The big news of the week was how radio’s audience 18-49 has overtaken TV’s in the Nielsen ratings. In Q3 2022, radio had a 3% lead on television as streaming steals younger viewers. The other big news of the week is related. An AdAge report is making waves with marketers for showing how Proctor & Gamble made radio their secret weapon – and in return, radio made them a success story.
P&G noticed the trend of shrinking TV audiences in 2017. They started pumping more money into radio at the urging of media analyst John Fix. TV CPMs remain expensive due to demand – add an audience in decline and that higher cost is also considerably less effective.
Radio has, by far, the lowest CPM of any medium while still being one of the most effective. More than 70% of Americans listen to the radio in 2023, according to Edison Research. P&G spent $70 million on radio campaigns in 2018. P&G brands started seeing double digit reach surges. Olay Body Wash’s reach alone jumped from 43% to 71%. Now, as the average national radio ad spending decreases, P&G is radio’s biggest spender.
The company bumped their radio spending 43% in 2022, according to a Vivvix study, while cutting overall costs more than 10%. P&G’s rivals – like many others – sit on the radio sidelines, watching their competitor spend half the money for more success as their numbers hold. Pharmaceuticals are now taking note, and raising their radio spending to complement their TV share.
As advertisers stare down economic uncertainty, who else is going to use P&G’s secret weapon and be radio’s next success story?
— Reporting by Cameron Coats
