For Home Improvement Brands, Radio Outperforms Digital Media Or TV.

With home improvement season in full swing, radio continues to have an edge over digital and other media when it comes to retailer ad campaigns, given listeners’ high propensity of home ownership and greater likelihood of spending on home projects with long-term value.

“The brands that win in this category don’t just show up at the point of purchase,” Audacy SVP Research and Insights Ray Borelli says in Audacy’s Insights blog. “They reach the right consumers at the right time, in the right moments. That’s where radio stands apart — not just in building awareness but in actually reaching engaged consumers, holding their attention and connecting with them when they’re out in the world and closest to taking action.”

There’s a reason why, as the blog notes, both Home Depot and Lowe’s were among the top five national radio advertisers during 2025’s home improvement season. Not only does Scarborough show that homeowners comprise a significant segment of radio listeners — with heavy listeners 14% more likely to be home improvement intenders, and 17% more likely to be among the biggest spenders in the category — when it comes to impact of home improvement ads, according to Nielsen, radio leads CTV, display, search and social media, driving stronger awareness, deeper consideration and higher conversion than its digital competition.

Additionally, Nielsen shows that home improvement advertisers can boost their digital channels’ performance by up to 29% when radio is added to the mix.

“We know from countless studies that radio drives search activity [and] improves TV recall,” Borelli says. “When consumers hear a brand message on audio first, they’re more likely to notice and trust it when it shows up in their social feed, [and] when consumers hear an audio ad for a brand previously seen on TV, it will bring the brand visuals back to the forefront of their mind.”

A Nielsen analysis of thousands of ad campaigns finds radio ranked second among media in ROI delivery, with an ROI almost twice that of CTV.

What makes radio so effective? “Advertising waste due to ‘leaving the room’ or scrolling past an ad isn’t possible when you are driving in your car or when you are listening with buds in your ear — which is perhaps the most intimate and personal connection an advertiser can have with a consumer,” Borelli says, also citing research showing that “radio listeners stay engaged with ad messaging longer, so brands can optimize frequency in radio without the typical worries around wear-out.”

It’s also worth noting that radio listeners are more likely to hear ads when closest to the point of purchase. “More than 80% of radio listening takes place between 6am-7pm, the hours when consumers are most likely outside of the house and when and where most purchases are made,” Borelli says. “By comparison, the bulk of television viewing, both on linear and streaming, is in the evening when people are at home watching on the big screen and winding down at the end of their day.”

The key takeaway for home improvement advertisers? “Radio is a top performer at driving results, period,” Borelli says. “It reaches high-value homeowners, outperforms digital channels across awareness, consideration, and conversion, and delivers a measurable advantage in ROI. As the season kicks off, make sure your brand is part of what consumers hear, not just what they see.”