Study Finds Radio Drives Strong Results for QSR Brand

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, March 16, 2026 | 2:56pm CT

Cumulus Media and Westwood One

A fast-food brand in Australia that had planned to cut its AM/FM radio advertising reversed course after a marketing analysis found the medium delivered strong sales impact and efficiency compared with other channels.

According to a new blog post from the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group, a 60-day Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) engagement conducted by Seeda Media Mix Modeling and Supermetrics analyzed the quick-service restaurant's media performance across more than 20 marketing channels. The findings prompted the brand to retain and increase its AM/FM radio spending after earlier tests had suggested the medium's impact was unclear.

The modeling effort showed a roughly 30% lift in marketing-contributed revenue during the initial optimization period, along with 5% year-over-year sales growth through a challenging seasonal period. Based on the results, the brand expanded its weekly radio investment.

Michael Kinston, CEO of Seeda Media Mix Modeling, said the outcome reflects a common pattern among advertisers evaluating traditional media. "We've seen this pattern repeatedly - brands ready to cut radio spend because they couldn't prove it was working," he said. "Traditional marketing measurement simply can't measure offline channels. When we apply rigorous Media Mix Modeling methodology, radio often emerges as one of the most efficient channels in the mix."

The study found that AM/FM radio campaigns continued to influence sales for up to three weeks after airing, creating a cumulative impact on transactions as spending increased. The analysis also reported that radio generated one of the strongest returns among the channels measured, ranking third in ROI while outperforming paid social, display, television and out-of-home advertising.

Cost-per-transaction comparisons also favored radio. The model estimated an $11 cost per transaction for radio advertising over a two-month horizon, roughly five times more efficient than Meta ads, which were estimated at $58 per transaction. Radio advertising was also found to be 45% more cost-effective than Google Ads on the same metric.

Seeda's analysis also highlighted what researchers described as an "ROI paradox," noting that the highest ROI can sometimes occur during periods of low spending and weak sales. Citing marketing effectiveness experts Les Binet and Sarah Carter, the study notes that maximizing profit - rather than ROI alone - should guide marketing investment decisions.

Additional audience data cited in the report suggests heavy AM/FM radio listeners closely match the demographic profile of frequent quick-service restaurant customers, including younger consumers, employed adults and parents who spend significant time in vehicles.

The study integrated marketing and sales data from sources including Meta, influencer campaigns, radio, CRM systems and point-of-sale platforms into a unified data warehouse. Researchers then built a custom MMM model to isolate the revenue contribution of each channel while accounting for seasonality, external factors and campaign lag effects. The model achieved a reported 97% fit between predicted and actual sales during validation testing.

Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group, authored the analysis.

Read the entire blog post here.