Radio ads without websites



  • I've heard a lot of radio ads lately that list a phone number (sometimes saying it three times) and no website.  C'mon!  this is 2008, not 1990.

    Discuss.



  • Somebody move this to General Discussion.



  • @MiffTheFox said:

    Somebody move this to General Discussion.
    This is not GD.  This is a WTF.



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    This is not GD.  This is a WTF.
    Oh, yeah, totally.  It's obvious that everybody listening to the radio has immediate access to the internet, but not to, say, a cell phone.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but telephones stopped functioning due the Y2K bug, right?



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    @MiffTheFox said:
    Somebody move this to General Discussion.
    This is not GD.  This is a WTF.
     

    No, a WTF would be running an ad without any contact information at all.

    It's easier to remember a phone number then a website URL. (Especially if you have something like www.the-generic-name.com vs www.thegenericname.com vs www.genericname.com vs www.generic-name.com)

    And if you're driving*, you can't exactly stop to write aynthing down.

     

    * Most people listen to their radio in the car.  TV and the Internet are just too distracting when available.  Also, radio ads don't reach people who are listening to an iPod/CD/Satelite Radio/etc.  Honesty, TRWTF is radio ads.



  • Maybe they noticed that their URL would be too hard to say on radio. I've come across some pretty annoying radio ads where they state their URL like this: "Go to maxxxi (spelled with three 'x') dot de". Or my favourite goes like "Visit us: www apples minus oranges minus on minus the minus net dot de".

    Also: your web site can be viewed for free. But if you register a special phone number you can still make money from every call. Also, some customers like to talk to real people...



  • @MiffTheFox said:

    It's easier to remember a phone number then a website URL.
    I disagree.  1-800-642-3000 or www.bettersex.com.  You decide.@MiffTheFox said:
    Most people listen to their radio in the car.
    This is exactly the point.

    The ads in question do not have cutesy word-making numbers.  I guess they've given up on that.



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    I've heard a lot of radio ads lately that list a phone number (sometimes saying it three times) and no website.  C'mon!  this is 2008, not 1990.

    Discuss.

     

    Radio advertising time is paid for by the second.

    It takes approx 3.5 seconds to recite a 10-digit phone number.

    It takes more than twice that long just to say "double-you-double-you-double-you."

    QED.




  • This does belong in General Discussion as it is clearly not a WTF.  There are two very simple reasons why telephone number would be preferred to URL for radio ads: 1) people are either going to respond to the ad immediately or later; if they wait they will simply remember the name of the company and either Google it or look it up in a phone directory; if they respond immediately their only real option on the road is cell phone.  2) people who listen to local broadcast radio in the car are probably less technically sophisticated and older than average; you may think it's crazy to not broadcast a URL, but when 20% of the audience is over 65 and many rarely or never use the Internet, it makes a big difference.  Seriously, try to think these things through before you post.  It helps build your problem-solving skills if you approach it from a "what would be the rational reason for doing this?" perspective instead of just assuming everyone who doesn't think exactly like you is a moron.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    There are two very simple reasons
    That's a good explanation, but why the hostility?  I asked a question and you answered it.  Better than anyone else, with the only other useful input coming form DaveK.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    It helps build your problem-solving skills if you approach it from a "what would be the rational reason for doing this?" perspective instead of just assuming everyone who doesn't think exactly like you is a moron.
    I tried.  The best explanation I could come up with was that they don't have a website, which prompted the "C'mon, this is 2008" response.

    Where did I say, or even assume, that everyone who doesn't think like me is a moron?  I would probably be frustrated if I desired one of these products and they didn't have a URL.  I'm convinced that most of these companies are fly-by-night companies that are too cheap to even have a website, so Googling wouldn't help.  Something about the way the ads are worded and spoken just screams "shady" to me.  

    I'm not about to write the phone number down in the car, and I'm certainly not calling them while in the car.  



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    I've heard a lot of radio ads lately that list a phone number (sometimes saying it three times) and no website.  C'mon!  this is 2008, not 1990.

    Phone numbers? What are they used for? Oh, wait, now I remember.. they *were* used to call people. Fortunally they are no longer used for that. I mean, just think how scary it would have been. TALKING to other people...



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    @morbiuswilters said:

    There are two very simple reasons
    That's a good explanation, but why the hostility?  I asked a question and you answered it.  Better than anyone else, with the only other useful input coming form DaveK.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    It helps build your problem-solving skills if you approach it from a "what would be the rational reason for doing this?" perspective instead of just assuming everyone who doesn't think exactly like you is a moron.
    I tried.  The best explanation I could come up with was that they don't have a website, which prompted the "C'mon, this is 2008" response.

    Where did I say, or even assume, that everyone who doesn't think like me is a moron?  I would probably be frustrated if I desired one of these products and they didn't have a URL.  I'm convinced that most of these companies are fly-by-night companies that are too cheap to even have a website, so Googling wouldn't help.  Something about the way the ads are worded and spoken just screams "shady" to me.  

    I'm not about to write the phone number down in the car, and I'm certainly not calling them while in the car.  

    I wasn't meaning it to be hostile, I was pointing out that it wasn't as stupid as you implied.  Perhaps you didn't mean to imply that, but the "c'mon it's 2008, not 1990" to me sounded like you thought the advertisers were blatantly dumb for not doing what you would do.  Honest mistake either way.  Everyone else was being hostile because this forum is primarily inhabited by dull-witted, mean-spirited people.  



  •  Nowadays, phones are for calling an automated answering service.

    "Could I please talk to a real person?"

    "Sorry, I could not understand what you were saying.  If you were saying 'Could we make this more frustrating for you' please say 'yes'."



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    I wasn't meaning it to be hostile, I was pointing out that it wasn't as stupid as you implied.  Perhaps you didn't mean to imply that, but the "c'mon it's 2008, not 1990" to me sounded like you thought the advertisers were blatantly dumb for not doing what you would do.  Honest mistake either way.  Everyone else was being hostile because this forum is primarily inhabited by dull-witted, mean-spirited people.  
    Yeah fair enough.  I thought I was actually asking a question in the OP.  I really couldn't come up with a decent reason.  I think that in 2008, it's stupid to not HAVE a website for your company.  Personally, I don't like being on the phone, be it with a machine or a human, so I would prefer to visit a website.  As long as you have one and it's decently easy to get to the site, I guess it's okay.



  •  I think the percieved legitimacy might play a partial role in this.  I mean, those ads are targeting idiots, but idiots do still have their own filter for what sounds like a scam to them.  And all the good domain names are taken, so

    "call 512-417-5191 for the secret to making millions" sounds a little bit less phony than "go to cheap-meds.f24sxc923jfas.ru and make money today."



  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    @MiffTheFox said:

    It's easier to remember a phone number then a website URL.
    I disagree.  1-800-642-3000 or www.bettersex.com.  You decide.
     

     

    In the U.S., the National Guard has taken an...interesting...approach to this problem by using the domain name www.1-800-go-guard.com in their TV and radio recruitment ads.



  • So, it's 2008, every bit of information is dissected to the nth degree...do you not think that radio marketers have determined who their target audience is and their most likely method of communication is?


    Perhaps this "better sex" company is targeting an older demographic of which 100% have a telephone while only 35% have internet access. 


     Marketers know what they're doing.  Obviously, the ad isn't targeting you specifically, because you're not in the demographic which prefers a more archaic method of communication.  Of course, if you know the name of the company, as a tech-savvy individual, you can find the website by typing in the company name. 


      In the end, it all pans out.  Personally, it drives me insane when a company refuses to provide a phone number on their website, and refuse to respond for status requests in their "guaranteed" response time.

     

     



  • @JeffRules said:

    So, it's 2008, every bit of information is dissected to the nth degree...do you not think that radio marketers have determined who their target audience is and their most likely method of communication is?
    The experienced, properly funded ones have, sure.

    There are definitely some radio advertisers that don't put nearly that much work into it though.  e.g., local auto dealerships.



  • @JeffRules said:

    Perhaps this "better sex" company is targeting an older demographic...

    Sweet Jesus nooooooo!!!!  Oh God, my mind is tained now!! 



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @JeffRules said:

    Perhaps this "better sex" company is targeting an older demographic...

    Sweet Jesus nooooooo!!!!  Oh God, my mind is tained now!! 

    Hey, old people need anal fisting, too.


  • @TooWhiteAndNerdy said:

    @MiffTheFox said:
    It's easier to remember a phone number then a website URL.
    I disagree.  1-800-642-3000 or www.bettersex.com.  You decide

    Was that "www.bettersex.com", "www.better_sex.com", or "www.better-sex.com"?



  • @Carnildo said:

    Was that "www.bettersex.com", "www.better_sex.com", or "www.better-sex.com"?

    It better not be "www.better_sex.com", because underscores are not allowed in domain names. 



  • @MiffTheFox said:

    No, a WTF would be running an ad without any contact information at all.
     

    Huh? Ever heard an ad? Many do not have contact information, because their message is clearly delivered in ten seconds. In fact, I'd argue that those are the best kind, because they foster curiosity in the viewer, listener, reader, or driver (in the case of bumper stickers). When was the last time a Coke ad ran with contact information?

    Let me go further: delivering an ad with contact information is a WTF, because if your message isn't clear, and you haven't done SEO on your site, your message is lost anyway.

    I want a bumper sticker that says: If it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker your message is l



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @Carnildo said:

    Was that "www.bettersex.com", "www.better_sex.com", or "www.better-sex.com"?

    It better not be "www.better_sex.com", because underscores are not allowed in domain names. 

     

    Delimiting words with hyphens produces better search engine ranking. It's a documented fact, but not one I know how to find! I'm just repeating what a Web designer told me.



  • Radio ads without websites are like fish without bicycles!

    Seriously, just because you can't doesn't mean you should!  Think about it, you have 30 seconds to tell the world what you want to tell them.  You want to use up 5 of those seconds telling people about something they could easily search for online, assuming you put your business name in the ad.  The phone number is a bit more difficult, if it's an 800 number I bet 90% of the clientele has no idea to dial 1-800-555-1212 (yes, that's a real number, try it!) to find it, so you need to put it in your ad.



  • @vt_mruhlin said:

    "call 512-417-5191 for the secret to making millions" sounds a little bit less phony than "go to cheap-meds.f24sxc923jfas.ru and make money today."

    Sounds pretty 'phony' to me... ;)


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