Marketron

Category: Measurement

Plumbing and HVAC Ads on Radio: What’s Working Best

Contributor: Rick Kestenbaum, general manager, AnalyticOwl

According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of a home in the U.S. is 39 years. That creates constant opportunity for plumbing and HVAC companies. Radio has proven to be an excellent way to not only promote emergency services, but also to get listeners thinking about profitable replacements, upgrades and renovations.

AnalyticOwl Industry Insights reports for these categories, based on responses measured between July 2021 and June 2023, reveal a number of opportunities that advertisers can use to better understand the impact of radio on website traffic and to understand where and how to optimize to even better response.

One key finding is that during this date range, 84% of plumbing website visits and 75% of HVAC website visits that occurred immediately after commercials aired came from search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.), while only 14% of plumbing website visits and 24% of HVAC website visits came from users who entered a specific website address. Why is this important? In Google Analytics, the “Referring Source” metric identifies the last website a visitor was on. That can give the impression that all of that traffic should be attributed to search engines when in reality many visits ae from people who had just heard a commercial and then used a search engine to get to the site. Understanding that people will overwhelmingly behave this way no matter what call to action is used is key to understanding the full impact of radio. Hard-to-remember website or landing pages addresses, dedicated phone numbers and response codes all attempt to create a narrow response path that most people simply won’t go down.

For both categories, response rates were at a fairly consistent level from Tuesday to Saturday. In this case, the best strategy is a consistent presence throughout the week in order to leverage that steady flow. The best daypart overall was Midday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., but Afternoon was close behind as was Morning Drive, which is unusual since Morning Drive usually drives higher numbers later in the day as a benefit of reach and frequency. Evenings and Overnights often prove to deliver good value given lower rates. And :30 was the best-performing ad duration, driving 2% lift in web traffic. This is an important consideration for those using :15s and/or :60s.

Radio visitors also drove quality visits. Session durations averaged 1 minute, 14 seconds with an average of 1.7 pages viewed, indicating serious interest and response. Bounce rates were under 50%, indicating that fewer people just visit a single page before leaving the site. And over 50% of site visitors used a mobile device, a great reminder that radio audiences can easily respond anywhere and everywhere.

Radio reaches adults who are in the market for plumbing and HVAC upgrades. According to Scarborough’s USA+ 2023 Release 2, radio reaches not only 86% adults who are planning any home improvement but 84% with HVAC plans and 86% plumbing plans.

Tapping into radio’s reach, advertisers who follow these insights will find that increased response leads to increased conversions and increased revenue.

If You Can Dream It, Radio Can Measure It

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

Navigating the complex world of attribution is not that complex with new measurement capabilities in play for radio success

There is a misperception in the advertising community that an audio ad’s influence on a consumer’s purchase journey can’t be measured to the same degree as ads that run on digital media. This inaccuracy is grounded in radio’s broadcast nature, which makes attaching a digital pixel for tracking individual listeners from exposure to purchase an impossibility.

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Why Digital-Only Brands Should Become Broadcast Radio Advertisers

Contributor: Beth Osborne, director, marketing and content, Marketron

As digital advertising continues to become a growing part of a station’s revenue, you may have a book of businesses that are digital-only advertisers. Maybe they aren’t convinced of the value of radio ads or seek an audience outside of your station demographics. For new advertisers, they may have never purchased an audio ad before. There are many reasons they may be in this bucket. The question is, should they be?

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Radio Accelerates Website Traffic for Auto

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

What a difference a few years make. We have all seen it and experienced it. Although different, business is back from the impact of the pandemic. Shelves are full and automotive dealer lots are full. Automotive has gone from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

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Radio is the Perfect Partner

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

Partnerships are important. Ask anyone who is trying to grow their business, and they will admit that along with their own hard work, the partnerships and relationships they build with both consumers and other businesses has helped their own growth and impact.

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Amplifying Brand Buzz: How Radio Redefines Conversations and Influence

Harness Radio’s Unique Ability to Fuel Purchase Intent and More

Contributor: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing, Engagement Labs

In the ever-evolving landscape of media impact, radio emerges as a potent catalyst for brand conversations. The study “Radio Drives Brand Conversations,” commissioned by RAB in partnership with Engagement Labs, dives deep into radio’s role in driving brand discussions and explores its profound influence on purchase intent, societal discourse and the bottom line. In this blog, we dissect key findings and offer actionable recommendations for brands and advertisers looking to harness the untapped potential of radio conversations.

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Using Radio to Drive Growth in Local Markets

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

Supporting and connecting with local communities can pay dividends for brands, studies show

The phrase “Think globally, act locally” was popularized by the environmental conservation movement in the 1970s, but it holds relevancy today for marketers looking to drive brand growth. Regardless of the size and scope of a brand, the ultimate point of purchase and consumption is often within a local community.

In a recent CMO Council report based on a survey of more than 140 marketing leaders in B2C and B2B brands, a third of respondents say 40 percent or more of their company’s revenue comes from local business partners. Yet, the report says, less than 30 percent of small businesses have fully recovered from the pandemic. The report underscores national brands’ responsibility to drive local demand to grow revenue and aid the performance of local partners.

Supporting local economies and resonating with people in local communities (i.e., keeping them informed, entertained, and connected) is a fitting definition for radio. As CMOs face pressure to reach profitable goals and are often expected to do more with less, radio can help brands drive local demand and sustainable growth in neighborhoods coast to coast.

The Local Connection

Eighty-nine percent of radio listeners believe that one of radio’s primary advantages is its local feel, and appreciation for local content among listeners is on the rise, up 33 percent over the past five years, according to the 2023 Jacobs Media Techsurvey. Couple that with Horizon Media’s finding that 72 percent of adults appreciate brands that try to get to know their local culture and community and using radio becomes an obvious path for brand marketers to drive local engagement and action.

According to a recent Katz Radio Group survey, localizing radio messaging leads to increased attention and impact among listeners. The study tested generic and localized versions of audio advertising for a retailer, insurance brand, and healthcare provider in different geographical areas. The study found that while every ad improved purchase intent, ads that incorporated local elements averaged a 24 percent lift in effectiveness.

The same is true for contextual messaging. When there is synergy between an audio ad and the content, the better the outcome up and down the purchase funnel. Reaching people at the exact right moment and place with relevance and with local nuances can move KPIs.

Arguably, part of the effectiveness of local radio can be attributed to the bond shared between radio’s local on-air influencers and their listeners. “Imagine picking up the phone and calling a friend and chatting twice a month for a few years,” Damon Amendolara, host of The DA Show for CBS Sports Radio, told Barrett Sports Media in a recent interview. “With how much we text today and how infrequent we all actually call one another, a caller to a radio show may actually have a closer bond to you than some of your friends or family. Hearing that person’s voice regularly creates a deep connection.” Brands can leverage these connections in authentic ways for more effective campaigns.

Getting Involved

Community engagement and experiential marketing can build strong connections and foster a positive brand image. Arguably, radio pioneered experiential marketing to mass audiences through live, in-market events that provide entertainment and information to local communities. And now that live, in-person events are back following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, brands can leverage the immersive experience of radio-hosted events such as music festivals, fundraisers, and block parties to build relationships, boost demand for local products and services, and, ultimately, drive growth for their local business partners.

Indeed, when brands make the most of what radio offers, the results can exceed expectations. In 2022, Nissan, in collaboration with iHeartMedia, the Black Effect Podcast Network, and popular on-air host and podcaster Charlamagne Tha God, developed a campaign to invite students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to sign up for a groundbreaking mentorship event focused on professions in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). The vast majority of HBCU scholars who participated in The Black Effect Podcast Network’s Thrill of Possibility Summit indicated the event met or exceeded their expectations and provided an unforgettable learning experience.

Lanae Jackson, senior manager of multicultural marketing strategy at Nissan, speaking at the 2023 ANA Advancements in Measurement Conference, said the campaign “performed better than they ever could have imagined.” The combination of efforts to promote the Nissan-sponsored event leveraged iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God’s platforms, including broadcast radio, digital and social media, and podcasts, to not only drive massive lift for the auto brand, which saw a 73 percent increase in upper funnel metrics, including unaided awareness, but also worked to solidify the brand’s commitment to increase Black representation in STEAM-related careers.

Local Reach, Global Outcomes

The concept of thinking globally and acting locally brings together a brands’ global aspiration with relatable local value.

As consumers continue to seek out local businesses and prefer brands that understand the nuances of their community, brands that drive resonance within these communities and at national scale through the power of their local and national radio partners will undoubtedly achieve sustainable growth.

Radio Accelerates Customer Activity for Auto Services

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

In 2022, the typical driver lost 51 hours sitting in traffic. That’s a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle – regardless of the city you live in. With 12.5 as the average vehicle age on the roads today, there are service opportunities for independent service businesses and auto franchises alike.

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How Radio Builds Effectiveness for RMN Campaigns

The complementary effectiveness of radio’s always-on audience and retail media networks’ deep dataset

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

The marketing industry has long leaned into results-driven marketing efforts that square up against specific goals, audiences, and strategies. Today, due in part to the current financial climate, seemingly all marketing is performance marketing, with metrics defined by cost per audiences reached, served, and, ultimately, converted.

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Why Radio Still Has the Ear of Consumers, Influencing Buying Decisions for a Variety of Advertisers

Contributor: Jenn Hoff, Digital Sales Director, Marketron

Radio continues to be a channel that engages and influences listeners across all demographics. While much has changed since its inception, radio holds strong as a medium that people trust and truly tune in to, making it a great opportunity for any advertiser.

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Radio Reaches Taxpayers

Author: Stephanie Heracleous, Research & Insights Assistant, RAB

The pandemic has thrown a wrench in the tax filing process the last couple of years as new incentives, deductions and tax credits have emerged. As we settle into the first few months of 2022, tax season is in full swing. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued more than $4MM in tax returns so far this year. Consumers are looking to online businesses and professionals for assistance in filing to make sure their taxes are prepared correctly.  

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Radio Advertising Is the Perfect “Lift” for Digital

Contributor: Dustin Wilson, Manager of Client Development, Digital, Marketron

It’s no secret that integrated advertising campaigns typically perform better. When you pair radio and digital ads, they’re an excellent complement to each other. That’s because audiences consume content in multiple ways across lots of mediums. And that’s a necessity in a world where people encounter hundreds if not thousands of ads in a single day.

The competition to break out from the noise and connect with audiences is key for any advertiser. However, they may have misconceptions about what channels work best. Well, they don’t need to go on hunches, and neither do you. Data and research support that radio ads can lift the performance of digital ones.

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Marketers Ride New Waves of Radio Advertising

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

One of the hottest trends in advertising is “screen-free media,” as people liberate their eyeballs and engage their ears with a potpourri of audio programming. However, for marketers to capitalize on the audio renaissance, they must develop an audio strategy that goes beyond ad buying and adopts a distinctive voice and sound for their brands, according to the Carat Trends 2021 report, titled “The Year of Emotionally Intelligent Marketing.”

The diversification of audio platforms and the attention audio commands among consumers has opened up tremendous opportunity for brands to expand their audio strategies and grow their audiences.

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Using Omni-Shopper Insights to Create More Effective Ads

Contributor: Sarena Gerard, Senior Research Associate, GfK

Combining online and in-store shopping is a highly personal, consumer-driven experience that’s here to stay — one that predates COVID-19 but that has picked up major momentum over the last 18 months.

For many consumers, pivoting from in-store to online shopping was one survival tactic among many adopted to cope with pandemic lockdowns —and as the omnichannel trend continues to rise, many advertisers are working hard to get in front of consumers in both online and in-store environments. This is especially true in categories that have experienced strong omnichannel growth over the last year – among them clothing & fashion, household cleaning products, and packaged foods and beverages.

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Motivating Listeners to Act in 2021

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

Forecasts reveal that digital is driving the advertising rebound in 2021 and, according to Tony Hereau, VP of cross platform insights at Nielsen, “Radio is the soundtrack of America’s recovery.”

Radio, across all of its digital platforms, has and continues to experience exponential growth, earning significant share of media consumption throughout 2020 and the post-pandemic. While over the air AM/FM radio accounts for 76 percent of the daily audio time spent with any ad-supported platform, understanding consumer behavior as they move across platforms and what motivates listeners is critically important for marketers who are poised to succeed in the rebound.

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Tracking Campaign Performance With Radio

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

IAB published survey results at the end of 2020 indicating that 64% of media buyers said they will focus on digital performance marketing in 2021 with the ability to evaluate plans and results more frequently.

With significant advancements in the attribution space, radio has been able to prove unequivocally that it is one of the most effective media in driving online behavior among all target audience groups.

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Making the Cash Register Ring: It’s All in the Message

Contributor: Todd Kalman, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketron

In the past, we’ve written about the merits of digital vs. traditional radio advertising tactics and how they can complement each other to accelerate revenues. But let’s be honest: it really doesn’t matter how the message gets into the marketplace. What matters is that the target consumer – the people with the power to make the cash register ring – will hear or see the message and act.

Advertising is a complex business, but it really boils down to two key objectives: getting people to do something or getting people to believe something. Engendering belief gets into the realm of pure branding campaigns, which can be cost-prohibitive and might not be practical for many local businesses. Therefore, our focus here is on ads with a specific call to action.

(Side note: Enough call-to-action advertising, done right and yielding solid results, might reinforce a brand by solidifying consumers’ beliefs about the company.)

It’s all about the key marketing objective.

Fleshing out the ultimate objective of the campaign is the critical starting point, and it’s a joint effort that leverages both the expertise of the radio sales rep and the first-hand business understanding of the marketer or business owner.

Take the example of a store that specializes in baby and children’s products. The shop is looking to boost sales and earn manufacturer’s incentives for its line of youth beds and mattresses. Working together, the sales rep and the store owner create a key marketing objective: How might we get a minimum of 30 high income ($75K+/yr) single parents/couples (A25-35), with children who are outgrowing their cribs, to purchase a youth bed during the month of October? An important element here is a key performance indicator (KPI); in other words, the target sales metric. The KPI is the magic number that will make everyone throw the proverbial party in honor of a successful campaign. In this example, the KPI for this shop is to sell 30 additional mattresses in October.

The Right Mix of Tactics

With the key marketing objective in place, the next step is to identify the mix of tactics that will hit that KPI. As we’ve said, the goal is to get consumers to act. You can walk down Main Street wearing a sandwich board, and if that’s what it takes to sell 30 additional mattresses, the campaign is a success. But a sandwich board probably won’t work for a business that caters to a narrower group of customers, such as an upscale baby products store.

By its very nature, radio casts a very wide net (hence the term “broadcast”). Chances are good that target consumers defined by the key marketing objective — higher-income parents 25 to 35 years old with children who are outgrowing their cribs — will be listening as they commute to and from work. These parents might represent a small fraction of the total drive-time audience, but since you’ve carefully narrowed down the key marketing objective, getting even a subset of very interested listeners to act might be all that’s needed to hit that magic number of 30 additional mattress sales during the month of October.

Integrating some digital advertising can supercharge the broadcast campaign and ensure that that subset will make the trip into the shop or make an online purchase. With digital, likely buyers can be targeted very specifically based on factors such as shopping history, web browsing history, location, age and gender. Maybe those target customers are now at work and sitting at their desks, browsing the internet as they have their first cup of coffee. If they already heard about the sale while driving in their cars, a digital display ad or pop-up video might be all it takes for them to click through to the store’s website and make an online purchase.

An Evolving Strategy

With any ongoing campaign, it’s important to revisit the key marketing objective regularly and recalibrate it as needed to fit season changes and other market factors. A bicycle shop marketing to bike commuters, for instance, could shift to promoting fat-tire bikes as fall turns into winter and the snow starts to fall. Did the initial campaign month deliver the promised results? If not, maybe it’s time to refresh the copy and fine-tune the messaging or revisit the original sales goal.

This ongoing, strategic management of the campaign is why it’s so important for advertisers to be strongly allied with their sales reps. In fact, radio sales professionals are some of the best-trained media consultants out there, and they’re well-versed in campaigns that successfully leverage both traditional and digital tactics. Plus, sales reps have the vantage point of the station’s unique position in the community and long, proven track record of success for their customers.

 

Radio Ad Effectiveness Scores Go Sky High with COVID-19 Messages

Contributor: Angela Jeffrey, VP Brand Management, ABX

In a recent study of 168 COVID-19-related Radio ads measured by Advertising Benchmark Index (ABX) since March 4, advertising effectiveness scores were amazingly high. Radio spots featuring thanks to first responders, helpful advice to listeners regarding resisting the virus and conveying a serious tone in their announcements all did well. Below is a look at how Radio is performing right now, including a close look at five of the top ten COVID-19 spots, showing how effective Radio can be during a time of crisis.

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More Than Ever, Radio is Ready to Prove Results

Contributor: RC Williams, Account Manager, AnalyticOwl

In an increasingly competitive and evolving media landscape, and with growing advertiser demand for tangible, measurable responses, radio has never been more ready to meet the challenge.

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Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Megan Lazovick, Vice President at Edison Research

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. recently released the results of a research project titled, Understanding Parents, Teens and Country Music, conducted by Edison Research. Although the focus of the study was based on country music users, the overall findings of the research are applicable for parents and teens who listen to any type of music format on the radio.

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB speaks with Megan Lazovick, Vice President at Edison Research. Radio by far is the most listened to form of audio among the parents of teens but the research suggests that due to the vast technology options available, it’s the teenagers that may be changing their parents listening habits.

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