Slower automotive sales may be leading the way to softening radio advertising revenue. But, radio still has significant revenue opportunities in automotive.
That’s a key takeaway from new research from The Media Audit, which offers ways radio may wish to lure what seem to be impossible buys from an industry that will still put one-third of its total ad spend into TV in 2017.
According to BIA/Kelsey, broadcast television will carve out 34% of the auto ad spend in 2017.
As Tracy Austin, a veteran radio industry executive who serve as VP/Sales for The Media Audit, this is three-times what the fourth-ranked radio industry attracts: 11% of the automotive ad budget.
While TV is a great medium, radio has “many undervalued strengths,” Austin says. “It’s a great opportunity for auto companies that are trying to draw people into their showroom.”
Planned Vehicle Purchasers Like Radio
In an analysis of where automotive consumers spend their media day, The Media Audit finds that “planned vehicle purchasers” spend 20% of their day with radio.
By comparison, broadcast TV carves out about 12% of the media day for these likely vehicle purchasers.
“On average radio listeners planning to purchase a vehicle spend 164 minutes listening to radio, while TV viewers planning to purchase spend 101 minutes with broadcast TV,” Austin says.
Further analysis of planned vehicle purchasers from The Media Audit shows that radio listeners tend to be heavier consumers of the medium, while TV viewers tend to be lighter viewers.
“This means radio is highly efficient in reaching planned vehicle purchasers,” Austin reasons.
RBR + TVBR OBSERVATION: While we like any research that gives the radio industry new ways to expand its ad pie, The Media Audit has provided little in terms of actionable insights. These tidbits are certainly nice, but what should a broadcast radio company do? What advice do you, or a trusted colleague, have to get those elusive ad dollars? We also take issue with any plan to steal dollars from television. All broadcast media are challenged by the digital giants, so why not go after them? TV and radio face the same difficulties with respect to advertising, so perhaps instead of attacking TV, the radio industry holds a symposium on how to make great, compelling car ads. In some markets, the music beds and shouting man are a tired formula that dates to the Reagan Administration, and the days when the Morning Zoo was banging out Sly Fox and Samantha Fox. Has it ever occurred to any radio station GM that perhaps the problem is that your commercials just suck? Yeah, let’s go get some TV ads. But, before we do that, take a good listen to your spots. Maybe that’s one reason auto dealers don’t want to work with you.
