Radio Helps Launch New Pandemic Drug Brand

This week’s Westwood One blog features a case study for a pharmaceutical brand that used 60-second AM/FM radio ads to launch a new medication in April of this year. The results of the study, which looked at both the TV and AM/FM radio aspects of the campaign, proved that brands can launch new products during a pandemic. 

The blog also features the results of two pharmaceutical ad creative tests conducted by ABX and three examples from Nielsen Media Impact illustrating how shifting media weight from TV to AM/FM radio proves that AM/FM radio is the ideal media channel for the pharmaceutical category.

• AM/FM radio was an ideal media channel for the new pharmaceutical brand: Heavy ailment sufferers, prescription treatment users, and those who suffer from the ailment were 30-55% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners than the category average.
• The more consumers listened to AM/FM radio, the more likely they were to be taking prescription medication for the ailment: 58% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners said they were already taking prescription medication for the ailment, nearly twice that of light AM/FM radio listeners.
• Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners responded much more favorably to the AM/FM radio ads than heavy TV viewers: When exposed to the AM/FM radio ad, a majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and podcast listeners said they found the ads to be likeable, relevant, memorable, and informative.
• Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners were more likely to take action after hearing the AM/FM radio ad: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners indicated they would take some sort of action such as searching online, speaking to a health care provider, or trying the brand.
• AM/FM radio boosted ad recall among those who suffered from the ailment and heavy AM/FM radio listeners: There was a +36% increase in aided ad recall among heavy AM/FM radio listeners between April and May.
• There was significant growth in consumers saying they would recommend the brand to friends and family after exposure: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the brand’s net promoter score among heavy AM/FM radio listeners grew from +9 in April 2020 to +39 in May 2020.
• ABX: Pharmaceutical AM/FM radio ads test at 90% of the impact of TV ads for one-fifth the CPM
• Nielsen Media Impact: The addition of AM/FM radio to any pharmaceutical TV campaign generates significant incremental reach