Video Did Not Kill the Radio Star

When we think about the different mediums we can leverage for sharing our clients’ stories, they have drastically evolved over the past few years. There used to be three basic forms — television, radio and newspapers/magazines. Now, with the digital age, we have online news platforms, social media outlets, blogs, livestreams, podcasts and more.

In our day-to-day, we’re tasked with keeping up with new ways we can continue to share our clients’ messages with audiences. While human nature is to always want what’s cool, new and shiny, it’s important to remember what could be successful when mapping back to client goals.

Radio, if it isn’t a top 40 station playing the latest track from Gaga or Bieber, has the social perception of being “old,” “out of date” and just “not cool.” When I think of radio, I either think of pop music stations or a group of folks huddled together in a room talking about sports. While these might be true, there are tons of radio programs out there that can be a perfect fit for sharing client news.

Consider this: From a recent study WE Communications conducted in partnership with YouGov, 33 percent of U.S. respondents listen to the radio during their morning commute to work, which is the highest of all other devices utilized, which include smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV and more. To take it even further, you’ll see from the graph to the right that 44 percent of those respondents fall under the Gen X age group and 31 percent are millennials.

When clients have a specific media target in mind, of course we aim to land their story there. But when it comes to making recommendations for reaching a mass audience, the SIM data shows that radio, as old and outdated as it might be, can get your client’s message out to a wide ranging audience when strategically put into action. When our client Honeywell wanted to reach a mass audience to educate them on smart home technology trends and the latest devices, by executing an audio bite line (ABL), they were able to reach over 13 million listeners across the U.S. 

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