Pharma Brand Ad Results Reflect AM/FM Radio’s Strength Vs. TV.

What happened when a major over-the-counter pharmaceutical brand put just 10% of its ad budget toward network AM/FM radio vs. 74% to TV? According to a Harris Poll Brand Tracker study, that brand’s spring 2025 campaign saw significant growth in awareness, brand favorability, consideration, and usage among heavy AM/FM listeners, while brand equity dropped among heavy TV viewers, with declines in familiarity, consideration, trial, and usage.

“AM/FM radio’s superpower is the ability to make your TV better with a nearly two-times increase in reach,” Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says in Westwood One’s blog, noting an 80% increase with the addition of AM/FM, boosting reach from 32.5% from the TV-only plan to 58.2%, according to Nielsen Media Impact. “Despite significant TV spend, brand metrics eroded among heavy TV viewers, those with the greatest opportunity to be exposed to the OTC brand TV ads.”

The pharma brand’s four-month network radio campaign, which utilized close to 300 GRPs against the brand target of adults 25-54, optimized for reach using a wide variety of AM/FM radio formats including adult contemporary, CHR, country, classic hits, rock, urban, classic rock, news/talk and sports. According to Miller Kaplan, year-to-date pharmaceutical spend on network radio is up 9.3% vs. a year ago.

Based on Harris’ study of nearly 1,400 persons 35-54, comparing the earlier to the later portion of the radio campaign, AM/FM radio exposure significantly boosted brand awareness, trial, usage and recommendation, while the brand’s equity, momentum, consideration, quality and familiarity were also up across the board among heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

“Heavy AM/FM radio listeners could be more interested in the OTC product category and the brand,” Bouvard says. “AM/FM radio adverting works because the OTC brand is ‘fishing where the fish are.’ The OTC brand’s AM/FM radio campaign reaches people who are already more invested in the OTC category and brand.”

Another reason the AM/FM campaign worked, Bouvard says, is AM/FM radio’s much higher 35-54 campaign reach. “While TV missed most of the 35-54 demo, the AM/FM radio campaign reached the vast majority of the OTC brand’s 35-54 demographic.”

Despite spending seven times more on TV, ad recall is the same among heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy TV viewers. “This is further proof that AM/FM radio is more effective than TV for this OTC brand,” Bouvard says. “AM/FM radio ads punch above their weight, achieving the same ad recall as TV, despite spending 7X more on TV. It is also clear than heavy AM/FM radio listeners are far more engaged with the brand and the category than heavy TV viewers.”

Indeed, Harris’ research showed that despite significant TV spend, brand metrics eroded among heavy TV viewers. 

“There are two potential reasons brand health is weaker among heavy TV viewers,” Bouvard says. “First, it might be the heavy TV viewer is not really interested in the OTC product category or the brand. In that case, no matter how much TV budget is spent, the consumer has little interest and the ads go ‘in one ear and out the other.’ Second, despite spending $2.4M in the month, two thirds of U.S. 35-54s were never exposed to the campaign. With such weak campaign reach, it’s hard to make positive movements in brand equity.”

As a result of the study’s findings, Bouvard suggests that the pharma brand “should increase audio’s share of the media plan from 10% to 25% given that the brand equity is stronger among heavy AM/FM radio and podcast listeners [and] significantly increase the proportion of their media plan devoted to podcasts. In many cases, its brand equity is strongest among podcast listeners. Increasing the OTC pharmaceutical brand’s commitment to audio will result in incremental reach growth. Currently the overlay of AM/FM radio generates 1.8-times incremental reach to the OTC pharmaceutical brand’s TV reach.”