AUGUST 12, 2019 RADIOINK•COM 15
lotofbillboardsatthattime,andthose
helpedaswell. However,wewereable to
communicatethewhyandwhat we were
doing clearly through radio.
Radio Ink: Tell us about your message.
What typeofadsdoyourun?
Melenbacker:Whatwefocusonnowis
generalinformationthatgivesustop-of-
mindawarenessfor listeners. When I took
overtheclinic,I wantedtomakesurewe
gotournameoutthere.Ourmessage was
“Wearehereinthecommunity,ourphy-
siciansliveinthecommunity,andthey
wanttotakecareofthecommunity.”
That’sthewaywestarted.
Withcertain stationsyoucanhit your
nichemarketeasily,dependingonwhat
thattargetmarketis.Ourtargetmarket
is females35-55,becausetheyarethe
onesschedulingtheappointmentsfor
familyorparents.Wealsoliketoreach
an audiencethatisinterestedin our
sportsmedicineservices.It letsusget
ourmessageoutquickly,widely,and
clearlytothepeoplewearetryingto
reach.
Radio Ink:Howhastheresponsebeen?
Melenbacker:WhenI tookoverabout
fouryearsagowedida marketingblitz,
andradio wasa big partofthat.We
startedseeinga significantincreasein
patients,newpatients,comingtothe
clinic.I havetoattributea bigpartofthat
increasetothemarketingandradio.
Duringourrebrandwegota lotof
comments,thingslike,“Weheardwhat
wasgoingonoveratthecliniconthe
radio.It’sgoodtohear.”Thatmadethe
transitionoftheguysthatcamefromthe
hospitaltotheclinic a loteasier,because
we wereable to spread the message far
andwide.
Theirpatientsheardit.Weusedthe
physicians’namesandexplainedin the
messagewhatwasgoingon.It really
madeit easieronthepatientstofind
their physician.
Radio Ink: What is it like working with
the MidwestRadioGroup?
Melenbacker:HeidiMacEacherngoes
aboveandbeyondwhenworkingwith
us.ShehasusonWIFC(Top 40 ), WDEZ
(Country), WSAU(News/Talk), andWRIG
(Sports).Heidiis alwayswilling to answer
ourquestions,tocometalkwithus,and
hercustomerserviceis secondtonone.RadioInk:Whatmessagedoyouhave
forotherbusinessesconsideringradio?
Melenbacker:I thinkradiois definitely
worthitif youaregoingtoputoutthe
rightmessage.Oneofthethingsthat
we’velearnedalongthewayisit really
dependsonthemessage.If youjustput
outwhoyouare,whatyoudo,something
generallikethat,it’snotgoingtogetyou
anywhere.That’swhatIhearalotonthe
radio.Youneedtosenda specific mes-
sage,andthegoodthingaboutradiois
thatyoucansendthatmessage invari-
ousways atdifferenttimes.
Likewedidwithourrebrand,wetold
ourentirestoryovera periodofmonths
soeverybodyknewwhatwasgoingon.
It wasalmostlikepeoplewerepaying
attentionmorebecausetheywantedto
hearthenextpartofthestory.
Overall,whatwehavelearnedis that
yourmessagehastobeofvalueand
containinformationthelistenerwantsor
needs— notjustwho,what,where,when,
why.Thanks to Shane Melenbacker, Stevens
Point Orthopedics
s(stevenspointortho.com)
Thanks to Heidi MacEachern,
Marketing Consultant, Midwest
Communications
[email protected]“When we
rebranded,
we really hit
radio hard.
I must say,
that was
probably
the smartest
thing we
did. It really
resonated
with the
community.”