Study: Ads Are Part of the Radio Experience Too

Broadcasters who create ads for clients need to be careful about the context.
That’s one of the findings in a study by the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab into how radio works and how to maximize its effectiveness.
The study by Wirthlin Worldwide “demonstrates how radio advertising affects consumers in ways that are different from television and newspapers,” RAEL stated.
Committee member Natalie Swed Stone, U.S. director of national radio investment for OMD, said consumers perceive all radio program material – including ads – as speaking to listeners personally, rather than to a mass audience.
“The study verifies that more attention needs to be paid to the attributes of radio and its strength in delivering the strong personal connection with consumers that advertisers crave,” she stated.
For advertisers, the organization, the report indicates several things: that “the personal nature of the radio medium is reflected in the expectation that radio advertising is directed personally to the listener, and that radio advertisers are ‘trying to reach me personally’; that radio reaches people at an emotional level at least as well as television and much more than newspapers; and that, given how strongly people identify with ‘their’ stations (and ‘their ads’), radio’s ability to be effective and to generate excellent ROI shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
For broadcasters, it means “programming and advertising are part of the same experience for listeners; the process of selling – of seeking new advertisers – needs to consider environmental compatibility; broadcasters who create ads for their clients need to be equally careful about context; and radio ads can, and should try to, reach people at a personal and emotional level.”
The study is at www.radioadlab.org/reports.htm.