Music Funding 101
Radio Ads (not radio airplay)
Radio is deemed very important by both bands and sponsors, and the other article on radio airplay introduces some airplay possibilities. But since most sponsorship begins locally, and since airplay does not work efficiently when local-only, I recommend radio advertisements as another option when you are trying to stay within your own city.
Radio advertisements (commercials or "spots") have only one drawback: there is no airplay. This means there is no playing of the song (now or in the future) if a radio ad campaign is run by itself (i.e., without an airplay campaign also). But there are many advantages and uses of radio ads.
First and foremost, radio ads are understood by sponsors. Just like print ads, sponsors understand that radio ads are an established general business technique, and thus the band will have less difficulty negotiating to get radio ads compared to other forms of exposure that some bands might try to pitch.
Aside from being understood, radio ads give the opportunity to put the sponsor's name on the air, which won't happen with airplay. Something like "...the XYZ band would like to thank John Doe & Sons Tractors, who really pull for us," is all that is needed. (But you would never say "is sponsored by.")
Radio ads are great as an individual-market exposure device, since by the definition of TalentFunding.com, a market is the area that most radio stations in the city cover. While newspapers may only cover part of a market, and street marketing only covers the areas you get to, radio covers the entire market easily. Musically, you can pick which station attracts the type of music fans that the band needs, so the targeting can really be specific.
It's recommended that radio ads run two days prior to the day of the show (including up to the last minute before the show starts). About 25 spots for the two days should do it, with five of them being in the last hour before the show starts.
The main purpose of local radio ads is to announce local shows. Radio is known as the only "instant" medium, meaning that your ad can be on the air just as soon as the announcer starts talking (assuming it's a live announcement). Not only is it quick, it can be changed every day, even every hour if needed to correspond with the pertinent show that is happening that night. And as an extra bonus, most of the people who are hearing the ads are in their cars already driving down the street. So getting listeners to come to a show is just a matter of convincing them to stop at the club; this is much easier than convincing them to get dressed and go out in the first place. If you need the spot to air right before the show starts, then that's what you pay for. (To do radio advertising properly, however, you have to spend a good deal of money. I recommend doing spots only in larger sponsorships.)
Just like with print ads, you can tell a club that you will "tag" the ad with the name of their club if they will book you. This is an advanced tool to try to get those bigger clubs booked. You can use a similar technique to get a store to carry the CDs, but that's really the job of the record label's retail marketing person.
Once your ad is running, you can use the call-letters (i.e., WXYZ Radio) and logo in your marketing materials. Just don't say it's getting airplay, say something like, "promo spots running on WXYZ." The call-letters of radio stations look good in any band's information, even if it's not for airplay.
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