Insight: Radio Generates Significant Auto Brand Awareness

Independent data analysis agency Colourtext and Radiocentre, the UK commercial AM/FM radio industry group, recently released the largest and most comprehensive AM/FM radio ad effectiveness report in the world. 

As part of this massive study, 59 tier one auto campaigns were measured for brands like Toyota, Honda, Land Rover, BMW, VW, Nissan, Land Rover, Volvo, Lexus, and Jaguar.   These studies represent the world’s largest collection of AM/FM radio campaign effect measurement for tier one auto brands. 

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® blog outlines the key findings:

• Tier one automotive brand effect: AM/FM radio advertising generates significant increases in advertising awareness, brand relevance, brand trust, and brand consideration.
• AM/FM radio increases the efficiency of automotive media plans: Colourtext and Radiocentre compared AM/FM radio’s average share of total media spend to the increase in advertising awareness, brand relevance, and brand trust generated by AM/FM radio campaigns. In each case, the auto brand lift is four to eleven times greater than AM/FM radio’s share of media spend.
• The best performing auto campaigns place an emphasis on creative consistency
• AM/FM radio creates future demand for automotive brands

• Nielsen Scarborough: American auto intenders clock a lot of miles in their vehicles: A Nielsen Scarborough study of 199,118 Americans finds new car buying intentions in the next year increase as miles traveled grows.
• Among ad-supported audio, AM/FM radio has a dominating 89% share of in-car time spent.
• Nielsen Scarborough: Heavy AM/FM radio and digital consumers are way above the norm for auto purchase intention. New vehicle purchasers are similar in profile to heavy AM/FM radio listeners, and heavy Internet users, and podcast listeners.
• ABX: AM/FM radio creative effectiveness is 92% of TV at one-fourth of the CPM.