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Radio has always been the ideal platform on which to engage with a large audience, however for charity brands, the airwaves can be a highly relevant and effective medium.
Our friends at Radiocentre recently released a short guide on the benefits of radio for the sector, throughout this article we explore some of the highlights.
Radio allows charity campaigns to target people efficiently
A recent piece of research by Ebiquity exploring the targeting capabilities of different media placed radio as the most flexible medium. It can be used to target an audience in a number of ways including:
- Geographically
- Demographically
- Time
- Consumer context
These characteristics allow charities to target audiences in the most appropriate and efficient way to meet their campaign objectives.
Radio ROI for charity advertising is strong
Many charities now encourage donations online. People exposed to radio advertising are 52% more likely to interact with the advertised brand online.
For the charity sector, radio ROI averages at around £16.70 for every advertising pound spent, which places it as second behind retail only.
Message cut-through
A charity can sometimes face the challenge of audiences not engaging with messaging. This is often the case in on-demand media where people can just scroll past or turn the page if they choose. On the radio the listener must listen to the ad in full and in real time. Even if they are resistant to messaging, something will always stick in their subconscious. Historical research shows that radio has the lowest levels of active ad avoidance over any other media.
Further Radiocentre research suggests that, as part of a wider media mix, data from 11 charities campaigns measured reveal that radio advertising increases ad awareness of charity campaigns by 79% and relevance by 27% on average.
Audio is a highly emotional means of communication
Music is an emotional medium, and radio stations often talk on-air about topics in a way that triggers an emotional response; research highlights the positive emotional influence that radio exerts over listeners – people feel twice as happy when listening to radio – making them more receptive to advertising.
The emotional power of audio has often been used by charity advertisers to engage audiences in their cause – with charity advertising often winning creative awards.
Radio is a highly trusted medium
People automatically trust what they hear on the radio – this trust reaches into the advertising that they hear too. When you’re asking people to support your cause or to donate money, you need to gain their trust that it will be used in the correct way. Recent research highlights how radio can help instil trust for brands.
Let Communicorp UK get the attention of your desired audience. From radio to digital out of home, we have the right channels to get messaging out to thousands of the right people, fast.