How Many Radio Ads Should You Run Per Week? The answer always starts the same: “It depends. What is your goal?”
According to a Piere Bouvard blog post, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) fields this question daily.
To help advertisers and agencies get it right, Cumulus Media | Westwood One partnered with the RAB to establish clear, research-based guidelines built around four distinct campaign objectives. These tiers—Minimum (Very Light), Maintenance (Light), High Impact (Medium), and Launch (Heavy)—are defined by weekly reach and average frequency against a radio station’s audience.
Key Insights Most Advertisers Miss
- Agencies and radio sellers routinely underestimate what it takes to achieve meaningful impact. Most campaigns fall into the Minimum/Very Light category, reaching only about one-third of the station’s audience.
- The Wizards of Ads—one of the most successful local radio agencies in the country—strongly recommends the High Impact/Medium schedule as the ideal “always-on” approach: reaching two-thirds of a station’s audience an average of three times per week, 52 weeks a year.
- Media Monitors data confirms that only a small fraction of American radio schedules reach High Impact or Launch levels. The vast majority stay in the ineffective “very light” zone.
- iHeartMedia’s attribution study shows a clear lift in auto dealer website traffic as the number of daily radio ads increases. Campaigns that span all days and dayparts deliver the strongest results.
Bottom Line
- Radio advertising is not one-size-fits-all.
- Want quiet, low-cost maintenance? Use a Light schedule.
- Running a weekend sales event? You probably need Medium.
- Launching something big or need to dominate the market? Go Heavy.
To read Bouvard entire blog post, Click: HERE