Three years after the pandemic shook up radio habits, there has been a lot of focus on how listening has returned to normal. Now fresh research from NuVoodoo Media shows that as in-car consumption has recovered, so has the amount of attention being paid to commercials on AM/FM radio. Its latest survey shows between June 2022 and January 2023, there was a 17% bump up in the number of people who say they frequently pay attention to ads on the radio.
NuVoodoo VP Roger Malinowski credits that to a post-pandemic return to commuting. “We're all back in our cars, and we're commuting back to the offices to a larger degree. So we are noticing and remembering those ads that are out there, and hearing them in your car during your commute,” he said in a video presentation of the firm’s latest findings. A similar increase was logged during the six-month period for billboards and other outdoor media.
Taken together, NuVoodoo Executive VP Mike O’Connor said the data offers support for advertisers returning to a tried-and-true buying strategy of placed ads on both radio and outdoor media to reach the commuting audience as out-of-home consumption numbers look more in line with the pre-pandemic period. “Between the two of those things, it makes some sense to mix and match those to reach the out-of-home audience, especially in the car while they're commuting,” he said.
The latest survey also examined how different age groups approach advertising. The headline is that Millennials are most open to ads, including on the radio where they have a ten-point advantage on Gen X listeners. But radio’s overall ad attention results are similar to what traditional and online television have and are not far behind websites or Instagram. NuVoodoo says YouTube has the highest rate of ad attention – since users have no other choice than to view the ad in order to see their desired content. It has also led to more ad buys linking connected TV with YouTube.
“It just makes sense because we're seeing a big trend of people that are watching YouTube accessing the YouTube app through their home televisions. So it just makes sense to have that as a connected part of the strategy” Malinowski said.
O’Connor said the latest numbers also confirm that Gen Z is generally “very tough” to reach. It also backs up earlier research that shows men are more persuadable, with the results showing men generally pay more attention to ads than women. “The men are definitely more persuadable. It turns out, when we look at brand-switching in the consumer packaged goods, retail, and food industries, they're far more likely to try something new if it's offered at a discount,” he said.
NuVoodoo’s latest research is based on an online survey of 5,327 Americans aged 14 to 54 that was weighted to represent the size of each of the Gen Z, Millennial and Gen X demos.