Indrani Sen: The Second Rising of Radio

By Indrani Sen

Radio has come a long way since Guglielmo Marconi sent his first radio signal in 1890s and the first radio commercial crackled over radio waves in New York in 1922. After advent of TV, it was written off by many of us in advertising and marketing and some of us thought that Digital will drive the last nail to close its coffin.  Contrary to popular belief, radio refused to die and we are currently witnessing its Second Rising in the digital age as the second most effective medium in driving purchase intent as revealed by a recent research conducted by Nielsen, commissioned by Music Broadcast Ltd (Radio City). The research showed radio outpaces social networks. social.htmlhttp://www.livemint.com/Consumer/vBLB4xcdPUmEHCzafXUUoI/Radio-emerges-as-second-most-accessed-media-outpaces-social.html.

In 2012 UNESCO proposed February 13, the day the United Nations Radio was established in 1946, as the World Radio Day for promoting worldwide access to information and freedom of expression through radio, a powerful information tool which can reach remote communities and vulnerable people across the world. The date was proposed by France and verified by UNESCO through a feasibility study in 2011. On 14 January 2013, the United Nations General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of World Radio Day.  The fact that this decision was taken when internet and world wide wave were well established, goes to prove the enduring power of radio as a medium.

In the two decades of this millennium, various research studies have shown time and again the utility and efficacy of radio as a medium in the digital age. I would like to cite a few of such studies done in this decade. In 2011, Bob McCurdy wrote “Consumers who listened to the stations with the manufacturer’s commercials were 13% more likely to consider buying its camera than those who did not listen to those stations” based on a research done for a camera manufacturer (https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/152687/a-study-in-radios-effectiveness.html). Among many other articles on radio research, an interesting one by Matt Petronzio was published in www.mashable.com  in 2013- “Enduring Power of Radio in the Digital Age”. (https://mashable.com/2013/02/13/radio-in-the-digital-age/#YttXF21seiq3)

In 2014, research done by Nielsen Catalina Solutions “found a direct link between radio advertising and brick-and-mortar retail sales—evidence that money spent on radio is money well spent. In this first major radio effectiveness study, the research found that each dollar of ad spend generated an average sales return of $6 from the listeners in the 28 days after they heard the ads.” (http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/for-advertisers-radio-is-worth-listening-to.html)

In 2015, Campaign UK carried an article “Radio is ‘20% more cost-effective’ at building brands, research claims” based on research done by Radiocentre, the trade body for British radio. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/radio-20-cost-effective-building-brands-research-claims/1414239. In 2016, Angela Jeffrey posted an article “Advertising Effectiveness – New Research Shows Radio Potentially Most Effective Medium” based on  “ABX research on how radio may deliver the best ROI and ROAS of all with some smart creative” with a caveat that the radio advertising must be smart and entertaining. (http://blog.adbenchmark.com/advertising-effectiveness-in-radio).

In 2017, Nielsen, who has done maximum number of research on effectiveness of radio, complied several of such studies into a new compendium for distribution to their clients. The title speaks volumes: “Radio (Re) Discovered, A Brand Manager’s Guide To Radio”.  (http://www.insideradio.com/free/nielsen-pushes-radio-effectiveness-with-best-of-roi-guide/article_6814f010-889d-11e7-a4b5-7343ce99ae17.html).

It is expected that after Phase 3 expansion of FM network is complete, nearly 60% of the geographies of our country will be covered by private radio stations which will increase the reach of the medium by many folds. Various recent experiments done in India by independent advertisers have shown that radio ads lead to searching on the internet and promotes e-commerce in the most cost efficient way.

On the eve of the World Radio Day, let us hope that other private FM organizations will invest in research to bridge the gap in our knowledge of radio listeners In India and the Indian advertisers will realize the potential of this low cost medium and use it effectively  to get better ROI of their advertising campaigns.