Back on the Air

Bruce Hershey II was into radio when radio wasn't cool. Or at least when it wasn't embraced by the real estate industry. Hershey, vice president of sales and marketing with Engle Homes in Southwest Florida, came to the field from the sports world. 

He worked for teams such as the Florida Everblades, where he saw advertising promotions on the airwaves connect with fans. Then at KB Home, he sought to diversify the focus, which was heavy on print advertising and signs, to include radio.

"I had the outdoor [advertising], I had the print, I had a little bit of TV, but I needed a full mix to get the exposure I needed," he recalls.

Hershey believed radio would bring top-of-mind awareness to potential buyers, persuading them to turn their vehicles literally toward a new development. He first started with ads offering gift cards for gasoline or to spots such as Starbucks, if they would stop by a community that day.

"Now, as I've changed in my marketing and adapted to market conditions, I'm trying to appeal more to a lifestyle," Hershey says of his work with Engle Homes. The company's radio messages focus on hot buttons such as price, lifestyle and amenities.

Radio executives and analysts say there's a bit of an upswing in radio advertising. That's after a hit during 2004 and 2005, when agencies that place advertising for companies were looking primarily online to reach consumers, particularly those under 30 years old, says Dave Van Dyke, president of Bridge Ratings, a Glendale, Calif., radio market analysis firm.

He describes the 1990s, when dot-coms poured money into radio advertising, as "traditional radio's heyday in terms of advertising revenues."