Insights: Radio Ads Deliver For TV

This week’s Westwood One blog looks at multiple Nielsen case studies that prove AM/FM radio ad
campaigns lift TV viewership. 

The studies compared those who had been exposed to AM/FM radio ads for TV tune-in with people who had not heard the ads. The difference in TV audiences between those exposed and not exposed is the “lift” generated by the AM/FM radio ads. 

• To be effective, TV tune-in campaigns on AM/FM radio require a 45% weekly reach and at least 150+ GRPs. Buying a handful of GRPs on premiere day is “spray and pray” ineffectiveness.
• While on-network promos and paid TV buys reach heavy TV viewers, AM/FM radio TV tune-in campaigns reach medium and light TV viewers.
• AM/FM radio campaigns generate outsized incremental reach and audiences among younger demographics. As such, the younger the demo, the greater the lift in TV tune-in viewing.
• Case study: An eight-part documentary series used AM/FM radio to generate a +52% lift in viewing and an even greater increase of multi-episode tuning.
• Case study: The returning season of a scripted cable drama ran an AM/FM radio campaign that represented only 5% of the media plan but generated 20% of the total campaign impressions. 70% of the AM/FM radio impressions were from persons 18-54, while half of the paid TV and TV promo impressions were from persons 55+.
• Case study: A historical mini-series radio tune-in campaign generated a +44% increase in viewing. The vast majority of the viewers AM/FM radio delivered were new and light viewers of the network.

Fifteen Nielsen case studies across four years revealed that among viewers who tuned into a program, persons who were exposed to an AM/FM radio ad were +33% more likely to tune in compared to viewers who were not exposed to AM/FM radio.