Is radio marketing really worth it?

Radio marketing is admittedly getting harder and harder to measure.  Back “in the day,” a dedicated 800# with a 24 x 7 dashboard [Which GTG has used for years!] made it simple.  But what about the listener who hears the ad, grabs the smartphone and says to “Siri”…call Dewey Pest Control?  Wahlah.  My client gets a new business call yet no accountability goes to the radio campaign.

Let’s look elsewhere:  “Radio Ink” recently published the findings of a Neilsen ROI study. Radio delivered a 17:1 ROI for four major department stores.  Two home improvement brands scored a 10:1 ROI.  It’s nice to see what we all know be confined once again.  Take a closer look at their article:

“Nielsen has released more details from an R.O.I. study it released, in part, at the Radio Show in Atlanta. Back on October 1, Nielsen’s Carol Edwards released datathat said radio was delivering a 17-1 R.O.I. for four major department store brands. This additional data shows radio delivered a 16-1 return for two mass merchandise retailers, a 10-1 return for two home improvement brands, and a 3-1 return for three fast-food restaurant brands.

Nielsen says the data it collected shows the two home improvement brands that implemented radio campaigns saw a 4% increase in sales. The brands also saw an 8% increase in total number of buyers and a 2% increase in transactions. The two mass merchandisers that executed radio campaigns experienced a 1% increase in overall sales, a 2% increase in total number of shoppers and 2% in dollar spent per transactions. At the three fast-food restaurants that implemented radio campaigns, a 6% increase in sales was recorded, a 6% increase in consumers, and a 1% increase in dollars spent per purchaser.

The research combined data from Nielsen’s Portable People Meter panel with Nielsen Buyer Insights credit and debit cards consumer data to measure sales driven by advertising. Study participants were separated into two groups and weighted to be identical on key characteristics including: age, gender, race, education, employment status, household size, children, and buying history. The main difference between the test and controlled groups was radio exposure.”

…from radioink.com  10-13-15