With audio being the fastest growing medium in the world, it is apt that we celebrate World Radio Day on 13 February.
Consumers are hungry for audio content that is available wherever they are, whether it’s on the radio, podcast, or streaming services. The growth of audio is expected to continue, as technology and consumer behaviour continues to evolve.
At the forefront of this audacious audio movement stands radio, leading the charge and pushing boundaries like never before! Radio has revolutionised the way we consume audio content, soaring to new heights and shaking up the status quo. It’s a bold and thrilling time for the audio medium, with new and exciting possibilities on the horizon.
Here are five key reasons why radio is still such a trusted medium among advertisers and consumers alike.
Radio is more relevant than ever
While the debate about the future of traditional media rages on, radio has in recent years solidified its place as more relevant than ever – having been a wide-reaching, trusted and immediate companion in times of instability.
Did you know that radio is ranked as the medium with the second highest reach among South African adults? Radio has been bolstered by new technology, rather than challenged by it, in my view. The different characteristics of live radio and on-demand audio mean that they are each suited to different need-states and play complementary roles in the listener’s life.
Radio is adaptable
Radio has evolved to offer both the listener and the advertiser integrated solutions through multiple touch points – allowing the best of audio and visual content opportunities. Essentially, radio Radio allows brands and businesses to showcase their products to attentive and relevant target markets.
On-air campaigns are complemented with online efforts, extending reach into the digital space. Through technological advancement, we can deliver on demand content wherever and whenever listeners want it.
Radio’s flexibility and the rapid turnaround time of the medium also enables brands to quickly adapt and air a spot.
Radio helps increase the efficiency of media plans
Simply put, audio campaigns work. Research* shows that audio generates five times more brand awareness, and brand relevance is three times more likely with the use of audio.
Adding audio into the mix helps improve the efficiency of a media plan, which is why audio is often referred to as the multiplier medium.
To put these uplifts into perspective, Nielsen has done analysis highlighting that radio’s share of total media spend among advertisers in a typical year is around 8%. This clearly demonstrates how efficiently radio works as part of a wider media mix, driving uplifts of between 24-50% (depending on the measure) using only around 8% of the budget.
Radio adds significant value to the marketing mix
Radio has a unique campaign multiplier effect in the media mix, resulting in a 15% growth** in spontaneous awareness when added into the marketing mix. Egta research shows that radio boosts purchase consideration by a whopping 70%; it also boosts ad recall by 33%.
Radio also goes further than just being a mass medium that can deliver your message to lots of people. Targeting the right consumers at the right time is key to the success of an ad campaign. Radio can provide efficient segmenting based on geographical location, demographics, the time of the day and week and the listening context.
Radio is meaningfully measurable
Using our various research tools and platforms at Mediamark, we are able to unpack our audiences in more detail to allow clients the opportunity to create campaigns that resonate with listeners. By utilising first party data we can communicate directly with our listeners, to gauge audience sentiment and understand how they behave in specific categories. Digital audio, a natural extension of FM offers all the data points advertisers are looking for.
With access to millions of listeners across various platforms we can create customised research solutions for advertisers, in order for them to convey the right message at the right time in the most impactful manner.
This World Radio Day we celebrate that radio remains a constant and a much-loved medium, with the statistics to back it up.
Bathulisile Shongwe is a media strategist at Mediamark.
*Source: Radiocentre.org/research/big-audio-datamine/
**Source: Egta power of radio SNPTV econometric modelisation study, egtabite. 290 by Egta, **RMS AUDIO TOTAL Tracker data
