Why Radio?
By: Erica Bystrom
My career at BDM Inc. started 17 years ago as Radio Media Buyer. Almost two decades later, I am still buying radio for our direct response advertisers to achieve their campaign ROI goals. Why radio? With all the media platforms available, how is radio still popular? There are several reasons.
Radio Continues To Be Reliable, Credible & Trustworthy
Nielsen’s 2019 Audio Today report states that 92% of the population still listens to radio every week. They are ahead of TV which stands at 87% and way ahead of podcast at 22%. This platform continues to be a reliable, credible and trustworthy source of information for consumers. Radio can reach national, regional and local audiences. Most importantly, radio is highly targetable by age, sex, demographic, education, household income and even more qualitative selections. A huge benefit is how fast radio operates. We can be on the air within as little as 24 hours (locally).
For consumers, their drive to radio starts with it being free to them. Not only do they listen in cars, but now radio is available through laptops, computers, phones and even smart speakers.
Radio Is Affordable For Direct Response Clients
For direct response clients, what really makes radio a huge draw is how affordable this platform is compared to TV, podcast, etc. My job is to ensure our clients pay the lowest CPM (cost per thousand) possible based on their target customer. There is room to negotiate rates in radio and that is BDM’s constant goal for all medias. It is more than efficient to test and learn what can work for you in radio which can lead to growth into the other advertising platforms for your business.
No matter how much the world has changed with technology and new options to access news and entertainment….radio is still popular and highly effective!
