10 Reasons To Advertise on Radio

1. Targeting

• Radio’s diversity of programming affords advertisers niche channels to zero in on narrow target groups.

• Formats allow advertisers to speak selectively to consumers they want to reach.

• Local/regional structure means brands can focus on key marketing areas.

2. Immediacy

• Radio is on 24/7, reaching 90% of people age 12 and older every week.

• Consumers vary in their stages of the purchase cycle – on-going Radio ads allow your product or brand to be front and center when people are ready to buy, even during off seasons.

• Radio reaches consumers close to the time and location of purchase, whether they’re in-store or online shoppers.

• Reach listeners in-car when they’re driving to stores, restaurants, etc.

3. Ubiquity

• Radio is a mobile medium, reaching people at home, at work, at play, in cars.

• It’s a companion and an advertising force that accompanies advertisers’ customers wherever they go.

4. Loyalty

• “Radio continues to be perceived as central to people’s lives, especially when contrasted with the precipitous decline by other traditional media” – Arbitron/Edison “Infinite Dial”.

• Listeners tend to listen to relatively few radio stations and are extremely loyal to their favorites.

• Research shows that Radio listeners have a low level of ad avoidance, staying tuned in through commercial breaks.

• Because ads can run frequently and listeners tend to stay tuned for long periods of time, a brand that is big in Radio can create a disproportionately large share of mind for itself.

5. Engaging

• Listeners feel an emotional connection with their preferred Radio stations. Passive forms of advertising merely list merchandise or tell where a product is available, radio is an active medium capable of stirring emotion, creating demand and selling products and services.

• Radio is a call-to-action medium.

6. Intimacy

• Approximately 1/3 of TV time is devoted to commercials, about 2/3 of newspapers are comprised of ad copy, and Internet users are now subjected to a barrage of advertising.

• With an average of 10 commercial minutes per hour (about 1/5 of each hour), Radio affords an uncluttered environment for advertisers.

• Radio ads are always forefront for the listener’s attention – ads aren’t surrounded by competitors’ spots or buried in the back pages.

7. Synergy

• Radio has a “multiplier effect” on other media.

• Audio-only medium stimulates a different part of the brain than video, print, online images

• Adding Radio increases recall of TV, newspaper, Internet ads.

• Radio is proven to drive consumers to advertisers’ web sites.

8. Frequency

• Consumers need to be exposed to ad messages multiple times before they begin to respond.

• Radio’s relatively low cost in relation to other media allows advertisers to use multiple stations to reach their targets and build frequency levels for maximum impact.

9. Creative Flexibility

• Radio stars in the theater of the mind, stimulates emotion-filled images within the listener’s own mind – voices, music, sound effects, recall of video images.

• No matter how small or large the advertiser, Radio allows creativity to brand and create a unique identity that consumers will remember.

• Affordable production allows tailoring ads for compatibility to various formats, increasing appeal to listeners.

• Radio advertisers can adapt quickly to changes in their own situations and marketplace to make sure their dollars are effectively utilized.

10. Cost Effectiveness

• Radio production costs less than TV, print.

• Radio is less expensive to buy than most major media, allowing advertisers to afford maximum reach and effective frequency.

("10 Reasons Radio Advertising Works" - Radio Advertising Bureau, RAB.com)