Direct-to-consumer media attribution and awareness report proves that radio works for e-commerce

Even before COVID-19, e-commerce was booming. A key aspect of e-commerce are direct-to-consumer brands and in order to understand the marketing effectiveness of direct-to-consumer firms and the state of their brand equity, Westwood One, US radio network, partnered with LeadsRx and MARU/Matchbox to issue our second annual Direct-to-Consumer Media Attribution and Awareness Report (the first edition was conducted in 2018). Below are the highlights from the full study that can be found here.

AM/FM radio advertising enhances Google/Facebook performance during the pandemic

LeadsRx studied 100 direct-to-consumer brands who advertise with Google, Facebook and AM/FM radio. They determined the average lift for Google and Facebook ads generated by AM/FM radio advertising over the course of 2019 and 2020. During 2019, Facebook and Google ads saw a +15% increase in performance due to AM/FM radio advertising. Q1 2020 showed an uptick in the average lift (+16.4%). Then in Q2 2020, average lift surged to +20.0%, a +22% increase from Q1 2020. During the COVID-19 crisis, AM/FM radio generated even more performance for Facebook and Google advertising.

“Radio listeners at home are responding more to radio ads now than they “normally” did last year. The increase in Q1 performance was probably from March, right as many started staying home. Then, the Google/Facebook performance up-tick continued into Q2. Radio has this ‘halo’ effect and sub-conscious impact. Even while listening in the background while checking email or performing other work activities, it’s likely consumers recall an advertiser when getting on the internet.” Commented LeadsRx founder and CEO AJ Brown.

Site traffic lift: Broadcast TV and AM/FM radio surge while Google/Facebook drop

The combined site traffic lift of TV and AM/FM radio grew from +40% in 2018 to +63% in 2019. The lift of Google and Facebook fell from +17% to +9% during the same period.

Broadcast TV and AM/FM radio have 7X the lift of Google/Facebook. Why has broadcast media become such major drivers of direct-to-consumer site traffic? Campaign weight. Direct-to-consumer brands have been pouring into TV and AM/FM radio. As the AM/FM radio/TV spend has grown, so has consumer response and the attributed lift.

Touch of Modern case study: Adding AM/FM radio to the TV plan generates a massive increase in 18-54 reach

According to Nielsen, the direct-to-consumer brand Touch of Modern spent $4.8M on television in Q4 2019. The grey bars below reflect the reach of the TV plan. The blue bars present the reach of the 80% TV/20% AM/FM radio plan. Using the same budget and shifting 20% of the TV plan to radio ($960,000) generates added lift in every age cell.

Methodology

LeadsRx, one of the leading multi-touch attribution firms, conducted a major attribution study. They measured advertising campaigns of 207 different direct-to-consumer retailers that ran during 2019 covering the categories of home, auto, events, entertainment, food, pet, apparel, and marketplace/online auction sites. The LeadsRx study consisted of 137 Google/Facebook advertisers, 50 AM/FM radio advertisers, and 20 TV advertisers.

LeadsRx measured the site traffic lift generated by advertising on Google/Facebook, AM/FM radio, and television throughout 2019. On top of that Westwood One commissioned MARU/Matchbox to field a national awareness study in February 2020 of 400 direct-to-consumer brands selected across a variety of categories. 1,456 consumers were surveyed. In addition, an analysis of GfK MRI consumer shopping data profiled e-commerce consumers’ spending and media habits. Nielsen Media Impact, the media optimization platform, was utilized to quantify the incremental reach of adding AM/FM radio to direct-to-consumer TV campaigns.