Results of New Radio Ad Effectiveness Study
From today's Radio and Records Manager's Minute:
• Radio forges personal listener relationships: A new Radio Advertising Effectiveness Lab study indicates that radio has a deep, personal relevance and connects with listeners. Survey respondents say that radio ads are "more honest." They believe that advertisers who use radio "care more about reaching me personally" and are more likely to trust the advertiser.
• An emotional pitch is better than a rational argument: Radio has always promoted features and benefits, yet the new RAEL report suggests that a rational argument is less important than the emotional envelope you wrap it in. RAB EVP/Marketing Mary Bennett says, "They're buying an emotional experience associated with that brand. Elaborate production is not as important as the right message. I wouldn't be surprised if there will be a new emphasis on bringing programming in to assist in production at the station level. We may see more group owners investing in creative and their own staffs to help their sellers."
• Radio better say goodbye to generic, irrelevant spots: The new RAEL study suggests that radio ads do a better job reaching the people they're meant to reach than TV or print, but the burden is still on radio to make a connection with listeners. RAB's Gary Fries says, "There's no room for generic radio commercials. To be effective at generating ROI, they have to touch the consumer." Consultant Jim Peacock adds, "We learned how one-on-one, personal and emotional radio is. Radio listeners are expecting to hear messages that are relevant to them. But the flip side is that if they're not relevant, it's really going to annoy them. That was a revelation for us."
My comment: The fact that this is news to anybody is incredibly surprising. But it's nice to see this much "duh" in the spotlight. Hopefully, we as an industry will take it to heart.