Causes That Resonate with AM/FM Listeners By Format

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, June 29, 2020 | 4:45pm CT

Westwood One

Westwood One's Insights team features an AM/FM radio format planning tool on its blog that can help advertisers find causes that resonate with AM/FM radio audiences. A recent national study conducted by research firm NuVoodoo found that Americans want brands that support current social issues like the Black Lives Matter movement. Most consumers had positive impressions of companies or media outlets that issued statements, publicly donated, ran ads, explicitly denounced White Supremacy and removed or changed offensive content that had previously aired.

Using the first planning tool, advertisers can look at brand-purpose indices for each AM/FM radio programming format. For example, News/Talk listeners are 54% more likely to have volunteered for a charitable organization in the last 12 months and are 67% more likely than the general population to be a member of a charitable organization.

The second planning grid depicts the audience reach of brand-purpose targets achieved with AM/FM radio programming format: For example, 18% of those who hold religious faiths and beliefs are reached by Country AM/FM radio on a weekly basis.

The Insights team says the best practice is to prioritize reach, the #1 media sales driver, over index: According to a Nielsen study of nearly 500 advertising campaigns, reach is by far the most significant driver of sales. For brand-purpose campaigns to make a meaningful impact, select AM/FM radio formats with large amounts reach among target audiences.

View the entire blog post here.