• by July 11, 2000

According to a new Response Marketing study of radio advertising 29% of radio advertisements contain a toll-free number, with 66% using the 800 prefix - 72% of which are vanity (numbers that translate into words for easy recall) - and 24% of radio advertisements contain an Internet address.

Overall, 44% of radio advertisements feature either a toll-free number or an Internet address, or both, and 57% of ads use some form of direct response.

"Radio advertisers know the value of direct response," said Sandra Murray, President of Response. "Consumers may be ready to learn more or to buy immediately after hearing an ad. Without a direct response mechanism, they have no way of acting on their impulse."

Ads using toll-free numbers with the 888 or 877 prefixes use the words "toll-free" more often than those using the 800 prefix. Similarly, the study found those not using straight vanity numbers (e.g., 800-NEW-CARS) have to spell out their numbers or give the numeric equivalents more often. "Advertisers who don't use a vanity 800 number spend valuable airtime explaining their phone number instead of generating interest in their product or service," continued Murray.

Vanity numbers have been shown to dramatically increase advertising response rates. According to a January 1999 study by Michael J. Motto Advertising, in New Providence, New Jersey, radio advertisements using a toll-free vanity number received fourteen times more phone calls than the same advertisements with a toll-free numeric number.

Industries using toll-free numbers in radio ads most often are telecommunications, Internet service provider, beauty, banking/credit, insurance, and travel. Ads during sports and news/talk programming contain toll-free numbers most frequently.

Industries using Internet addresses in radio ads most often are websites, Internet service provider, employment, computer, banking/credit, and travel. Ads during sports, news/talk, CHR/pop, and alternative rock contain Internet addresses most frequently.

After toll-free numbers and Internet addresses, the next most frequently used response mechanism in radio ads is a street address, found in 10% of ads. Local phone numbers are found in 9% of ads.

The Response study, Direct Response in Radio Advertising, analyzed over 3,300 advertisements. Toll-free Numbers in Magazine Advertising, released in March 1999, found 58% of magazine advertisements containing a toll-free number, and 58% containing an Internet address. Toll-free Numbers in Television Advertising, released in September 1998, found 24% of television commercials containing a toll-free number, and 19% containing an Internet address. The studies are available at www.800response.com.