Three Advantages To Advertising On The Radio

The digital age has presented advertisers and marketers with more mediums and opportunities to reach their target audiences than ever before. With more and more marketing options, it has become more confusing than ever to figure out where you might get the best return on your marketing budget.

In an age filled with smart devices, where you may be shown ads on your gas pump or even by your refrigerator, you may be surprised to discover that radio advertising is STILL one of the best ways to reach your target audience.

Here are three advantages of radio advertising:

Reach

According to Pew Research Center, 83% of people aged 12 and up listen to traditional radio every day. That doesn’t even include the fact that online radio services continue to experience growth as more and more people use services like Spotify, Pandora, and listen to Podcasts.

Traditional radio may be trending downwards in listeners, but digital radio is more than making up for those lost listeners, as they gain millions of listeners each year.

Retention

No other ads work quite like radio media advertising. When listening to the radio, you need to actively listen, giving it your full attention. This partially explains the rise in the popularity of podcasts, which is a medium or rich storytelling. There also is a trust factor; listeners will trust their local radio more than a major tv network or ads they see on the internet.

As radio engages listeners differently than other marketing mediums, it also is able to drive consumers behaviors unlike other forms of advertising. Radio advertising has been shown to be more effective at getting people to go online and make a purchase, getting people to stop at a restaurant, or at boosting memorability for a product.

ROI

Besides reaching a wider audience and having better engagement, radio also is the most cost effective medium, giving radio advertisers the biggest bang for their ad spend. This is partially because of those first two factors (better reach and engagement) but also because radio advertising costs are typically lower than other mediums.

Nielsen ran a study where they matched credit and debit card purchases to exposure from advertising through radio. The results showed that there was a dramatic return on ad spend (ROAS) in markets where radio ads were run, as compared to markets without radio ads.

Why is the radio an important tool for marketing?

There are three distinct advantages to radio media advertising: wider reach, higher engagement, and increased ROI. Radio really is a can’t-miss marketing channel for most advertisers.

If you’d like to get started advertising on the radio, contact Hybrid Media today!