Traditional Radio Ads vs Internet Radio Ads

Throughout its existence, radio has continuously survived through the rise of new technologies that many thought would bring about its death.

The many deaths of traditional radio

First, it was newsreels before movies, then television, and now the internet is the latest threat to traditional radio. However, radio is still holding strong. In fact, 92% of the American population listens to the radio every week, with 69% of that listening occurring outside of the home.

Not only do Americans still listen to the radio, but the way radio is set up, with stations catering to specific areas and demographics, makes it a great opportunity for advertisers. If you only want to advertise to specific cities, you would just only have your ads play on stations in those cities. If you have a demographic in mind, you can find stations that cater to that demographic.

A Clear Channel study found that, for every $1 spent on radio ads, there was a $6 lift in sales. In case you were wondering “is radio advertising still effective,” that 6-to-1 return on ad spend should show you that radio advertising is still incredibly effective.

However, there is a new perceived threat to traditional radio: internet radio.

Streaming services and internet radio advertising

With the advent of the internet has come an age where everything is becoming digitized, including radio. Many radio stations are now online and can be listened to across the country, whereas before you had to live within the area where the radio signal was broadcast. There are also radio stations that are ONLY online.

The digital age has also seen the dawning of an age of streaming. Services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, different radio apps, and more offer listeners different ways to listen. When it comes to music listening, streaming services now hold about 33.2% of market share, whereas traditional radio is at 15.9% market share. Podcast advertising have also seen a dramatic rise in popularity.

Many of these streaming or internet radio services offer location-based targeting online radio advertising. Internet radio advertising rates are also typically cheaper than traditional radio ads. All of this makes streaming audio advertising a terrific opportunity for advertisers to run online radio ads.

Traditional vs internet radio: which is right for you?

So traditional radio is still extremely effective and internet radio is similar, cheaper, yet more complex. What does this mean for advertisers? Which platform should you run your radio ads on?

The answer is that it depends on numerous factors, including:

• – Your product or service
• – Your target audience
• – Your advertising budget

Work with Hybrid Media to run traditional radio ads or radio ads online

For professional help getting your traditional or online radio ads heard by your target audience, work with the team at Hybrid Media. Put our team’s 300+ years of marketing and media experience to work for you.

Direct Response advertising focuses on delivering ROI by quickly capturing the attention of listeners and leading them to a call to action. At Hybrid Media, we purchase millions of dollars of low-cost media each week, resulting in significant savings for all of our clients. How much can you save? Contact us for a free consultation today!