Unaided Advertising Recall Significantly Higher With Mix of Radio and Internet

Unaided Advertising Recall Significantly Higher With Mix of Radio and Internet

According to research from the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) released at the Radio Advertising Bureau's (RAB) Management & Leadership Conference, recall of advertising is dramatically enhanced when a mix of Radio and Internet ads is used together compared to website ads alone.

The report demonstrated that unaided recall was four-and-a-half times higher, and aided recall was more than twice as high with consumer exposure to one radio and one Internet ad compared to two Internet ads alone. Furthermore, the report states that a mix of radio and Internet exposures revealed a clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds.

The study first examined existing data about radio and Internet advertising to determine how the two media are likely to intersect. Several key points on how Radio and the Internet might work well together in a media mix emerged:

• Both radio and the Internet reach light users of other media
• Radio and the Internet connect with consumers differently and in potentially complementary ways
• Radio can drive traffic to websites
• Radio and the Internet have unique reach patterns, and that can make them work powerfully in combination. On a daily basis, Radio and the Internet together reach 83 percent of the 18-54-year-old population
• Consumers often use Radio and the Internet simultaneously, with up to a third of Internet usage being accompanied by Radio listening during some times of the day

Michael Orgera, Vice President, Director of Research, Universal McCann, said "... With so many media choices and so many ad messages... understanding how radio and the Internet together can significantly boost advertising attention levels is a tremendous advantage when creating a multi-platform campaign."

And Rex Conklin, Media Director, Wal-Mart, and member of the RAEL Research Committee, noted,  it's been gratifying to see advertisers and agency representatives work closely and candidly with broadcasters to establish clear direction for research studies..."

The full study, plus previously released research from RAEL, are available here.