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Author: Engagement Labs
Can radio still drive brand conversations in a social media world? Much more than you think
by Richard Carufel | Sep 14, 2023 | Public Relations
Remember the days when radio was on every PR pro’s radar? The medium’s enormous reach and variety of coverage opportunities was unsurpassed for generating brand awareness and visibility. Well, guess what? That hasn’t changed—and practitioners should still be taking advantage of all that radio has to offer.
New research from radio-focused nonprofit trade association RAB, in collaboration with data and analytics firm Engagement Labs, offers valuable insights into radio’s singular influence as a driver of brand conversations. The firms’ new study, Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations, uncovers the incredible impact of radio on purchase intent, societal discourse and the bottom line for communicators’ brand goals.
Key findings:
Radio’s commanding brand conversations
Heavy radio listeners engage in a staggering 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, outpacing heavy users of other media channels, including TV, social media, magazines and newspapers.Diverse industry dominance
The study underscores for advertisers’ radio’s dominance across 15 business categories, including sports, financial services, technology and more. Radio emerges as a potent bridge, effectively connecting brands with diverse target audiences. Read the full Bulldog Reporter article, here.For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
Amplifying Brand Buzz: How Radio Redefines Conversations and Influence
Harness Radio’s Unique Ability to Fuel Purchase Intent and More
Article contributed to RAB’s Radio Matters Blog.
In the ever-evolving landscape of media impact, radio emerges as a potent catalyst for brand conversations. The study “Radio Drives Brand Conversations,” commissioned by RAB in partnership with Engagement Labs, dives deep into radio’s role in driving brand discussions and explores its profound influence on purchase intent, societal discourse and the bottom line. In this blog, we dissect key findings and offer actionable recommendations for brands and advertisers looking to harness the untapped potential of radio conversations.
Radio’s Commanding Presence in Brand Conversations
At the heart of this study lies the revelation of radio’s unparalleled capacity to ignite brand conversations. Heavy radio listeners engage in a staggering 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, surpassing heavy users of TV, social media, magazines and newspapers. What’s even more compelling is that 25% of media’s impact is driven through these conversations, further underlining their significance. For advertisers, this means conversations matter, and they can significantly influence brand success.
Watch the webinar recording where we delved into the study’s details and present real-world case studies.
Diverse Industry Leadership
Radio doesn’t just lead the conversation; it dominates it across 15 diverse industries and sectors. From sports to financial services, beauty & personal care to technology, radio emerges as the bridge connecting brands with their target audiences. This industry-spanning dominance positions radio as a dynamic platform for reaching diverse consumer segments.Magnifying Everyday Influencers
Heavy radio listeners aren’t just passive consumers; they are influential everyday consumers. These influencers have a unique power: the ability to enhance both the quantity and quality of brand conversations. Recognizing these influencers and nurturing their impact can significantly bolster your bottom line.
Transforming Conversations into Purchase Intent
Radio doesn’t stop at sparking conversations; it transforms them into tangible results. A remarkable 51% of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, surpassing the national average of 49%. This remarkable impact underscores radio’s proficiency in translating discussions into actual business outcomes.
Cultivating Enlightened Societal Dialogue
Beyond the commercial realm, radio plays a crucial role in fostering informed societal conversations. Heavy radio listeners engage passionately in discussions about a wide array of topics, from personal financial concerns to pressing political issues. This positions radio as a platform for meaningful, informed dialogue.Advocating for the Influence of Radio Conversations
In conclusion, “Radio Drives Brand Conversations” highlights radio’s transformative potential in the media landscape. Conversations, their conversion to sales and the importance of nurturing them are the key takeaways. With radio’s unique ability to amplify conversations, engage everyday influencers, fuel purchase intent and incubate dialogue on crucial issues, it’s an indispensable tool for advertisers.Maximizing Radio’s Potential: A Brand’s Action Plan
- Embrace radio as a strategic platform for your brand.
- Invest in conversation-driven strategies and recognize the significant impact they can have on your brand’s growth.
- Recognize conversations as tangible assets that can be measured and optimized.
- Tailor your radio advertising strategies to align with specific industry nuances.
- Identify and engage with everyday influencers among your audience. Leverage their potential to amplify your brand’s message and reach.
- Craft radio campaigns that not only engage but also drive purchase intent.
- Align your brand with societal issues that resonate with your audience.
- Recognize radio’s potential to be a platform for discussions that matter.
Radio ‘catalyzes’ consumer brand conversations and interactions
Radio can reach diverse audiences, drive brand conversations and, ultimately, impact purchase intent, says a new US study.
Why radio listening matters
The findings of the study* – commissioned by radio industry body RAB in collaboration with Engagement Labs – point to radio’s enduring resonance and its ability to shape the brand-consumer relationship, drive social communication and impact the bottom line.Takeaways
- Brand conversations: Heavy radio listeners engage in 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, surpassing heavy users of other media channels like TV, social media, magazines, and newspapers.
- Everyday influencers: Around half (51%) of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, surpassing the national average of 49%. This impact is particularly pronounced in sectors like automotive, sports, telecom, technology, beverages and healthcare.
- Diverse audiences: Radio dominates across 15 different business categories and acts as a potent bridge, effectively connecting brands with diverse target audiences.
For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
Bud Light’s Big Football Marketing Bet—Is It Enough To Save The Brand?
…
‘A waste of money’
Bump Williams, president and CEO of the beverage alcohol industry consultant Bump Williams Consulting, believes the issue plaguing Bud Light is not transphobia or sexism but consumers who felt insulted by comments then-brand VP Alissa Heinerscheid made in a podcast, deriding the “fratty, out-of-touch humor” of Bud Light’s marketing past as it sought a younger and more diverse audience. Heinerscheid went on a leave of absence as the controversy heated up in April and the company has not commented on her current status.
“It has nothing to do with transgender. It has nothing to do with conservative vs. liberal or Republican vs. Democrat or man vs. woman or rich vs. poor,” Williams said. “When I look at local market data, I see California, a liberal state, is down double-digits on Bud Light. Iowa, a pretty conservative state, is down double-digits … That tells me it has nothing to do with transgender or blue and red. It’s a Bud Light problem.”
Figures from Engagement Labs tell a different story, showing that sentiment among Republicans for Bud Light fell from around 60% positive in April to less than 20% positive by June. Democrats remained 60% positive in both periods, Engagement Labs’ figures show. That suggests the brand has weathered criticism from progressive groups that accused Bud Light of not standing by Mulvaney. Some LGBTQ+ bars pulled AB InBev products in protest.
According to Williams, solving the problem involves more than appeasing customers but making amends with entities along the supply chain that have been damaged by the scandal, including retailers and distributors. Although AB InBev announced a plan to support its distributors in June, Williams called the effort insufficient.
Read the full Ad Age article, here.For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
Conversations About Brands Tend to Be More Positive When Face-to-Face Than on Social Media
Word-of-mouth (WOM) is a key influencer of consumers’ purchase decisions, once credited with driving almost one-fifth of consumer sales. Most conversations about brands continue to take place offline, according to a recent report [download page] from Engagement Labs, as they have for more than 15 years now.
In examining its TotalSocial data over a two-year period from July 2021 through June 2023, Engagement Labs found that 69% of conversations about brands among Republicans took place face-to-face, as did 63% of brand conversations among Democrats.
Interestingly, the analysis also reveals that the net sentiment of brand conversations differs by mode of communication. In this case, net sentiment is determined by subtracting negative and mixed conversations from positive ones, to arrive at an overall score.
Face-to-face conversations about brands are the most positive in general, per the report, with a net sentiment score of +52 (meaning that positive conversations are 52% points higher than mixed and negative ones). Following face-to-face in net sentiment are voice calls (+46), video calls (+44), and text messages (+43) about brands.
Read the full MarketingCharts article, here.
For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
RAB Delves Into Radio’s Heavy Hand In Brand Conversations
A recent study conducted by the Radio Advertising Bureau in partnership with Engagement Labs has revealed the significant role radio plays in driving brand conversations and impacting consumer purchase intent. The report, entitled Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations, offers data on radio’s reach and effectiveness across multiple business sectors.
Key findings of the study include how heavy radio listeners engage in nearly 4.7 billion brand conversations weekly, surpassing heavy users of other media like TV and social media. Of those conversations, about 51% of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners lead to a purchase intent, which is higher than the national average of 49%.
Radio shows dominance in 15 different industries such as sports, financial services, and technology, effectively connecting brands with varied target demographics.
Additionally, the study highlights radio as not just a commercial medium but also as a platform for informed societal dialogue. Heavy radio listeners are active in discussing a range of issues, from personal finance to politics.
RAB President and CEO Erica Farber said, “Radio is often referred to as the original social medium because of its ability to engage listeners through conversation, entertainment, and information. This study underscores radio’s ability to drive word of mouth brand conversations for advertising partners, more so than any other media.”
Read the full Radio Ink article, here.
For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
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Get a copy of the “Brand Marketing Amid Political Polarization” report featured in
Bud Light Isn’t The Only Polarizing Big-Name Brand
Seemingly apolitical brands such as Swiffer, DiGiorno and State Farm have big divides in Democrat and Republican support, Engagement Labs finds
By Jack Neff. Published on September 07, 2023
Bud Light might seem emblematic of the cultural divide between red and blue America. But it turns out Swiffer is polarizing too. The Procter & Gamble Co. brand had a polarized fan base long before Bud Light faced backlash this spring over its affiliation with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, with a 24-point favorability gap for Republicans (net positive sentiment 78%) vs. Democrats (54%) over two years from July 2021 to June 2023, according to data from Engagement Labs, which conducts regular surveys regarding how Americans talk about brands face-to-face, not on social media. That’s more polarized than the supposedly red-leaning Paramount+ TV series “Yellowstone” (19-point favorability edge among Republicans). DiGiorno frozen pizza and State Farm (both Democrat-leaning) and Costco’s Kirkland private label (heavily Republican) are among other surprisingly polarized brands. Bud Light, for its part, was pretty equally loved by Republicans and Democrats before its affiliation with Mulvaney captured headlines in April, according to Engagement Labs. In April, net sentiment was close to 60% positive on the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand between Democrats and Republicans alike in Engagement Labs surveys. By June, rolling 26-week net sentiment for Bud Light dropped under 20% for Republicans while staying at 60% for Democrats. Among lessons from a two-year look back on brand polarization from Engagement Labs surveys is that while news can drive division, many brands have big, and sometimes inexplicable, divides in preference among Republicans and Democrats without getting caught up in the culture wars. So it makes sense for brand marketers to understand the political bent of their consumers before they decide to take public stands on polarizing issues, according to Brad Fay, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Engagement Labs. Read the full Ad Age article, here.For more information on TotalSocial® or to request a demo, visit www.engagementlabs.com For sales contact us at:sales@engagementlabs.com For media inquires contact us at:media@engagementlabs.com
About TotalSocial® Want a better understanding of the online and offline conversations around your brand? Are you a journalist who wants to use real data to measure the brands you’re reporting on? Are you a company who wants to gain further insights into your brand’s marketing strategies to develop effective campaigns to reach your audiences?
Radio Drives Brand Conversations: RAB and Engagement Labs Study Uncovers Dynamic Insights
NEW YORK – September 6, 2023 – A study commissioned by RAB in collaboration with Engagement Labs, an industry leading data and analytics firm, has unveiled valuable insights into radio’s unparalleled influence as a driver of brand conversations. The study, titled “Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations,” uncovers the extraordinary impact of radio on purchase intent, societal discourse and the bottom line for advertiser brand goals.
Key Findings:
- Radio’s Commanding Brand Conversations: Heavy radio listeners engage in a staggering 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, outpacing heavy users of other media channels, including TV, social media, magazines and newspapers.
- Diverse Industry Dominance: The study underscores for advertisers’ radio’s dominance across 15 business categories, including sports, financial services, technology and more. Radio emerges as a potent bridge, effectively connecting brands with diverse target audiences.
- Everyday Influencers Amplified: Heavy radio listeners stand out as influential consumer influencers, driving more impactful conversations among a group that have an amplified impact on other people’s purchase decisions. This trait reaffirms conversations as a tangible asset, capable of propelling significant bottom-line growth for an advertiser.
- Conversion of Conversations to Purchase Intent: A staggering 51% of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, surpassing the national average of 49%. This remarkable impact is particularly pronounced in sectors like automotive, sports, telecom, technology, beverages and healthcare.
- Fostering Informed Societal Dialogue: Beyond commercial interactions, radio emerges as a dynamic platform for societal discourse. From personal financial concerns to pressing political issues, heavy radio listeners engage in a diverse spectrum of discussions about today’s leading issues, reinforcing radio’s multifaceted role in consumers’ lives. The comprehensive findings of the study are a testament to radio’s enduring resonance, its ability to shape the brand-consumer relationship and its capacity to engage and drive social communication and impact the bottom line.
“Radio is often referred to as the original social medium because of its ability to engage listeners through conversation, entertainment and information. This study underscores radio’s ability to drive word of mouth brand conversations for advertising partners, more so than any other media,” said Erica Farber, president and CEO, RAB.
“We embarked on this study to understand radio’s impact on brand conversations for advertisers. The results are remarkable as TotalSocial data demonstrates that radio’s influence spans industries and demographics and impacts everyday influencers and KPIs such as purchase intent. This study validates that radio catalyzes consumer brand conversations and interactions and underscores the medium’s power,” said Steven M Brown, President of Engagement Labs.
RAB will host a live presentation at 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, featuring Steven M Brown, president and chief revenue officer, and Matt Phillips, vice president of client success of Engagement Labs, who will share findings from the study and case studies. Register for the webinar here. Registration for this presentation is free for RAB members. The presentation will also be available for on-demand viewing on rab.com.
The full report, “Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations” is available for download here.
ABOUT THE STUDY
RAB commissioned Engagement Labs for the “Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations” study that analyzed a cross-section of consumers ages 13 to 69 in the U.S. from August 2022 to July 2023. During this one-year period, approximately 38,000 interviews were collected.
ABOUT RAB
RAB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s broadcast radio industry. Its primary objective is to drive revenue growth through advocacy, providing the tools and resources to help the industry attract new sales talent to the medium and enhance industry professionalism through training and support. RAB serves more than 6,000 member stations in the U.S. and more than 1,000 member networks, representative firms, broadcast vendors and international organizations. Learn more at www.rab.com.
ABOUT ENGAGEMENT LABS
Engagement Labs is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s patented TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients. To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s word of mouth in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@
For media inquiries please contact:
Madison Wright, director of events and communications
RAB
Vanessa Lontoc, VP of marketing and sales operations
Engagement Labs