Effie Awards ‘Super Touchpoint’ Status To AM/FM Radio And Podcasts.

A new study from Effie, released this year at the Cannes Advertising Festival, has recognized AM/FM radio and podcasts as “Super Touchpoints,” media that deliver both immediate sales and long-term brand-building effects. The study analyzed 1,265 campaigns spanning $139 billion+ in revenue across 19 media platforms, including challenger, scale-up, and leading brands.

The research, conducted in partnership with creative effectiveness firm System1, found that AM/FM radio and podcasts rank fourth among all media for driving short-term sales within six months. At the same time, they demonstrate a strong long-term impact on brand metrics such as awareness, image, equity, consideration, trust, and differentiation.

“Audio works for ‘the long and the short of it,” Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group Pierre Bouvard, writes in a blog post discussing the study. “In the short term, audio can convert existing demand. In the long term, AM/FM radio and podcasts create future demand with branding building. Audio places fourth in short-term sales effect and performs strongly for brand building and creating future demand.”

Unlike media that excel primarily at either short-term sales (contests, digital display, search) or long-term brand building (TV, influencers, PR, CTV, print), “AM/FM radio and podcasts are unique in their ability to drive both short-term sales as well as long-term brand effects,” Bouvard continues.

The study also highlighted several marketing best practices:

• Patience Pays Off: Campaign profit often accumulates over months and years. Few campaigns show immediate profit; most grow in effectiveness over one to three years or more.

• Broad, Emotion-Based Targeting: Ads with wide reach and emotional resonance outperform narrow or purely rational campaigns.

• Brand Early and Often: Ads must be strongly associated with the brand. Effie recommends placing the brand within the first two seconds of a 30-second ad and repeating it multiple times.

• Distinctive Brand Assets: Sonic devices, characters, and jingles significantly improve brand linkage.

• Entertain to Win: Engaging, entertaining ads drive greater market share growth than ads that focus only on information.

• Consistency Matters: Brands that maintain long-term creative agency relationships and consistent execution achieve better business outcomes.

The report, “System1/Effie: The Creative Dividend: How Creativity Multiplies Profit,” reinforces the value of AM/FM radio and podcasts as essential tools for marketers seeking both immediate ROI and sustained brand growth.

By combining emotional, entertaining creative with strong brand linkage and consistent execution, marketers can leverage these “Super Touchpoints” to drive sales, loyalty, and long-term business success.