When it comes to NFL fans, ads that talk like the game pay off, especially on radio. A case study of an online gaming company’s football-themed audio spots converted at a lower cost than generic messaging, and the NFL tie-in lifted recall, favorability, and purchase intent.
The advertiser, which the Cumulus Media/Westwood One case study does not name, ran an audio campaign from September 4, 2025, through January 18, 2026, across broadcast radio, AM/FM streaming, and podcasts, and delivered 391.3 million impressions.
Claritas measured every channel against the same outcome: first purchases.
Broadcast radio drove 6,126 of the campaign’s 6,628 30-day first purchases at a cost per action of $60.87. AM/FM streaming cost $238.31 per first purchase across 449 purchases, and podcasts cost $1,000 across 53. The campaign averaged $80.40.
Football-themed creative performed best, cutting cost per action 22% to $62.08 from $79.05 and requiring 30% fewer impressions per conversion.
A Quantilope brand study, fielded January 21 to 23, compared 500 respondents exposed to the Westwood One NFL campaign with 500 who were not. Interest in casual, free online games reached 69% among the exposed group versus 33%, a 109% increase. Aided awareness climbed to 50% from 26%, and favorability to 29% from 9%. Use consideration rose to 30% from 8%. Total ad recall rose to 22% from 10%, and recall of the company’s AM/FM radio advertising tripled to 6% from 2%.
Among exposed respondents, 62% said they were likely to go online for more information about the company, versus 29% of the unexposed group, and 58% said they were likely to play games on its site, versus 25%. Respondents interested in online social games listen across formats. Among the 328 who expressed interest, Oldies/Classic Hits led at 59%, followed by Adult Contemporary at 54%, Classic Rock at 52%, and R&B and Hip-Hop and News/Talk at 51% each.
