The area of advertising has often been regarded as being one of the most dynamic and competitive one. This is mainly because as one of the developing countries in the world today, Malaysia is experiencing some very dynamic changes and highly competitive environments amongst its various business sectors which are demanding more active marketing and advertising efforts.
Target market crucial for advertising
In advertising, it is always important to ensure that the right type of campaigns is launched in order to reach the appropriate target market. The most popular media used by advertisers today are still television and radio despite the rising popularity of new media like digital and mobile advertising. Thus, the question often asked would be is radio or television better or are they the same?
Important issues to understand between Radio and TV
To understand this, it is important to know that both media has their own set of advantages.
- In terms of targeted marketing, radio holds the advantage over television mainly because they are heard on local and national levels respectively. This means that you can decide who will listen to your ad. After all, there are the national radio and the regional radio which are confined to a specific region or area.
- On the other hand, television is more targeted to the mass because they are free-to-air (FTA) stations. In Malaysia, FTA stations include TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV and Channel 9, all of which are available around the country. The only way to control who watches your commercial is to place your ad in the time-spots which are most likely watched by the group you intend to.
- In terms of cost, the obvious choice is radio spots which are known to be cheaper than television spots. The varying factor would surely be the time that the advertisements would be aired. Television spots are more costly especially during prime time and once are never enough.
Visuals still important in ads
Where this is concerned, advertisers are aware that visuals are always more effective than verbal. After all, consumers appreciate richer contents as compared to those they have visualize and imagine. However, on the cost factor, not being too costly means that you can place repeated ads on radio and this could bring about the desired effect to your target market as well.
There really is no reason to consider television advertising if cost is a constraint but many advertisers have found that even with a lot of budgets, the spots are often limited and very competitive.
Which side do we sit on the fence?
Ultimately, television would still be more powerful as compared to radio mainly because of visuals. That said, it does not mean that radio is no longer effective. The effectiveness of both media continues to bring results for the advertisers mainly because they target different groups of audiences. That which makes the difference here include:
Attention span – There is a vast difference between television and radio target audience. But they do share similarities when it comes to the attention span. Most spots on radio and television are 20 or 30 seconds. You have a mere 2-second window before your audience ‘switches off’. They can change the station or watch another channel or just stop paying attention.
Changing audience – While most audiences today are more receptive to visual ads, they are also turning away from conventional television. The streaming industry like Netflix and Disney+ has taken advertising out of television entertainment and that means it becomes more challenging for advertisers to use this platform.
Content – One thing for sure, visual ads are always richer in terms of sound, pictures and information. They are able to deliver more details as compared to radio ads. However, the rise of video ads platforms like YouTube, Facebook and TikTok have taken a lot of market share out of television advertising.
So, putting it all together, television definitely has better appeal than radio when it comes to advertising. But the market is no longer as attractive as it was 20 years ago. Digital platforms in marketing have changed how advertisers are placing their commercials.
They have new ways and more effective platforms that can give them better ROI. Television is still relevant, but their influence is seriously dropping. Radio meanwhile is steadily streaming to people who are on-the-go and who are driving. There is still a lot of appeals there.
