Study: Radio is still reaching consumers
A recent study from the Center for Research Excellence could change the way advertisers look at radio, as a stand alone media buy, and as part of a cross-platform marketing campaign. According to the study radio is still the audio device which captures the majority of US consumers. The study finds that radio captures 77% of the US, adult, consumer base.
by Kristina Knight
Television is the audio/visual device to capture the biggest share of consumers with 95%, not surprising even with the skyrocketing consumption of online video.
The radio findings, though, will likely surprise many marketers who have lessened their radio advertising budgets in favor of the more engaged online, television and even newspaper audiences. According to the report broadcast and satellite radio reach 70% of the US population each day, with the average consumer listening to 122 minutes each day. Portable audio devices, such as the iPod or MP3 players reach 11% of the population, with very little chance for advertising messages.
Where are consumers listening? During daily commutes (74% broadcast radio consumption) or at home (46% of broadcast consumption). For satellite radio, at-home listening is slightly higher than in the car, but listening at work (12%) is the most likely place to find consumers listening.
The problem with radio advertising comes with seeing that consumers are listening in cars more than at work or at home as it is unlikely that the consumer will write down a telephone number or complicated street address or that they will deeply engage with the ad in general. To combat this, marketers must rethink radio advertising. Rather than running a complicated – and long – radio spot, it would likely be more beneficial to think of the radio spot as a compliment to the online ad, enticing the consumer to learn more by logging on to the website
There are a plethora of advertising possibilities in radio, however, from news or sports sponsorships to weather updates or traditional run-of-schedule placements.
