Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
There is no doubt that today’s media landscape is fragmented and that capturing a consumer’s attention is difficult. Brands need a medium that can not only capture their attention, but one that offers scale, boosts other media, engages and delivers results.
Despite these abilities, broadcast radio receives only 4.6% of ad spend in contrast to 14.1% of consumption. Broadcast radio, America’s top reach medium, has the listening and engaged audience that offers what brands need and want. It is their companion throughout their busy day, delivering the news and information and offering entertainment options galore. Radio has the largest in-car share (85%) of a listener’s ear among other ad-supported audio options – even pureplay options like Pandora or Spotify with each only at 2%.
Radio does more than just connect with listeners. It delivers results for those brands that are knowledgeable of and take advantage of radio’s truth. Radio influences behavior and drives brand affinity. It is an amplifier for other media in a mixed media campaign. It does all this and delivers it to brands with the highest return on their investment.
- In a healthcare campaign, radio increased brand awareness by 12% and perception by 5%.
- Social campaigns benefit 83% when a consumer is first exposed to an audio message.
- Shifting 10% of a campaign’s budget to broadcast radio increases a brand’s reach by 20%.
- Radio’s impact on ad spend return is higher ($2.00) than other media options including TV ($1.47) and search ($1.16).
As a regulated medium, radio is federally licensed with the purpose of serving public interests with entertainment and information about and for the communities in which they serve. This also means that radio is held to the highest and strictest standards. Even with technological advancements that have given way for other media to self-report audience data, radio’s audience measurement was standardized and longer. Until recently, radio’s audience was measured based on five minutes of listening but has been revised to three minutes. This shift in measurement is reflective of how people engage with media and broadcast radio today. The important news is that radio’s listening audience is actually greater than it had been reported prior to this measurement shift.
These are radio’s truths. Radio delivers on what brands need – reach, impact and results. Radio is a workhouse for brands.
Go to THIS! Is Radio to learn more about radio’s truths. Find out how radio listening and engagement drives results by commanding attention, connecting with listeners and driving outcomes for brands.