Listeners Look For Reality In Radio Ads

The increasing popularity of reality-TV has changed the way consumers respond to radio advertising, with research showing that ‘real’ ads are the most effective.

A study commissioned by radio specialist, Eardrum, shows that the recent explosion of reality-TV programmes such as Big Brother and Pop Idol has changed people’s expectations of radio advertising.

Now the most popular ads are those in which the dialogue, characters and humour seem real, rather than ‘old style’ ads, which tend to rely on jokes and stereotypes.

Eardrum mocked-up an hour of programming on a range of radio stations to see what ads got listened to in real life. The results suggest that most people zone-out in seconds when an ad they dislike comes on, and that only the most creative ads get listened to more than a couple of times.

It also found that many radio ads rely too heavily on repetition and those that fail to attract attention immediately cause listeners to tune out altogether.

Many listeners have a strong affinity with the sound of their station and expected the ads they hear to reflect their station’s brand. Some respondents resent ads they feel do not represent their station properly.

Commenting on the findings, Martin Sims, Eardrum’s managing director, said: “Too much of current radio advertising is about pushing messages at consumers. We need to draw people in with compelling creative ideas. If we don’t then – even if the ads are on – no-one is really listening.”

Lucy Banister, partner at research company, The Nursery, which carried out the study, added: “One of consumers’ major gripes is the level of repetition in radio ad-breaks, hence the importance of running a number of strong simple executions, rather than a single ad overloaded with information.”

The RAB recently published research enabling brand owners to calculate for the first time the percentage uplift in sales that they can expect from their radio campaigns (see RAB Study Shows Radio Advertising Boosts Sales).

Eardrum: 020 7287 2211 www.eardrum.com

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