Taking Your Rightful Place in Automobile Land

October 9, 2014

Picture this. You’re on your way home from work. Or you’re taking your child to soccer practice. Or you got a HAWT date. And, life is great until you enter your car and you hear “that sound.”

It’s a new sound. Not the same one you tried to describe to the mechanic the last time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_N2LvmoVuY). So you turn your Radio on to your favorite P1 station to distract you and drown out that sound, hoping that once you finish belting out Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8), it would have gone away. ♪♪♪ I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up 4 wheel drive … ♪♪♪ WOW!!! Now dude sounds like he needs a new car too, huh?

Many automobile makers and dealerships have a relationship with television. However, Radio should not be intimidated by this oftentimes blinded relationship. In order to get automobile makers and dealerships to take the blinders off and consider first Radio and then your station(s) is to have an educating game plan consisting of valuable research.

Consumers’ Relationship with Radio
Despite what many would have one to believe, Radio continues to be a dominant medium in the U.S. For example, Radio reaches an impressive 94% of all Adults 25-54 every week (RADAR ® 121, June 2014, Monday-Sunday 24-Hour Weekly Cume Estimates, All Radio © Copyright Nielsen Audio). Listeners continue to turn to Radio for news, information, and entertainment – despite an ever-increasing selection of media options.

Listening in Cars Still Dominates
With all of the various alternatives available, listening to Radio while in the car also still dominates. And, those with an interest in making a vehicle purchase are much more in tune to Radio listening. Radio is the place to be in order to reach potential automobile consumers.

In the recent 2013 RAB Automotive F.C.T. Report study it was found that:

• Listening to the Radio while in the car dominates with 91% of the respondents. And, since consumers still choose Radio as their preferred means of entertainment/information while in their cars, this just means advertisers’ messages are going to be heard when it matters most. Remember when they are hearing that irritating sound that is beyond the justification for being fixed, where is the best place to hear an automobile message? While in the car and perhaps just when one is nearby a dealership.
• Radio advertising is most influential for influencing decisions to visit a specific dealership. Radio out-delivers television by four points with men.
• As respondents get closer to buying, advertising influencing goes up, with Radio edging out all others in the last 30 days.

Localize Your Data

With the use of PPM/Diary data, Scarborough, and The Media Audit, you have the ability to localize research based on your market. You are able to create a story/presentation for potential advertisers demonstrating your market/station’s strengths in terms of reach and indices based on:

• Consumers who are tuning in to Radio versus television or any other media.
• Particular automobile makes owned/leased (i.e., Ford, Toyota, domestic, foreign).
• Type of automobile purchase planned (i.e., new, used, luxury).
• Dealerships being considered.
• Who are new car decision makers.
• Automobile dealership’s annual Retail Spending Power.
• Annual household income to show spending power/discretionary income.
• 10-mile radius zip code
• Showing the loyalty of Radio listeners, comparing Radio quintiles versus television or any other media.
  • For example, in terms of quintiles, if you were targeting an automobile dealership, you might want to show that Radio’s listeners who are planning to make vehicle purchases are more loyal to Radio than television. Based on the chart below, of the 200,000 Adults 25-54 in the Research Directorville USA metro whose households are planning to buy or lease a new or used vehicle in the next year, over one out of four (26%), or 52,000, of them are the absolute heaviest Radio users, falling within quintile 1. More of these people spend more time with Radio than with television. On the other hand, one out of five (20%), or 40,000, of the Adults 25-54 who fall in the same category are the absolute lightest television viewers, falling within quintile 5. We can conclude that when targeting Adults 25-54, Radio will be most effective for advertisers because they will reach more heavy users of radio and achieve greater reach and frequency.

So the next time you hear, “I’ve been advertising on television and it works for me,” now you have enough ammunition to go out and sell Radio, your station(s), and combat any objections. Here’s your chance to provide presentations that can make the difference between you and your competitor(s) and let your station(s) shine above your competition, getting on every single buy with even, perhaps, a larger share. Because, a quality buy will deliver your prospect their desired results cost effectively. And, ultimately, that should be what they desire. After all, as mentioned earlier, listeners continue to turn to Radio for news, information, and entertainment – despite an ever-increasing selection of media options. And, now you have proof.

-Kathryn C. Boxill, Radio Sales Research Manager

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