Radio: The Undercover Hero of Advertising

Technology is everywhere and any source of information can be accessed by the quick click of a button. Today, advertising spans across so many new media platforms. But even with the advent of all this new technology, one form of veteran advertising media is still the undercover hero of advertising – radio. Who knew?

Radio is the only medium that truly is everywhere – in homes, cars, restaurants, stores and at work. According to Arbitron, nearly 93% of the US population listens to radio and more than 188 million people hear multiple radio commercials in an average week.

According to the University of Florida, 95 percent of people in their cars listen to the radio and the average American spends 15 hours per week driving, and this makes radio a valuable medium. And radio also has a larger audience than television from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm every day and often hosts the last advertising message the consumer hears before reaching their point of purchase.

Radio is highly targetable. Not only does radio have the ability to reach a wide range of attentive listeners, but radio listeners are loyal to their station, making it easy to target a station for a particular demographic or listener profile. It’s is also an effective direct response medium and advertisers can track the number of listeners on any station at any given time.

Radio is quick to produce and is cost-efficient. Unlike television, radio can be produced in as little as 24 to 48 hours with production costs usually much lower than other mediums. Radio’s low cost per thousand can increase the frequency, reach and longevity of ad campaigns and can therefore increase the company’s return on investment (ROI). In fact, according to a recent Nielsen-Catalina study, when advertising on the radio, on average, there is a $6 ROI for every $1 spent.

So when it comes to choosing your next media strategy, consider including a classic media and let radio be the hero of your message.