, 2020). Therefore, radio advertising has an ability
to influence and engage the customers towards the brand by making them feel that they are
hearing from friend and also refer the products and services to other people (Bayer et all., 2020).
In context of SMEs, radio is cost effective tool which helps in reaching to target customers by
offering them different forms of products and services. By using radio advertsising the
productivity and performance of business increases and also they can attract maximum number
of potential buyers (Gilmore 2018).
By analysing the market, it is being determined that radio has an ability to engage the
customers towards the brand and build trust and awareness among them related to the products
and services. It is important for the organisation to build trust and awareness among the target
audience so that they can purchase the products and services in effective manner and also
increase the sale of business (Dubey et all., 2018). Organisation use radio advertisement in order
to provide information related to products and services and also provide clarity among the
audience to make purchase decision. Thus, radio advertsiement helps in improving the
profitability and productivity of the business (Muela-Molina, Perelló-Oliver and García-Arranz,
2021). People generally use radio while travelling for entertainment purpose and also gaining
information related to business and industries. Therefore, radio advertisement helps in increasing
the trust and awareness among the audience related to the brand which helps in increasing the
activities in effective manner (Weinberger, 2018). By using radio advertisement, businesses can

drive sales in changing environment by providing information related to the new products and
services (Charlesworth, 2014). In relation to SMEs, radio is a medium which is used to provide
valid information about the products and encourage customers to make purchase decisions.
Hence, radio helps in boosting the sale of business in changing environment and also makes the
goals attainable.
According to the perception of Efstathiou (2020), the main purpose of using radio
advertising is that it helps in attaining more growth and profitability in the competitive market.
The main benefit of radio advertising which makes it so appealing to the brand is that the
broadcast and production is so expensive. Radio advertising mainly offers businesses a quick and
cheap way to get recognition for the brand and measurable results (Barnouw, 2021). It is the best
way to promote the following services and products by purchasing commercial sections on the
radio broadcast. Radio advertising help the advertisers in promoting the goods of an organisation
so that they attain objectives of the business in an effective and efficient manner. Radio
advertising is the method that helps in increasing the brand awareness and trust among customers
so that they develop a special presence in the business market. Radio ads are sent out with the
airwaves, which makes it difficult in targeting based on demographics and behaviour. Radio ads
is regarded as the most effective form of strategy that is audio based and is the cheapest
advertising medium as compared with the use of the print ads or TV (Kakharov and Ergasheva,
2021). It is the most important strategy that helps in developing high reliability and validity in
the marketing so that they reduce extra expenses spend on media advertising. Radio advertising
plays a vital role in creating brand awareness as it helps the organisation in telling customers
about the features of the company brand and its benefits which helps in attracting audience
towards the particular brand (Królikowska, 2021).
The ability of radio advertising to drive sales
As per the view of Barrett (2022), radio advertising is considered to be an effective
strategy for increasing sales of the business organisation. Radio advertising supports an effective
as well as an affordable way to attract a localized, captive audience who might have interest in
the company's product and service which drives higher sales. It mainly helps in reaching the
targeted audience, create buzz and local audience about the available product and service
available with the company in order to gain high growth and success in the market. Advertising
through radio stations is the most cost effective way to reach out the targeted audience so that