Second Annual DtC Media Attribution & Awareness Report

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, July 13, 2020

Westwood One

Cumulus Media's Westwood One has partnered with LeadsRx and MARU Matchbox to conduct their second annual Direct-To-Consumer Media Attribution and Awareness study to understand the marketing effectiveness of direct-to-consumer firms and the state of their brand equity.

Even before the coronavirus, e-commerce was surging. In the first quarter of 2020, the U.S. government indicated e-commerce represented 11.8% of total U.S. retail sales up from 6.9% in the first quarter of 2015 and 4.8% in in the first quarter of 2010. eMarketer forecasts e-commerce will represent 14.5% of full year 2020 total retail sales.

"Direct-to-consumer brands are entering their second act now, seeking to grow through market penetration and attract the masses via TV and AM/FM Radio," said Cumulus Media and Westwood One Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard. "This study validates the brand-building sales effect of broadcast media as TV and Radio drive seven times the search and site traffic lift of Google and Facebook."

Another key finding from the study is that AM/FM radio is a catalyst for increased effectiveness of Google and Facebook ads during the pandemic. During 2019, Facebook and Google ads saw a 15% increase in performance due to AM/FM radio advertising. During the pandemic in Q2 2020 radio's impact on Google/Facebook performance surged to 20.0%.

"Why is radio driving even more Google and Facebook impact during the pandemic? I believe it's because radio listeners at home are responding MORE to radio ads now than they 'normally' did last year," observed LeadsRx co-founder and CEO AJ Brown. "Radio has this 'halo' effect and sub-conscious impact. Even while listening in the background while checking email or performing other work activities, it's likely consumers recall an advertiser when getting on the internet."

The study includes the following highlights:

• Combined, Radio and TV deliver seven times the site traffic lift of Google and Facebook. The combined site traffic lift of TV and AM/FM radio grew from 40% in 2018 to 63% in 2019. The lift of Google and Facebook fell from 17% to 9% during the same period.

• AM/FM radio advertising enhances Google/Facebook performance during the pandemic. During 2019, Facebook and Google ads saw a 15% increase in performance due to AM/FM radio advertising. The first quarter of 2020 showed an uptick in the average lift to 16.4%, increasing to 20% when the pandemic hit in the second quarter.

• Surprisingly, AM/FM radio is just as good as TV in driving site traffic and TV. Across all the attribution studies performed, LeadsRx found a $24,300 investment in AM/FM radio generated one point of search and site traffic lift; to attain a point of lift via TV advertising, a $25,581 investment is needed.

• Heavy AM/FM radio listeners are 37% more likely to shop online than heavy TV viewers. According to GfK MRI, 59% of heavy AM/FM listeners have shopped online in the last year versus only 43% for Heavy TV viewers. For every dollar a DTC brand spends on TV, only 43 cents reaches consumers that shop online.

• The profile of online shopper aligns more with AM/FM radio listeners than the TV audience. GfK MRI reveals online shoppers are nearly equally segmented into three age groups: 18-34 (32%), 35-54 (36%) and 55+ (32%). Heavy radio listeners mirror the online shopper profile: 18-34 (33%), 35-54 (36%), and 55+ (31%). The heavy TV viewer skews much older: 18-34 (14%), 35-54 (23%) and 55+ (64%).

• There is a massive disconnect between the media selection for DTC advertising and which media audiences make the most online purchase. GfK MRI reports AM/FM radio represents 60% of the consumer e-commerce spend. Yet, according to Kantar Media, only 3% of e-commerce ad dollars are spent on AM/FM radio.

• Per Nielsen's Media Impact optimization platform, a reallocation of 20% of a DTC TV buy to radio generates stunning growth in incremental campaign reach. The challenge for DTC brands: most online shopping occurs among those under 55 while most TV tuning is generated by 55+ viewers. Per Gfk MRI, 68% of online shoppers are 18-54, however only 36% of heavy TV viewers are 18-54. Nearly two thirds of TV deliveries (64%) skew 55+ a demo that only represents 32% of online shoppers. Radio to the rescue. Adding AM/FM radio into the DTC plan generates significant incremental reach under the age of 55.

• Best practices to power DTC marketing effectiveness: Allocate 74% of marketing budgets to brand building, target broadly with emotional advertising that runs in all days and dayparts.

For the full Direct-To-Consumer Media Attribution and Awareness report, click here.

Audacy Flips WAXY-AM/Miami to ''Radio Libre'' WAXY-AM/Miami Audacy flips all-Sports WAXY-AM (790 The Ticket)/Miami to "Radio Libre," effective October 3. The new Spanish Conservative Talk station is in partnership with Americano Media, the nation's first national conservative Hispanic network in Spanish. The More

Radio Milwaukee Reveals New Branding Ahead of 15th Birthday Radio Milwaukee Non-commercial WYMS-FM/Milwaukee has revealed new branding for Radio Milwaukee, as well as for its original 88Nine broadcast channel, ahead of its 15th birthday celebration taking place Saturday, October 1. Milwaukee Mayor Johnson will also proclaim More

Jane Clauss On-Air Contributor for WLS-AM's Cochran Show Jane Clauss Chicago radio and television personality Jane Clauss joins WLS-AM/Chicago's on-air team as morning show contributor for "The Steve Cochran Show." Clauss debuted this week as a member of the morning team and can be heard weekdays from 5:30-9am. More

FOX Sports Radio Kicks Off 2022 Weekend Football Lineup FOX Sports Radio FOX Sports Radio has announced its weekend lineup for the 2022 football season. FSR's weekend roster features an ensemble of sports entertainment personalities, former players and analysts dedicated to providing around-the-clock coverage, including More

Cumulus Media Introduces All-New ''Hello Ross'' Podcast ''Hello Ross'' Cumulus Media launches "Hello Ross," an all-new, original podcast on the Cumulus Podcast Network. For more than two decades, Mathews has interviewed the world's biggest celebrities on television and red carpets, and now he's bringing those skills to More

Benztown Releases Audio Tribute to Rapper Coolio Benztown Audio Tribute to Coolio Benztown has released an audio tribute to Grammy-winning "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper Coolio. Born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr., he died Wednesday, September 28th, in Los Angeles at age 59. Coolio was raised in Compton, CA. His rap career began in the '80s, More