There is probably not a week that goes by when the 1,827,300 listeners to Charlotte radio don't hear about Sona Dermatology & MedSpa. The company's advertising runs nearly every day.
"We will probably never stop using radio advertising in Charlotte," says Meigan Alexander, Director of Marketing for the company. "Radio has been a part of the company's identity since the beginning."
Sona was founded as a single location MedSpa in 1977 by Byron Ashbridge. "In the beginning," says Ms. Alexander, "most of what we did was laser hair removal."
Today, Sona has 20 offices across the country including one in Charlotte, Huntersville, and Ballantyne. In addition to hair removal, the company now offers CoolSculpting, Botox, skin rejuvenation, and MiraDry.
Although Sona had been advertising successfully on radio for two decades, it became even more critical three years ago.
"In 2016, Sona added on-staff, board-certified physicians at many of our locations to provide comprehensive medical dermatology services along with our more traditional MedSpa treatments," says Ms. Alexander.
"Because people in Charlotte had always known us for our cosmetic work, we really had to focus on re-branding ourselves as a medical practice as well. Radio is perfect for that."
DJ Endorsements Make Radio Advertising More Powerful
To further this effort, Sona includes DJ endorsements as part of its radio advertising budget in Charlotte. This is when on-air personalities talk about their first-hand experiences with a company within both live and pre-recorded commercials.
"Radio listeners really trust their favorite DJs. Our message becomes so much more powerful when these personalities recommend Sona to them. This is so much more effective than a Facebook post or a Google ad," says Ms. Alexander.
Sona's belief in radio endorsement commercials is supported by several studies:
- The USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism determined that 49% of radio listeners found increased value in the products, brands, and services recommended by a DJ.
- Presslaf Interactive found that 55% of radio listeners trust a product or service more when endorsed by their favorite DJ
- Vision Critical/MARU revealed that 83% of listeners value and trust their favorite DJs' opinions
Advertising On Charlotte Radio Drives Website Traffic
Of particular importance to Sona is the results of a study by Analytic Owl, who found that endorsement advertising drives an 18% in total visits to a company's website.
"Getting people to our website is very important to us," says Ms. Alexander. "When people come to us online, I know that it will increase their intent to purchase."
Advertising on Charlotte radio is a significant part of Sona's advertising budget, but not the only component.
"We also do social media advertising, Google advertising, some print, TV, and OTT," says Ms. Alexander. "But the return-on-investment we get from our radio advertising really stands up against these other media. New patients tell us all the time that they learned about us on the radio."
Ms. Alexander has a long history working in marketing. She believes advertising on Charlotte radio could work for many local small business owners as well.
"The two things I would recommend," she says, "is to make sure the stations used align with what the company sells. Also, trust the process. It could take 6-12 months to see results. But the results will come."
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