Pfizer Uses AM/FM Radio To Generate Incremental Reach

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, May 22, 2023

Westwood One

Last week Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, named Publicis Groupe as their new media agency and awarded Interpublic Group as their lead creative partner. One surprising aspect to Pfizer's recent success has been its use of AM/FM radio as a key element of its media plan. This week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog looks at how Pfizer has used AM/FM radio to elevate their media plan and generate significant incremental reach that lifts brand equity.

• For some Pfizer brands, AM/FM radio is the primary media platform. As a proportion of AM/FM radio/TV spend, Vivvix/Kantar reports AM/FM radio represents the majority of investments for brands such as COMIRNATY (the COVID vaccine) and Ibrance.

• AM/FM radio generates +65% lift in incremental reach for Ibrance. Among women 18+, Ibrance's linear TV campaign generated a 45% reach. The addition of network radio lifts women 18+ reach from 45% to 74%, a massive +65% increase.

• AM/FM radio generates reach lift across all ages, especially younger demographics. Ibrance's network radio overlay generates a +123% increase in women 35-44 reach and a +221% lift in women 25-34 reach.

• AM/FM radio makes Ibrance's TV better with a massive 2.7X reach increase among light TV viewers.

• While TV spend for ELIQUIS was seven times greater than AM/FM radio, the Harris Poll Brand Tracker reports familiarity, trial, usage, and recommendation are stronger among AM/FM radio listeners than among TV viewers.

• Pfizer's COVID medications that strongly utilized AM/FM radio advertising outperformed the general market in most brand equity measures. Harris Poll Brand Tracker surveyed 2,604 consumers in Q1 2023 and found brand equity among heavy AM/FM radio listeners was stronger than the general market and among TV viewers for Paxlovid and COMIRNATY (the COVID vaccine).

• Ibrance's usage of AM/FM radio resulted in strong brand equity that outperformed the general market.

• Pharmaceutical is now the number one advertising category on network radio.

• Brand new ABX creative effectiveness study of nearly 3,000 pharmaceutical ads: AM/FM radio is 94% as effective as TV at one-fourth the CPM.