There’s no denying it.  We live in an instant gratification, results driven, I-want-it-now, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world.  For proof, just look at all the TV shows that were canceled after one or two airings.  Note the news stories that were hot for a day-and-a-half only to be forgotten when the next big story broke.  And marvel at the new features on the smart phone that came out today, letting you forget all about the smart phone that came out last week.  You get my point.

The same is true in direct marketing, where you need to make the sale NOW.  We live and die by the numbers.  The success and failure of a campaign is directly related to its return on investment.  But something’s missing in that equation.  There is a real value to the branding that is generated with each airing/running/viewing of a DR advertisement.

What is that value?  What is its impact? I’m sure there numbers exist that can be spun every which way, but I prefer to keep it simpler.  How many of the Top 10 Radio Advertisers do you know?  More importantly, how many of them count you as a customer?

When my friends and I started driving and they were insured by State Farm, Nationwide and Allstate, I was the only one covered by Government Employees Insurance Company.  Today, thanks to a gecko, some cavemen, and a simple DR message of “15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more” everyone knows that same company by its now-famous acronym: GEICO.

Our agency had the privilege of working on the launch of another great, radio branding success story.  It took priceline.com very little time – along with some clever, campy messaging and the star power of William Shatner – to make priceline.com a household name.  Today, an ongoing campaign keeps the priceline brand profitable and one of the most successful stocks on Wall Street.

All these years later, was there a branding value in their DR marketing?  Obviously.  So the challenge is how to get a little branding with your DR advertising.  It’s a mix of the right message with the right media and the right spending so that branding value comes through.  To learn more about the specifics on how to do that, call the Radio Agency:  1-800-969-AMFM.

Ian Cohen is Production Director at The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the RSS link above. Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com