5 Advantages of Radio Advertising that You Shouldn't Ignore
A glance at the surface and it's easy for a lot of people to assume that radio is perhaps well on its way to obsolescence. But if you really looked at official research, they would be quick to prove you wrong. And they can still tell you that radio has unique advantages that perhaps other advertising platforms aren't privy to.
So this begs the question, is radio still an active and competitive player in the advertising game?
The short answer is 'yes.' And here are a couple of statistics that would say radio is not quite out of the game yet.
- More than 243 million American adults tune in to the radio every month.
- Approximately 71.6 million Millennials make use of radio each month.
- Close to 80.5 million of Generation X listen to the radio.
- 41.2 million Boomers tune into the radio each month.
But even when you just think about it or observe in daily life.
People switch the radio on when they're in their cars. Some have the radio playing in the background as they work in the office, or as they're doing household chores at home. Many can also agree that radio is adapting to digitalization just like television.
Think about how often you hear about internet radio, podcasts, and audio streaming services. This along with traditional radio is far from being deemed as an outdated channel.
It still remains as a vital and active ingredient in your business' advertising plans.
5 Advantages of Radio Advertising
Despite all the changes that happened in the last decade and on how Americans access music, AM and FM is still one of the most cost-effective advertising mediums of today. It's an inexpensive way to reach existing and potential customers.
The demise of radio is an exaggerated event that has been going around for decades. Even after all the alternatives, radio remains as a strong and productive medium for all advertisers who are using it.
#1 Radio's reach
With radio advertising as one of the leading reach platforms, it's easy to understand why radio advertisers are more willing to dedicate an increasing budget to marketing over the airwaves. Reach is the measure by which the radio can broadcast commercials to different people.
Each radio station across the country has different coverage areas. Every area will have specific data on demographics, and facts have proven that radio reaches so many media consumers -- 93% of adults listen to the radio, in fact.
This wide and limited reach for radio holds an advantage for businesses who want to advertise. You can cherry-pick the radio stations you want to coordinate with in order to advertise, depending on your target audience.
#2 Contextual targeting
Various advertising agencies in Perth, Vancouver, New York, London, etc can agree that radio is one of the few advertising mediums that already come with a loyal and built-in audience. (Unless of course, this radio station is new).
A lot of avid radio listeners have one or two favorite radio stations that they tune in to their programs regularly.
The fun fact about heavy radio users is that while they're working, they're listening in to their daily-habit programs. They tune in at specific times. For a fact, radio ads can even be tailored to specific times of the day to ensure that you're hitting your desired audience at the right time.
As an advertiser, you get unique co-branding opportunities.
#3 Geographic targeting
Established radio stations in one country have both a local and national audience. So, as an advertiser, you get the best of both worlds if you want. Radio is one of the few media advertising channels that lets brands have a large amount of control over who gets to hear and experience the ad and when.
Radio spots can run on local stations and programming, or they can be distributed to a larger national audience. Brands are free to target city, state, a region or cover the entire country.
#4 Other variations of radio advertising
There are three audio mainstream mediums that aren't just novelties: podcasts, satellites, and internet radio.
Over the years, these channels have grown and have an increasing sphere of influence, particularly on the younger generation.
Over 57 million Americans aged 12 or older listen to podcasts each month. In fact, Nielsen estimates that podcast advertising revenue can easily exceed $500 million this year. It's a 65% increase over the past two years.
Podcast listeners originate from a wide array of industries. From well-known consumer brands, to B2B markets, to smaller and more niche producers. One of the biggest benefits of podcast advertising is the sophisticated form of tracking available on digital channels.
This way, brands can gather a great deal of information about who hears their ads, how often, and if those listeners respond to them.
Podcast audiences are also very engaged listeners. And among weekly listeners, over one fifth say they listen to four or five podcasts in a week. Moreover, since talk radio is an audio format that needs active listening, the chances of people responding and ready to receive messages are numerous.
#5 Cost-effectivity
Long-time radio advertisers know that advertising over the airwaves are much cheaper than television or print ads. Radio lets your message be delivered to a targeted and captivated audience at a much lower cost. But the cost of paying for an advertisement reaches the same targeted audience.
Taking an Integrated Approach
Just like other marketing and advertising methods, radio can be mixed with others to achieve an integrated approach.
The Takeaway
Our world has changed over the last decade. It's perfectly natural for some people to think that some medium channels would (and might) fade into obscurity.
But radio is the solid proof that you shouldn't out any of them just yet. Because just like any other advertising or marketing channel in our world today, mediums like radio and TV can still keep up with the demands of digitalization.
Radio advertising is one of the most cost-effective and affordable advertising endeavours that your brand can undertake.
