How Many Ads Should a Radio Station Run to Get Results?

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, December 10, 2020 | 1:55pm CT

Westwood One

Westwood One and the Radio Advertising Bureau partnered to determine and set guidelines based on four campaign goals, ranging from a 34% reach to a 78% reach of a station's audience, to answer the question, "How many ads should I run per week?" The findings were released on the Westwood One blog on Thursday along with best practices and recommendations for media planning.

• Perception: Agencies and AM/FM radio sellers align on the number of ads needed for light schedules but underestimate the numbers of ads needed for medium and heavy campaigns

• Using reach and frequency data, calculating turnover, and understanding differences in AM/FM radio programming formats, the number of ads in the schedule can optimized for maximum impact

• Media Monitors: Only a small fraction of American AM/FM radio schedules achieves heavy or medium reach levels while the vast majority of weekly radio station campaigns are very light

• National Association of Broadcasters and Coleman Insights: Advertisers running heavy AM/FM radio schedules are twice as likely to report excellent results

• Best practice: Campaigns with AM/FM radio ads in all days and dayparts generate stronger results

• LeadsRx | iHeartMedia: As the number of daily AM/FM radio ads increases, auto dealer website traffic lift surges

• Advertising is not "one size fits all": Understanding the campaign goal is crucial to determining a correct AM/FM radio plan strategy and as important as the message itself