This week, egtabites is pleased to Share the Radio Love, part of our ongoing initiative to spread great cases studies about the power of radio advertising.
This example features a case from the US, with new research demonstrating radio’s effectiveness, its ability to accelerate TV advertising and the relatively low cost per awareness – a measure of media efficiency – of radio compared to television. This case was reported by Pierre Bouvard, CEO of Cumulus Media and Westwood One, in a recent blog piece.
Is it possible to prove whether radio and TV drive sales for car dealerships?
 This was the question Ken Garff Automotive, a leading car dealership in Utah’s Salt Lake City, wanted to answer. Back in 2014, the company advertised on TV and radio, but in 2015 they switched to using only print, digital and billboards. Was this the right strategy for growth?
To provide the answer, the Utah Broadcasters Association commissioned a Nielsen advertising effectiveness study, and Ken Garff Automotive extended their marketing to include campaigns on radio and TV over a six-week period. This allowed relative media impact to be measured and understood.
Yes, it is indeed possible, and what’s more radio performed very strongly!
 Nielsen identified two groups of consumers: those who had been exposed to the television and radio ads, and a control group who had not. They then analysed the difference in ad recall, the audience’s opinions about the ads and the resulting impact on purchase consideration.
The study yielded the following key findings:
- At 36%, radio’s ad recall is nearly as strong as TV's (39%), despite the fact that only half as much was spent on radio. Recall levels for digital and print, on the other hand, are very low.
Although Ken Garff Automotive had been investing in print and digital throughout 2015, a very low percentage of consumers were able to recall these ads, suggesting that digital and print fail to break through, unlike radio and TV.
- Purchase consideration increases significantly when consumers are exposed to both TV and radio ads. Adding radio or TV boosts purchase consideration by 38%, but this lifts to 70% when the two are combined.
 Radio and TV boost all stages of the purchase funnel, including major lifts to awareness, dealer consideration, likelihood to recommend and purchase consideration.
- Radio creative wins for informative and believable ads. The medium clearly made its mark, scoring higher than both 15” and 30” spots on TV.
- Radio’s cost per awareness is nearly twice as efficient as television. Television’s cost per awareness point was calculated at $2,564, whilst radio’s was $1,389, reflecting the fact that both media generated similar levels of awareness despite the investment in radio being half that of television.
What does this mean for egta members?
Once more, when subjected to rigorous testing and analysis, radio advertising is proven to be effective across the entire purchase funnel. As the limitations of online advertising – particularly non-premium inventory outside of high quality video and audio – become increasingly apparent to marketers, radio has a clear message: with good creative, radio advertising increases awareness and purchase consideration, and it offers exceptional value for money.
Want results? Just add radio!
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