Report: Auto Dealers Need to Increase Radio Advertising

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, April 19, 2021

Westwood One

As the economy recovers and consumer confidence is restored, auto dealers have the opportunity to ramp up advertising efforts to sell cars. On it's blog, Westwood One's Insights team looks at the current state of the auto industry and the importance of advertising, and then outlines an AM/FM radio attribution report released by LeadsRx that shows how AM/FM radio campaigns generate significant auto dealer website traffic.

• According to reports from The Conference Board, Apple, Ipsos, and The New York Times, the economy is returning to normal with increased consumer confidence, commuting, and optimism.

• Nielsen: Heavy AM/FM radio listeners are +18% more likely than heavy TV viewers to make a major auto purchase: Nielsen reports one-third of heavy AM/FM radio listeners intend to make an auto purchase in the next year, +18% greater than heavy TV viewers.

• Nielsen Scarborough: 40% of U.S. new car buyers cannot be reached with TV: Based on media usage, 40% of U.S. new car buyers are impossible to reach on TV. While 60% of auto intenders are heavy TV viewers and can be reached by linear TV, two out of five auto purchasers cannot be sufficiently reached by TV.

• One out of four persons 25-54 cannot be reached on linear TV: Nielsen's just-released Total Audience Report reveals linear television's weekly reach among persons 25-54 has dropped from 85% in Q3 2018 to only 77% in Q3 2020.

• The risk of cutting advertising is loss of mental availability for a store or brand: Kantar, one of the leaders in marketing effectiveness measurement, studied what happens six months after cutting ads: awareness starts to fade and fewer consumers cite your brand as the place they would buy. Top-of-mind awareness erodes, as does purchase intention.

• Proving impact: AM/FM radio campaigns generate significant auto dealer website traffic: On behalf of iHeartMedia, LeadsRx conducted the world's largest study of media impact on auto website traffic. LeadsRx found that, on average, AM/FM radio is responsible for a +17% lift in automotive dealer web traffic. Most of this traffic comes from new consumers. 59% of web visits attributable to AM/FM radio advertising originate from new shoppers.