Some 269 different accounting, tax prep, and other tax-related services advertised on broadcast radio during the 2023 tax season. Katz Radio Group crunched the numbers from markets tracked by Media Monitors and found that among the top 20 advertisers by total spot count in the Accounting, Auditing and Tax Preparation Services category, nearly all (19) utilized radio. The tracking period covered Jan. 19-April 18.
TurboTax was the biggest advertiser in the category, based on combined spot count, with 648,748 spot occurrences on radio and TV combined. The vast majority were on TV, less than 12,000 aired on radio. Second place Jackson Hewitt tilted the other way. Of its nearly half a million combined spots, 352,429 ran on radio and 145,339 broadcast on TV. Jackson Hewitt spent three weeks among radio’s top 10 advertisers across all ad categories in the weeks leading up to the April 18 tax deadline.
The other biggest radio users in the category were Optima Tax Relief (171,554 radio spots), Liberty Tax (130,024), U.S. Tax Shield (97,376), Tax Act (53,222) and Community Tax (40,774).
Four of the top 20 tax service advertisers used radio alone (Republic Tax Relief, People’s Tax Relief, TRA Tax Advocates, and Allies Tax Relief). Only one was exclusive to broadcast and cable TV (QuickBooks), And of the brands that were active on radio, 13 ran significantly more spots on radio than TV.
“These tax service brands invest in radio because they are confident it works for them,” Katz says in an analysis of the category on its Sound Answers blog. “They take advantage of radio's diverse formats, including Spanish language, to reach and target consumers in communities across the U.S. And they know radio helps their brand resonate with consumers and increase engagement, both online and at office locations.”