Launching an ad campaign that uses two radio ads for every one TV or Newspaper ad can dramatically increase foot traffic into a business, finds a new study by the ‘Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab’.

“The Synergistic Benefits of Radio” study found that radio bolsters the effects of a newspaper-only or TV-only campaign by adding far more than light reinforcement or increased frequency. Researchers found the switch from two TV or two newspaper exposures to two radio spots (two radio spots generally cost the same or less than a single spot on TV or in a newspaper) yielded significantly better effectiveness, especially unaided recall, aided recall and first-choice brand selection.

Swapping one of two TV ads for two radio ads increased unaided brand recall by 34%. Replacing one of two newspaper exposures with two radio ads almost tripled unaided brand recall. Here’s what else: _{*When two radio ads replaced one of two TV exposures, more people chose the advertised brand as their first-choice product.}

The newspaper swap-out was even more striking. _{*Consumers who heard two Radio ads (and only one TV ad) could play back a campaign’s main message just as well as those exposed to two TV ads. Trading one of two newspaper ads for two Radio exposures gave much better message playback than seeing two newspaper ads.}

“Radio works well when the medium is appropriately represented in the media mix. It is essential to use radio in various media combinations,” noted Owen Charlebois, President, US Media Services, Arbitron and Co-Chairman of RAEL, after reviewing the study’s results.

Thanks to RAB for information