Case Study Illuminates Best Channels And Creative For Driving App Downloads.

What’s the best audio channel to increase downloads of your station’s mobile app? According to a case study released Tuesday by Audacy, over the air radio drove the most app downloads, although streaming and podcasts also played a role.

In this case, the company aimed to increase downloads of the Audacy streaming app and improve listener engagement with top programming initiatives. It launched campaigns spanning over-the-air stations, digital streaming, and popular podcasts. The campaign delivered, the company says, driving over 1.4 million app downloads, according to data analytics firm Redbird, which conducted a Media Mix Modeling Analysis in 2023 to model the impact of each audio channel on app downloads.

“The results affirmed that multi-channel audio can sway listeners to try something new,” Idil Cakim, Senior VP and Head of Research at Audacy writes in a blog post about the campaign.

As home screen real estate on mobile devices gets increasingly crowded, getting someone to download an app isn’t as easy as it once was. Nearly all smartphone users (98%) use apps, but they’re exploring fewer options. The average smartphone user installed 18.5 apps last year, down from 21.5 in 2020, per eMarketer Insider Intelligence.

The Redbird MMM study analyzed 24 campaigns and 92 different pieces of creative. While it confirmed that all audio channels contributed to conversion and improved ad performance, over-the-air radio was the top contributor, generating the most downloads and the best return on ad spend. OTA radio was “the most effective and cost-efficient channel, driving 3.6 downloads for every $100 spent on advertising,” Cakim says. “Broadcast radio effectively swayed listeners to take action on their smartphones or tablets.”

Beyond attributing downloads to specific audio channels, the study explored which creative strategies produced the best results. It found that the more correlations made between Audacy and its most popular content and talent, the better.

Spots that dropped well-known names grabbed listeners’ attention. “Some of our most impactful spots name-checked celebrated artists or popular content partners like Disney,” Cakim says. Listeners also responded to sports tie-ins with NFL and MLB partners, including tentpole events like the Super Bowl. Nostalgia, such as Christmas programming, also resonated.

“Listeners love their content, and they are excited to connect with it on the Audacy app,” noted Christina Wisboro, Audacy’s Director of Media and Consumer Marketing, who helped plan and execute Audacy’s app campaign. “It combines well-known and trusted assets with our brand.”

Consumers also responded to explicit and repeated calls-to-action. The company retired the Radio.com brand name in 2021 in favor of Audacy and nearly three years later, there remains work to be done to reinforce the name. The MMM study revealed that spots that spelled out the Audacy brand name and restated it several times drove increased conversion.