Top 5 Takeaways From a Bombshell Radio Study

There’s talking the talk. Then there’s walking the walk. 

Most of us know the meaning; that anyone can say they do something, but when the time comes to deliver results, how do they fare?

The kicker in advertising, is that if you get prospective consumers talking about you - you are walking the walk. And that notion was further bolstered by a recent study commissioned by the Radio Advertising Bureau. Conducted by sterling data and analytics firm Engagement Labs, the study illuminated just how powerful radio is for sparking brand conversations among consumers.

You can read the full story here, but what lies below is a much more practical guide for business owners who want to get people talking about their operations. Enjoy the top 5 takeaways from this detailed radio study, each of which will consist of an excerpt followed by analysis.

1. “The study found heavy radio listeners engage in 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, outpacing heavy users of other media channels, including TV, social media, magazines and newspapers.”

Newspapers, sure, we’d have maybe seen that coming. Magazines perhaps, albeit to a lesser extent. But social media and television? But they’re newer. More innovative, more tech-friendly.

Okay, while those traits may apply, they’re not as trustworthy, a quality achieved only with time. And for radio, it’s got over 100 years of solid undeniable proof of reach. So people talk about the businesses they hear on the radio, because they know that what they heard is reliable.

2. Okay, so radio might stand above other mediums. But by how much. Surely it’s a close call…

Shocking even the most ardent radio enthusiasts, the airwaves top the next-closest medium - social media - by over 25% in generating brand conversations. Heck, it’s almost as much as heavy television viewers and heavy magazine readers combined! Keep in mind, all this dominance comes at costs that are often less compared to other mediums. Now, for #3, let’s talk semantics, and get to the bottom of this term “heavy users” that’s been tossed around.

3.  “Heavy radio users are defined as spending 2+ hours with the medium per day. The threshold is the same for heavy TV and social media users but drops to 1+ hours per day for heavy newspaper and magazine users.”

2+ hours?! Look, this study could have opted for one hour. Heck, 30 minutes is a wealth of time for a person to devote to a medium, in this age of perpetual bombardment of information.

4. “The study found that radio dominates brand conversations across 15 business categories, including sports, financial services, food & dining, healthcare, media & entertainment, and technology.”

The study could have easily pigeon-holed its areas of focus to inflate effectiveness of radio. But there wasn’t even a need. Think about the fixtures in our lives that belong in the realms of finances, food, healthcare, entertainment and technology? If it exists, and a business wants to make it known to more people, radio is without doubt the premier way to go about it.

5. “The study found that just over half (51%) of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, slightly better than the national average of 49%. This impact is more pronounced in sectors like automotive, sports, telecom, technology, beverages and healthcare.”

This may be the most underrated statistic from the study.

Think about Budweiser’s infamous “Wazzup” campaign. Now, it was a master class in brand awareness; but just how many people do you suspect were influenced to go and actually purchase a 12-pack, rather than just mimic the world-famous ads?

It’s a fine line, but this radio data shows its power in ensuring the rubber hits the road. Conversations are great, without question. But conversations that have a direct hand in an uptick in sales, are pure delight. The type only brought by radio’s 100+ years of dependability in spreading the word, especially for local businesses.

Boise’s Best Radio Advertising

We know how to get the people talking. And we have the most people in the Treasure Valley listening, as we can proudly say our stations are top-rated. And if you want to join the lengthy list of Treasure Valley businesses that have enjoyed their best year yet thanks to the power of good local radio, it’d make our day to chat.