Using commercial radio to drive response

With its huge reach, low ad avoidance, and ability to reach people at relevant times, radio is a strong call to action medium. This section demonstrates radio’s ability to drive response - either as a true direct response medium e.g. “go to this website now”; or more subtly as an indirect response medium used to reach out to listeners to give them new information or stir their interest in an offer.

1 Why Use Radio?

Audio Now research

Demonstrates the continued relevance of radio and the different need states it fulfils for the listener, including Broadening Horizons which highlights how listeners actively seek new information on the radio.

High reach

With 66% weekly reach of adults and low ad avoidance, Commercial Radio has the ability to exert influence across a wide audience

Efficient targeting

  • Reaching audiences efficiently at relevant times can boost ad effectiveness and help response advertisers achieve a lower cost per response.
  • Audiences can be bought more cost-efficiently on radio than most other media

Reaching at the right time

  • Nearly half of listeners have been online at the same time in the last 7 days (Touchpoints 6)
  • Listening via mobile - 1 in 4 adults listen to radio via a mobile or tablet at least once a month (RAJAR Q2 2016)

2Proof of Effectiveness

Radiocentre has conducted a wide range of research studies over the years that demonstrate how radio can play an effective role in driving response.

Online Multiplier

As response advertising increasingly seeks to drive people online, Radiocentre’s Online Multiplier research demonstrates how radio can increase online brand browsing by over 50%.

radioGAUGE Predict

Our ongoing campaign measurement research reveals the extent to which radio drives awareness and consideration for campaigns seeking to drive response:

  • 51% average uplift in Ad Awareness for call-to-action campaigns
  • 28% average uplift in Brand Consideration for call-to-action campaigns
(Based on average uplifts experienced across 388 Call to action radio campaigns)


Most popular call-to-action methods used within Radio ads

77%

Visit website

23%

Go in store

13%

Phone

5%

Search term

5%

SMS

1%

Facebook


(Based on 388 call-to-action radio campaigns measured on radioGAUGE)

Sales Multiplier

If you’re aiming to drive a sales response, this research reveals radio’s ability to drive short-term FMCG sales by an average of 9%


ROI Multiplier

Based on analysis of confidential econometric data across over 2,000 media campaigns this study demonstrates that brands using radio get their money back nearly eight times over on average - second only to TV. More importantly, in sectors seeking to drive a short term response (including Retail, Automotive, Finance and Travel) radio offers the best ROI of any medium.


Case studies

Selected case studies focusing on how advertisers have utilised radio to drive a response


Radio advertising helps BA’s web traffic and online ticket sales ‘take-off’



Using Radio to drive awareness and response amongst a teen audience.



Driving online sign ups amongst Audi customers



Creating ‘thirst appeal’ at relevant times to generate a high text response



Using presenter endorsements to drive a change in behaviour within the community, including over 10,000 businesses signing up to take part in Lights Out London.



Using radio to drive competition entries, digital engagement and ultimately sales for the launch of a new beauty product.



Using Radio to encourage listeners to Shazam a track and access online branded content across multiple platforms.


Creativity

Getting radio creativity right can really elevate campaign results – find out how you can maximise your response through creative development


Measuring radio’s effect on response

Top tips on how to measure Radio’s role in driving a response


3Useful tools

A selection of tools available on the Radiocentre website that will enable you to enhance the effectiveness of your radio campaign

Station mapping - Our Mapping tool enables you to create maps of the coverage areas for UK commercial radio stations. Searching by region/place will highlight which national and local commercial radio stations are available in your area.

Snapshots - Research demonstrates that reaching people at relevant times can help enhance cut through and effectiveness of a campaign. From the school run to working/studying through to childcare, Snapshots provides you with IPA TouchPoints data, case studies and audio to help demonstrate why radio is relevant for reaching people in the moment.



radioGAUGE Predict - Use this tool to find out how radio drives awareness, consideration, and relevance across different sectors and media mixes, all based on actual campaign data.



Ad finder - Search our database for radio ads based on call to action attributes