Radio Salespeople Have a New Tool to Help Their Advertisers … and Themselves

December 21, 2020

A recently released study from CUMULUS MEDIA/Westwood One and the RAB will prove to be an invaluable resource for radio salespeople. It will allow advertisers to determine the appropriate spot level needed to achieve their specific campaign goals. In most cases, it documents that the client should actually increase their spending on a radio station. This could be perceived as a ploy to pry more budget out of an advertiser. We strongly suggest that these findings be positioned as insight. This data will help you assist your clients to place more effective campaigns with better results. And in turn, that enhances your credibility.

We have all been taught the importance of frequency. Many of us latched onto OES (Optimum Effective Scheduling). What we learned in this recent study stems from the same concept, but has more impressive data to support it.

It splits the advertiser’s goal into different levels, depending on what they want to achieve. The study defined these levels as:

• Very light and light schedules: Ideal for advertisers who want a maintenance campaign with modest levels of reach and frequency.
• Medium schedule: A general sales event or promotional campaign where a good number of listeners are reached often.
• Heavy schedule: A major sales event or product launch where many people are reached very frequently.

The study uses turnover, which is Cume Persons divided by AQH Persons. In many ways, it is the inverse of Time Spent Listening. The higher the TSL, the lower the turnover, and therefore the fewer spots that are needed to achieve the desired frequency.

This study addresses how many weekly spots are needed to achieve the preferred outcome. It varies by station, and a general guide is provided by format.

Best of all, these results have been measured and documented. A massive study of 310 auto dealers tracked website traffic lift from 1.8 million radio ads. As revealed in the chart below, one can clearly see that, as ad count increased, website lift rose significantly.

As stated in last week’s Hot Topics, this proof of attribution is important for radio to demonstrate the power and impact of an ad campaign.

Instead of accepting a 15-18 spot order that would have minimal impact, this study shows that – with the proper investment – an advertiser will realize tremendous results.

If you’d like to discuss how these findings can help your station’s bottom line, please reach out to us here.

-Charlie Sislen, Partner

• Tweet