Borrell Survey: Radio Remains A Trusted Performer In Local Ad Mix.

Digital media may have tools to show return on investment that traditional channels cannot provide, but that doesn’t mean that local ad buyers don’t have confidence in media like radio and television. Borrell Associates’ latest survey of small and medium-sized businesses finds a third label AM/FM radio as either “very” or “extremely” effective in the local ad market. That puts radio roughly on par with not only broadcast and cable television, but also mobile ads and content marketing.

Center For Sales Strategy CEO Matt Sunshine says the latest entry in Borrell’s summer chart-of-the-week series is noteworthy because despite all the buzz about how effective digital media is, four fours of traditional media—including radio—make the grade. “This is strong evidence of the potential for a media mix that would include both digital forms of advertising, which are more often targeted at the bottom of the consumer buying funnel, and traditional forms of advertising, which hit a broader mass, are essential to casting a wide net and conveying a strong branding message,” he says in a vlog post.

Sunshine also points out that OTT and CTV advertising has moved up to third on the list, with 44% of those using it saying it was “very” or “extremely” effective. That is a big jump from in prior years, when fewer than four in ten local ad buyers rated streaming video that strongly.

“Perhaps streaming video advertising has moved from more of the experimental stage to one of more sophistication and reach,” says Sunshine. “Anyone who has OTT or CTV offering in their marketing toolkit, might want to show this finding to prospective clients and encourage them to give it a try.”

Borrell executives said earlier that radio still matters in media plans, even if it isn’t one of the trendier choices named most effective, or most likely to attract greater interest or increased spending. The data also shows that businesses established since 2020 are nearly twice as likely as those established before 2020 to increase spending on AM/FM radio this year. Borrell says that many of the newer businesses see radio as a “differentiator” in their marketing plan.