Every day, radio sellers battle an ever-growing litany of digital media platforms for advertising dollars. Yet as brands shift ad spend to social media in an attempt to generate buzz, they could receive 2.6 times the attention per dollar by relying on AM/FM instead.
Attentiveness measurement firm Adelaide found that not all ads are created equal, at least in terms of the attention they command. Adelaide employs a metric known as the “Attention Unit” score to quantify the effectiveness of advertisements in engaging consumers.
For example, Adelaide’s study reveals that to achieve the same level of attentiveness that $1,000 spent on AM/FM radio advertising provides, significantly higher investments would be necessary on platforms like display digital ads and various social media channels. This can range from $1,313 on X/Twitter to a whopping $2,635 on Facebook.
Admittedly, platforms like YouTube, podcasts, and traditional TV require less expenditure to match the attentiveness driven by radio ads. However, Adelaide highlights that despite the absence of visual elements, radio ads nearly match the attentiveness levels of television.
Most noteworthy? AM/FM radio holds 85% of the attentiveness of traditional TV for just one-fourth of the cost-per-thousand – an incredible bargain.
Complementary studies from firms like Lumen and Amplified Intelligence corroborate Adelaide’s findings. Lumen research showed that audio ads not only outperform video in terms of attention and brand recall but also offer greater cost-efficiency on an attention CPM basis. Amplified Intelligence’s study found that AM/FM radio not only competes closely with video for consumer attention but that certain formats like spoken word or news broadcasts can amplify attentiveness even further.
Adelaide CEO and co-founder Marc Guldimann said, “We’re seeing a lot of demand for placement quality data from both sides of the audio market. The strong performance of audio formats challenges long-held assumptions and offers marketers a compelling opportunity to maximize effectiveness.”
A detailed journey into the research can be found in this week’s Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group blog.
Facebook ads can live on, and are content in themselves. Why can’t radio understand this? Also, check the Radio stock prices vs Facebook (Meta). It’s clear where advertisers stand on this issue.
To be fair, re stock prices – there’s one Facebook/Instagram and maybe 4 or 5 other significant social platforms vs how many radio stations/companies, satellite and streaming platforms-? And we all know Facebook won’t give your content from a business page any reach unless you keep buying it. Content with engagement is really just wasted time and money, but hey…you can still feel good about it! 😉
The biggest thing this study and article doesn’t touch on is radio’s ability to be a passive companion in a way unlike most other platforms which require your attention to actually work (especially digital/social). Ears don’t turn off – meaning radio ads can still work with the subconscious whether your listening attentively or not. Combined with those listening attentively makes radio an effective and affordable communication marketing and branding opportunity.