Study: Time To Rethink Radio Commercial Messaging

Jim Alkon

About 500 consumers tell marketing and promotions company CRN International that they seldom listen to an entire radio commercial, that even if they do, they usually tune out by the second spot in a commercial break, and that radio ads have a slim chance of influencing their purchase decision. According to marketing director Jim Alkon, survey respondents also told CRN that creative content is most likely to win them over.

Alkon states more than 80 percent of respondents confirmed that they pay little attention to radio spots. Even more interesting is that traditional spot buys make up the overwhelming majority of revenue in the $16 billion radio advertising market.

CRN says their diverse survey base reflects the profile of the millions of Americans who listen to radio. Their demographics—considering age, income, education, listening habits, and other criteria—practically mirror those of the full-time research houses that regularly study this stuff.

"While Portable People Meters (PPMs) are now the accepted means to monitor radio exposure, they don’t measure whether participants are actively listening or whether they recall later what they heard. Our survey gave consumers a chance to express more emotionally how they feel about the various types of marketing messages employed on radio," according to Alkon

Traditional Radio Advertisements

• Some 82 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “I pay little attention to radio spot commercials.”
• About one-third of the respondents said they typically listen to most of a commercial, with about two-thirds indicating they do not. About 19 percent of the base of respondents (who all listen to radio)said they do not listen to radio commercials at all.
• Regarding commercial stop sets, 66 percent of the respondents said they don’t make it past the first spot before they tune away.
• When participants were asked specifically how much a radio commercial would increase the chances of them considering or buying the brand advertised, 59 percent said it would have very little or no chance. Only 3 percent said it would increase their chances of purchase very much, with 37 percent saying it would increase their chances somewhat.

Other Radio Marketing Tactics

• Regarding endorsements from their favorite radio DJ personalities, 28 percent said that tactic would have a positive impact on their chances of considering or buying the sponsor’s product.
• Regarding endorsements from everyday people like themselves, 42 percent said that tactic would increase their chances of considering or buying the sponsor’s product.Twenty-three percent of the respondentssaid meeting radio personalities at a live local radio station appearance would be of interest to them.Fifty-two percent said they would be interested in participating in a contest or sweepstakes heard on the radio.
• Almost 60 percent said they would be very or somewhat receptive to considering or buying the product of a contest or sweepstakes sponsor.