How successful is radio advertising? Radio advertising is not fading away any time soon; in fact, it’s growing. Many top brands, including Procter and Gamble, Comcast Corporation, and Berkshire Hathaway, spend millions a year publicizing their brands on the radio.
If you are among the marketers doubting radio advertising's effectiveness, read on to find out how powerful it really is!
Is Radio Advertising Still Popular?
Although classified as a traditional mode of advertising, radio advertising is still very popular and effective for all ages, races, and demographics. According to News Generation’s website Radio Facts and Figures, 92% of people listen to radio, surpassing even television viewership at 87%. Organizations like Nielsen Audio, Radio Advertising Bureau, Radio Ink, and All Access have a wealth of knowledge and research supporting radio and its popularity with virtually all audiences.
Reports show that most Americans listen to the radio weekly, meaning an ad running for a week can reach millions of target customers.
Listener Habits
An average American spends at least 99 minutes listening to their favorite radio station daily. They enjoy listening to music shows, especially those playing rock, pop, and country music. Furthermore, radio lovers enjoy news, comedy, and sports shows.
Radio stations get the most audience listenership at 7 AM, noon, and 3 PM on a regular workday and on weekends from morning to afternoon.
Radio Growth in Recent Years
IBISWorld indicates that the U.S. market’s radio broadcasting growth in 2022 was 1.5%. While that number seems small, when you learn that the total market size is $23.6 billion, you’ll see 1.5% is quite a bit, meaning radio’s audience is steadily growing. Reliable radio advertising is expected to keep growing in the next five years.
Broadcast Radio and Streaming Radio
Broadcast radio is no longer the only way Americans consume content from their favorite stations. But, two-thirds of savvy radio lovers claim they stream their favorite shows online at least once a month.
The increase in people streaming radio has paved the way for new avenues like streaming radio advertising. Besides streaming radio advertising, marketers target their audience through banners on various radio streaming websites.
Industries That Use Radio Advertising
Radio broadcasting is a valuable advertising channel for all industries, including automotive, healthcare, financial, education, entertainment, recruiting, retail, hospitality, insurance, and real estate. In 2021, the retail sector was the largest consumer of radio ads — it spent around $247 million.
Companies like Proctor & Gamble, Geico, Indeed, and the U.S. Government Center for Disease Control have taken the top spots in the amount of radio advertising in recent years, according to Paul McLane and Media Monitors. These are all household names, and it has a lot to do with branding with radio advertising.
The Likelihood of Purchasing from a Radio Ad
How successful is radio advertising? Listeners trust their favorite radio hosts more than other marketing ads. Therefore, the listeners are likelier to try out a product advertised on the radio than online or social media.
Trust and Credibility
For an extended period, Americans have trusted radio as a source of trustworthy news on sports, politics, and other trending issues. As such, they consider adverts from the radio to be reliable and credible. Studies show that radio is among the most trusted marketing platforms, ranking top of social media, magazines, television, and website content.
.jpg?width=1000&height=660&name=radio%20listenership%20(1).jpg)
Why Radio Advertising is Worth it for Your Business
So, how successful is radio advertising? With an excellent audience reach and strong credibility, radio advertising is a valuable marketing channel for companies. It gives instant influence to millions of Americans, who tune in to catch their favorite music, news, sports, and comedy shows. In addition to the excellent reach, radio advertising stands out for several reasons. They include the following.
Affordability
Radio advertising is often cheaper than TV ads, billboards, and digital ads. Despite the low price, radio ads offer a reasonable ROI, similar to what you would get from expensive forms of marketing.
Broad Audience Reach
According to a Survey by Nielson, 93 percent of Americans listen to the radio weekly, compared to 88 percent who watch television. That's because people can listen to their favorite stations while driving, at home, or on mobile devices while away from home.
Brand Awareness
Radio and digital advertising together engage customers across various touchpoints, improving brand awareness in unique ways. Furthermore, the ability to reach up to 90 percent of American consumers makes radio an excellent way to popularize your brand.
Customer Traffic
Radio advertising can increase your customer traffic in remarkable ways. That's because many customers trust ads on the radio.
The ROI of Radio
A study by Inside Radio indicates that for every $1 spent on advertising, companies get $12 as profit. In addition to the ROI generated directly, radio ads increase the ROI of other marketing platforms like social media and websites by sending some traffic to such platforms.
Radio Advertising with Mid-West Family
Radio advertising effectiveness depends on how well your marketing message is crafted. A good ad should be attention-grabbing, memorable, emotion-laden, and consistent.
Another way to state this is by utilizing The AIDA Model with your radio advertising. The first “A” is top of the funnel and is here again to get the consumer’s attention. “I” is for maintaining and increasing the consumer’s interest in your company and brand. “D” is for creating the want and desire for your product or service. And the final “A” is for getting the consumer’s intention to take action and purchase for the full funnel effect in marketing.
Let Mid-West Family guide you through the process. Having handled radio ads for decades, our team will help you deliver the right impact. Contact us to learn how you can amplify your marketing campaign with radio and digital advertising together.
