Edison: Moving Ad Spend from TV to Podcast Improves Reach
Edison Research says that data shows moving 5% of the broadcast and cable TV spend in a marketing plan, brands can achieve “outsized results in audience reach.” In this example, using data from Nielsen Podcast Fusion powered by Edison Podcast Metrics, a leading
pharmaceutical brand’s original buy targeting adults 18-54, 100% of the budget was allocated to traditional television, with 87% to broadcast and 13% to cable. This achieved a reach of 39%. By shifting only 5% of the total spend away from the usual go-to television outlets, and into podcasts, reach increased significantly. Reach among those ages 18-54 went from 39% in the old campaign to 55% in the new campaign, a lift of 41%. Note that this is shifting dollars, not adding dollars. The brand reached 26 million additional people without increasing the advertising budget.
Streaming radio and podcasts don’t just add reach. They double down on impact by warming the audience before they ever click.” The company adds, “Audio brings something no other channel can touch. It’s literally in your audience’s ears. It’s personal. It’s focused. And it shows up during moments where screens aren’t competing for attention, like commuting, working, cooking, unwinding. That’s when messaging sticks. Audio builds familiarity and trust early in the journey, so when someone sees your display ad, social post, or paid search result later, they’re not meeting your brand for the first time. They already recognize you. And recognition drives response.” 
-home media company JCDecaux reveals creative best practices for billboard advertising that the AM/FM radio industry can utilize to improve visual ad impact. Some of the key findings include: 1) Quu visual AM/FM radio ads on auto dashboards increase purchase intent by +89%; 2) You’ve got two seconds so brand fast: Visual logos placed at top of the frame deliver 4X higher brand recognition; 3) Beware the cost of dull: Failure to engage emotionally is the cost of creative mediocrity; 4) Be consistent with a brand’s colors, logos, slogans, and fonts that appear in other advertising; 5) Keep it short: The fewer the words, the greater the brand recognition; and 6) Create happiness: Ads that create positive emotions with happiness, surprise, or humor generate much stronger memorability, brand association, store visits, and website visits. 
reach 17% more voters.” The study references Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s 2022 campaign, noting that it deployed radio to reach voters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In doing so, it allocated 20% of media dollars to radio and generated a 10% lift from radio above the local TV campaign, amounting to 676,000 additional voters at no extra cost. Audacy SVP of strategy, partnerships and analytics Jon Blum says, “When campaigns activate a TV plan, they should activate a corresponding radio plan and incorporate it into the mix with TV. The portion of the population that isn’t reachable via TV could be the swing vote and what throws it over the top for a candidate.” Nielsen’s study noted that if a campaign moved 20% of ad spending to radio, the optimized media plan would connect with 15% more Democratic and Republican voters and 23% more unaffiliated voters.