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Why Radio Advertising is a Great Bet!

When it comes to advertising, radio isn’t a medium that comes readily to mind.  However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a viable option for attracting new customers, especially when audio consumption is at an all-time high. For example, according to a 2024 Nielsen survey “radio remains one of the centerpieces of the media universe, reaching 92% of U.S. adult listeners each week, more than any other platform.”

As a medium, radio is a fantastic option not only for ambitious small and medium-sized businesses looking to grow, but for large businesses as well in those situations where the business strategy requires that the large advertiser’s products be consistently and regularly promoted to the targeted audiences. With 36 million listeners, commercial radio advertising provides a variety of benefits.  It cannot be skipped, blocked, or overpowered. Radio advertising helps businesses reach out (i) to new customers in order to build awareness, bring customers to the store, boost response to websites and increase sales; or even (ii) as is the case with old customers, to retain brand loyalty.

If order to figure out how radio can help grow your business and why radio advertisement is a great idea, continue reading.

What is Radio Advertising?

As old-fashioned as radio advertising may sound, it remains a “tried-and-tested” marketing channel for businesses looking to promote a message to a wide audience. Businesses can say a lot more with radio than they can with an online, text-based ad and it can be a more affordable advertising channel in terms of CPM compared to other video and other voice-based advertising.

Radio is different from other forms of media, like print, digital and television advertising because you are totally dependent on script, music, and voice-over to engage your audience. There’s no use of visuals. The goal is to spark the listeners imagination so they can see what you’re describing in your ad, which is why the medium is also referred to as “theatre of the mind”.  Orson Wells’ 1939 radio broadcast of H.G. Well’s “War of the Worlds”, and the ensuing panic, is a testament to the power of radio to stimulate the imagination.

For advertising on the radio, you need to book spots that usually come in the form of 15, 30 or 60 second-length ads. Sponsorship opportunities are also available where the advertiser receives a small acknowledgment before, during, or after a sponsored segment. Radio advertisements also can come in the form of full ads where radio presenters read an ad or play a fully-produced ad with actors and production effects.  Each of these types of radio advertisements has its own unique benefits and trade-offs.

Is Radio Advertising Still Effective?

The answer is, yes! Radio ads reach a large, targeted audience. Collected from various trusted studies and consumer reports, the numbers below will tell you that radio is still going stong.

• 92% of Americans listen to the radio every week. (Nielsen)
• Radio delivers $12 in sales for every $1 spent on advertising. (Nielsen Catalina Solutions)
• 59% of Americans listen to the radio every day. (Nielsen)
• More than 71.2 million adults 18-34 use radio each month. (Nielsen)
• The USA alone has over 6,000 radio stations. (Ads For Carts)
• 25% of individuals get more interested in brands due to radio ads. (Ads For Cat#)
• The radio market is poised to grow by $ 6.57 million during 2021-2025 progressing at a CAGR of almost 3%. (Technavio)
• Radio is one of most accessible forms of media in the world today. (Ads For Carts)
• Radio accounted for 42% of total US time spent with audio. (Edison Research)

How Does Radio Advertising Work for Your Business?

Whatever your objective, radio advertising can play an important role in growing your business. Here’s how:

• It makes your business memorable. As the radio is played a number of times throughout the day, week or month, the ad becomes memorable to the listener. Thus, it stays at the top of the listener’s mind.

• It gives your business a personality. Radio ads are based entirely on the sense of hearing, which means listeners have to use their imagination to create a picture of what they are hearing. The better your script is, the easier it becomes for the listener to see the personality of your brand in that story.

• It results in action. Radio ads have high penetation levels and repetition, which is why they have a high call to action and generate excellent consumer recall.

Why Radio Advertising is A Great Idea?

Now, to get to the point. You’ve learned above what radio advertising is, how it works for your business and why it’s important. But why should you consider it? Because when you listen to the radio you are going to hear commercials. They are the doorway to get your brand in front of consumers all in the span of just a few seconds. It might be challenging, but not impossible. This is why many companies are still allocating marketing budget to try to take advantage of just some of benefits of advertising by radio listed below:

• Cost-effective – When compared to TV and print advertising, studies show that radio yields a better return. If you consider the cost of a print ad on the front page of a daily newspaper or the cost of one TV ad spot, it becomes clear that unless you have deep pockets (or, even if you do, but want greater market penetration than mere print or tv ads can provide), a radio ad can be the proverbial “knight-in-shining armor” for your business.  Radios ads require fewer resources to produce, so as a medium, they are highly cost-effective.

• High Recall – For an ad to be successful it should have high recall and memorability, and radio allows that.  And because radio ads are so cost-effective, repeating a message frequently is possible, thereby leading to extremely high recall levels and memorability. According to studies, sound can be stored effectively inside memory for Ionger periods of time than visuals. This is one of the reasons companies are doing their best to create jingles that are memorable so it stays in the minds of those listening to it for longer.

• Highly Targeted – Radio allows you to target a specific customer base through their listening habits, interests, and time of tuning in. And, being able to get your message in front of the right audience at the right time is critically important.

• Emotional Connection – Audiences today are open to listening from their favorite brand but they demand that you engage them, entertain them or, at least, tell them a good story in exchange for them making available to you their valuable time. Radio is a perfect medium through which an advertiser can capture the attention of its listeners in the form of humor and stories. In this sense, it is easier to connect emotionally with the audience.

• Track Effectiveness – Radio ads allow you to see if the ad is being effective on a daily and weekly basis. Another great thing about it is that you can easily move them to a different time slot if you are not satisfied with the results.

• Reach Anywhere – Whether your listeners are driving, cleaning the house, cooking, working, or out in the garden you can reach them anywhere. Radio is the only medium capable of this, i.e., being able to listen while doing other things.

• Short Production Time – Producing a television or print ad can take weeks or even months.  But, with a radio advertisement, you can produce it in less time and get it to market in just a few days.
• Low Production Cost- Radio ads don’t require any hair and make-up cost, lights, camera or shooting location. This cuts down the cost of producing a radio ad to a minimum in comparison with a television commercial.

Some Final Thoughts!

Seek out the right voice artist if you want to make your radio ad campaign a success. The voice you choose will be the spokesperson for your company and possibly the human point of contact. Therefore, careful consideration needs to be taken in choosing the targeted market’s desired voice, age, accent, and style of delivery for the ad.

Radio cornmercials offer a plethora of advantages over other forms of media. Al you need is the right stimulus for the “theatre of the mind” to kick in and to create imagery that is far superior to print or television.

The pandemic provided some amazing opportunities: from it, it has become clear that people are still loyal to radio. So, don’t waste the chance.

For help getting started with radio advertisements, reach out to our team or visit us at invent-americaradio.com. We can help you create the right radio ad with the right voice to cater to your most important audience.