Insights: Eight Misconceptions About Radio

The perception of media audiences is skewed by prevalent myths in the ad community. Mirroring the recently released 8 Misconceptions Brands Have About Radio from Canada’s Radio Connects

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® blog challenges current media narratives and outlines 8 things brand have completely wrong about AM/FM radio in America.

Click here to view a 15-minute video of the key findings.

The perception of media audiences is skewed by prevalent myths in the ad community. Duncan Stewart,
Director of Research, Technology, Media & Telecommunications at Deloitte, puts it best: “Why do people think that nobody listens to radio anymore? Because there is a narrative that new media kills old media, so nobody bothers to look at ...

• Perception #1: “Due to the pandemic, no one is listening to AM/FM radio.” According to the latest Nielsen Spring 2022 Nationwide Report, AM/FM radio has retained 98% of its persons 18+ reach from the Spring 2019 survey.
• Perception #2: “Due to the pandemic, everyone’s working at home, and no one is commuting.” According to a Maru/Blue study, most of pre-COVID commuters are now working outside the home (87%).
• Perception #3: “AM/FM radio has very low reach.” In reality, 86% of all Americans are reached by AM/FM radio on a weekly basis, according to Nielsen’s Q2 2022 Total Audience Report.

• Perception #4: “Audience shares to Pandora/Spotify are nearly equal to AM/FM radio.” Edison Research reports AM/FM radio is nineteen times larger than ad-supported Spotify and fifteen times that of ad-supported Pandora.

• Perception #5: “In the world of the connected car, the number one thing people do in their vehicles is stream online radio on their smartphones.” Among ad-supported audio, AM/FM radio has a dominating 89% share of in-car time spent.
• Perception #6: “Today’s optimal media plan: Put all of your money into TV and digital.” Adding AM/FM radio to the TV and digital plan generates incremental reach for the same spend. While TV and digital are mass reach media that will deliver audiences, AM/FM radio is a powerful tool for marketers and agencies.
• Perception #7: “I would love to consider audio. However, there’s a total lack of ROI and sales lift evidence for AM/FM radio.” Since 2013, Nielsen has conducted more than a dozen return on investment studies across a variety of consumer categories that prove that AM/FM radio generates significant positive return on advertising spend.

• Perception #8: “AM/FM radio listening only happens during drive times.” Nearly 60% of total American AM/FM radio listening occurs outside of drive times. Many Americans listen to AM/FM radio during middays and weekends.