The Radio Advertising Bureau and NuVoodoo Media Services hosted a webinar this week outlining results from a survey of 250 account executives, sales managers and general managers about the state of audio sales.
Responses were collected anonymously to encourage candid feedback, the organizations said. The session, titled “The Future of Audio Sales,” was presented Wednesday by Leigh Jacobs, president of media research and marketing at NuVoodoo Media Services.
Among the findings, 80% of respondents said radio advertising remains very effective for advertisers today. That figure was only a few percentage points lower than the rating sellers recalled for radio 20 years ago, according to the study.
By comparison, 57% of sellers rated digital advertising as very effective for their clients.
The top response when participants were asked what sellers need most was wider adoption of attribution tools. Respondents said such tools would allow radio to provide post-campaign reporting comparable to what digital media routinely offers.
The survey also found widespread use of artificial intelligence tools among sellers as a way to expand their capabilities, the organizations reported.
Jacobs said he is available to share additional details of the study. The Radio Advertising Bureau is the not-for-profit trade association that represents U.S. radio broadcasters and focuses on revenue development and industry training. NuVoodoo Media Services is a research and marketing firm that works with radio and other media clients.
The webinar followed an earlier announcement of the partnership. Topics covered in the survey included attribution, AI, client retention, sales challenges and the resources sellers say they need to compete with digital platforms.
