The Radio Advantage: Tremendous Reach with Great Targetability

January 16, 2014

Today we begin a six-part series highlighting the advantages of radio as an advertising medium. Our first blog discusses how radio offers both tremendous reach and amazing targetability.

In today’s marketplace, one of the many challenges that marketers face is being able to effectively reach their target audience. With myriad choices available, and ever-shrinking budgets, it has become even more challenging to reach the right audience at the right time with the right message at the right cost. Right?

Fortunately, radio remains a constant medium in the daily lives of consumers. According to Nielsen Audio, radio reaches an impressive 91% (241.8 million) of all Americans age 12 or older every week. In fact, despite an increasing selection of other media options that are available, radio listeners continue to turn to radio for news, information, and entertainment. And, according to the December 2013 RADAR report provided by Nielsen, radio has increased its reach by more than 700,000 weekly listeners 12 years or older each year.

The ubiquitous nature of radio makes it a 24/7 medium, reaching consumers wherever they are throughout the day. Whether the consumer is at home, in the car, or at work, and regardless of one’s age, race/ethnicity, gender, the time of day, or listening location, Americans depend on radio as a reliable media companion. In fact, with over 11,000 radio stations, 7,000 streaming stations, and more than 1,800 digital stations available, reaching your target has never been easier.

According to the Radio Advertising Bureau’s Why Radio Fact Sheet, “Proliferating media options mean Americans have more and more choices where to spend their media time. Because Radio is easily available just about everywhere — and because Radio may be enjoyed while accessing other media — Radio captures over 16.25 hours of tune-in each week, providing many opportunities for your advertising message to make an impact!”

Radio’s variety of formats allows you to effectively zero in on the station or stations that best match your customer’s interests. Whether you are targeting a demographic by age, geography, social or common interest groups, it is easy to identify the stations locally, regionally, or nationally that reach that audience. For example, if you are looking to target African Americans, there is no better way of targeting or reaching this demographic than radio, especially since radio reaches 92% of all African Americans weekly.

With radio you are able to identify not only which stations are the most effective but also what times, personality, and even station events that your target demographic is listening to or participating in. This gives advertisers the ability to be very specific when getting their message out to their target audience, and thus gaining the greatest impact, as well as increasing their “share of mind.”

When utilizing radio there is very little question as to whether you will be able to effectively target and reach your desired audience. Even with the huge selection of media options that are available to consumers, radio is still a consistent part of everyday life as most Americans still rely upon radio for everything from news and weather to entertainment. With a well-crafted message and targeted media plan, advertisers are able to significantly enhance their efficiency and ensure their message is being heard by the right people.

-Gigi Bodwin, Sales Research Consultant

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