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Radio Drives Brand Conversations: RAB and Engagement Labs Study
Uncovers Dynamic Insights

NEW YORK – September 6, 2023 – A study commissioned by RAB in collaboration with Engagement Labs, an industry leading data and analytics firm, has unveiled valuable insights into radio's unparalleled influence as a driver of brand conversations. The study, titled "Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations," uncovers the extraordinary impact of radio on purchase intent, societal discourse and the bottom line for advertiser brand goals. 

Key Findings: 
  • Radio's Commanding Brand Conversations: Heavy radio listeners engage in a staggering 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, outpacing heavy users of other media channels, including TV, social media, magazines and newspapers. 
  • Diverse Industry Dominance: The study underscores for advertisers’ radio’s dominance across 15 business categories, including sports, financial services, technology and more. Radio emerges as a potent bridge, effectively connecting brands with diverse target audiences. 
  • Everyday Influencers Amplified: Heavy radio listeners stand out as influential consumer influencers, driving more impactful conversations among a group that have an amplified impact on other people’s purchase decisions. This trait reaffirms conversations as a tangible asset, capable of propelling significant bottom-line growth for an advertiser. 
  • Conversion of Conversations to Purchase Intent: A staggering 51% of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, surpassing the national average of 49%. This remarkable impact is particularly pronounced in sectors like automotive, sports, telecom, technology, beverages and healthcare. 
  • Fostering Informed Societal Dialogue: Beyond commercial interactions, radio emerges as a dynamic platform for societal discourse. From personal financial concerns to pressing political issues, heavy radio listeners engage in a diverse spectrum of discussions about today’s leading issues, reinforcing radio's multifaceted role in consumers’ lives. The comprehensive findings of the study are a testament to radio's enduring resonance, its ability to shape the brand-consumer relationship and its capacity to engage and drive social communication and impact the bottom line. 

“Radio is often referred to as the original social medium because of its ability to engage listeners through conversation, entertainment and information. This study underscores radio’s ability to drive word of mouth brand conversations for advertising partners, more so than any other media,” said Erica Farber, president and CEO, RAB. 

 
"We embarked on this study to understand radio's impact on brand conversations for advertisers. The results are remarkable as TotalSocial data demonstrates that radio's influence spans industries and demographics and impacts everyday influencers and KPIs such as purchase intent. This study validates that radio catalyzes consumer brand conversations and interactions and underscores the medium's power," said Steven M Brown, President of Engagement Labs. 

RAB will host a live presentation at 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, featuring Steven M Brown, president and chief revenue officer, and Matt Phillips, vice president of client success of Engagement Labs, who will share findings from the study and case studies. Register for the webinar here. Registration for this presentation is free for RAB members. The presentation will also be available for on-demand viewing on rab.com


The full report, “Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations” is available for download here.  


ABOUT THE STUDY 

RAB commissioned Engagement Labs for the “Radio Drives Brand Conversations: Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Radio Conversations” study that analyzed a cross-section of consumers ages 13 to 69 in the U.S. from August 2022 to July 2023. During this one-year period, approximately 38,000 interviews were collected. 

 
ABOUT RAB 

RAB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America's broadcast radio industry. Its primary objective is to drive revenue growth through advocacy, providing the tools and resources to help the industry attract new sales talent to the medium and enhance industry professionalism through training and support. RAB serves more than 6,000 member stations in the U.S. and more than 1,000 member networks, representative firms, broadcast vendors and international organizations. Learn more at www.rab.com

 
ABOUT ENGAGEMENT LABS 

Engagement Labs is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s patented TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients. To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s word of mouth in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com or connect: https://www.linkedin.com/company/-engagementlabs. #totalsocial  

 
TOTALSOCIAL® OFFLINE METHODOLOGY 

Offline conversations are based on an ongoing weekly online survey of a cross-section of consumers ages 13 to 69 in the U.S. The surveys are based on samples representative of the population through the use of sample quotas and weighting across key demographics. Consumers report on brand-related conversations that happen face-to-face, by phone or through digital communications of all kinds. It is the only database of its type to measure offline conversation on a continuous basis. 

 

For media inquiries please contact: 

 
Madison Wright, director of events and communications 
RAB 


Vanessa Lontoc, VP of marketing and sales operations 
Engagement Labs