Learn To Speak Radio: Advice For Tampa Bay Small Business Owners

This year marks the 97th anniversary of WDAE, the first radio station in Tampa Bay.

Since 1922, Tampa Bay small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services to local consumers. During the next 12 months, these consumers are expected to spend $54.1 billion.

By any measure, radio is still the best way to advertise in Tampa Bay. Last week, for instance, significantly more consumers tuned-in to a Tampa radio station than watched local TV; read a local newspaper; or logged-on to Pandora and Spotify.

To buy radio advertising effectively, there are some terms every Tampa Bay small business owner should know. Here is a list of helpful definitions.

Glossary Of Radio Advertising Terms

AM Drive: Also known as morning drive, this is the morning broadcast time period for Radio, most often represented by Monday through Friday from 6AM to 10AM as defined and reported by Neilson Audio. An individual station's "dayparts" will not necessarily conform to this standard definition.
Average Quarter-Hour Persons (AQH): The average number of persons listening to a particular station for at least five consecutive minutes during a 15-minute period.
Average Quarter-Hour Rating: The average Quarter-Hour Persons estimate expressed as a percentage of the population being measured.
Audience Composition: The demographic or socioeconomic profile of a station's audience in terms of composition usually including the percentages of the total audience that fall into each segment. These reports can express audience characteristics by age, gender, ethnicity, working persons, language preference, county, etc.
Billboard: In broadcast, sponsor mentions given to an advertiser in return for a major commitment to a program, usually to one that purchases multiple commercials within a program (i.e., a "sponsor" of the program). Billboards typically air immediately prior or at the conclusion of the sponsored programming.
Cost Per Point (CPP): The cost of reaching an Average Quarter-Hour Persons audience that is equivalent to one percent of the population in a given demographic group.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM): The cost of delivering 1,000 gross impressions.
Cume Persons: The total number of different persons who listen to a Radio station during a daypart for at least five consecutive minutes.
Cume Rating: A stations audience expressed as a percentage of all persons estimated to be in the specified demographic group.
Daypart: The time segments into which a day is divided for the purpose of selling advertising time. In Radio, the main dayparts are morning (or AM drive), midday, afternoon (or PM drive) and evening. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to standard definitions. Advertising contracts should include the specific hours that define the time period for each station's dayparts.

Daytime (also known as "Midday"): The late morning/early afternoon broadcast time period, most often represented by Monday through Friday from 10AM-3PM. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to standard definitions.
Endorsement: Refers a situation where a station DJ shares his personal experience with an advertiser's product or service.
Evening: this is the late evening broadcast time period most often represented by Monday though Friday from 7PM-Midnight. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to the standard definitions.
Frequency: The average number of times the same person will hear a commercial.
Gross Impressions (GIs): The sum of the Average Quarter-Hour Persons (AQH) audience for all commercials in a given schedule. The total number of times a commercial will be heard over the course of a schedule.
Gross Rating Points (GRPs): The sum of all rating points achieved for a particular commercial schedule.
Midday: See Daytime
Overnight: The overnight broadcast time period is most often represented by Monday through Sunday from Midnight-6AM. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to this standard definition.
PM Drive: Also known as afternoon drive, this is the late afternoon broadcast time period most often represented by Monday through Friday from 3-7PM. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to this standard definition.
Run of Schedule (ROS): A type of broadcast schedule where commercials are placed across run across multiple times of day within a broad daypart parameter.
Total Audience Plan (TAP): A type of commercial schedule that places announcements in a pattern that utilizes all station dayparts for maximum station audience exposure. Actual plans vary from station to station.
Target Demo: The age and characteristic make-up of the group targeted for reach by an advertising campaign.
Weekend: The Saturday and Sunday broadcast time period most often represented by Sat/Sun 6AM-MID. An individual station's dayparts will not necessarily conform to this standard definition.