Water slides, garage doors, and movie tickets might not sound like the activities of an average day, but listeners who act on radio ads are making plans in exactly those places, and they are doing it at rates well beyond people who respond to advertising in general.
Katz Radio Group analyzed Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2026 Release 1 data to measure the activities consumers plan to pursue over the next 12 months, comparing adults influenced by radio advertising with those influenced by advertising overall. Both groups are made up of adults who have taken action as a result of an ad in the past three months, and each is indexed against the average US adult, with 100 representing the norm.
According to Katz, radio ad-influenced consumers index higher than the broader ad-influenced group across entertainment, automotive, home improvement, and sports betting, with the widest margins tied to experiences and major purchases.
Indoor water parks show the largest gap. Radio ad-influenced consumers index at 218 for planning a visit, compared with 131 among consumers influenced by advertising overall, an 87-point difference Katz labels its Radio Advantage.
Sports betting follows, with radio ad-influenced consumers at 195 versus 117 for the overall ad-influenced group, a 78-point margin. In 2024, Research Director Inc.’s Marc Greenspan wrote for Radio Ink that sports betting advertising spend was estimated at more than $2 billion, with radio capturing more than its historical 7% share of the category.
Vehicle plans also lean toward radio. Radio ad-influenced consumers index at 134 for planning to buy a motorcycle, while those influenced by advertising overall fall below the national average at 95, a 39-point spread. For luxury vehicles of any size, the radio group indexes at 148 against 110, a 38-point edge.
Home projects show smaller but consistent margins. Plans to replace garage doors come in at 126 among radio ad-influenced consumers versus 101, and plans to repair a home foundation register at 112 versus 100.
Looking back rather than ahead, the radio group was also more likely to have attended a movie on its opening weekend in the previous 12 months, indexing at 115 compared with 104.
Katz previously found that two-thirds of US adults had taken action because of an ad in the prior three months, and one in four of that group credited a radio ad. Sports betting stood out then as well, with radio-influenced adults 68% more likely than the average adult to take part, 56 points ahead of the average ad-influenced consumer.
