Possibly the Most Compelling Reason to Sponsor Public Media

Reaching the public radio and television audience has always been a selling point with sponsors, and is the unique value proposition of all stations. The public media audience is unparalleled in reaching decision-makers and is an ideal highly qualified audience for sponsors. But as listening and viewing habits change, as well as behaviors due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there may also be another reason to sponsor public media that is even more compelling.

A recent study reported by Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB in her blog post “Radio Covers Auto Insurance,” showed attribution data analysis by Analytic Owl on the recent large ad spends by insurance companies like Progressive Insurance. The data showed that of nearly 36,000 radio ads throughout 2020, radio increased web traffic by 12%, according to NumericOwl data (powered by AnalyticOwl). For every radio ad aired, it generated 2.2 new website visits for a total of over 135,000 visits.

Everyone wants increased web traffic! Think of all the professional service companies, attorneys, healthcare, and others that have spent a lot of money updating their websites to make them current and user-friendly. If you can increase their web traffic it can help make that investment worthwhile. Oh, and what about automotive dealerships? Driving traffic to their website is exactly what they want.

There is also evidence that radio ads help drive Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Some performing art centers (pre-COVID) reported that their attribution data showed a direct correlation between public radio broadcast messages and digital ads and their SEO traffic. This means that the click-through rate (CTR) on your station’s digital ads may not have been as important as the fact that viewers and listeners come back later and “Google” the event they saw or heard about to buy tickets.

For public television the VAB (Video Advertising Bureau) notes under “Insights” and “Halo Effect – Video as a Growth Engine” that:

No brand is too young to benefit from TV. The analysis of nearly 200 brands proves that young brands experienced a +138% increase in web traffic after advertising on TV, a much greater increase than that of older brands. Younger brands reap the most benefits from accelerating their path to TV.

Both direct-to-consumer brands and non-DTC brands enjoy the halo effect of TV driving traffic to their digital storefronts. Across all life stages, both DTC and non-DTC brands saw an immediate double-digit increase in unique visitors to their digital platforms during their TV launch months.

Finally, Insider Radio also released a study showing about a 28% web lift delivered by radio for CPG Brand.

As you approach sponsors, you can feel confident about your station’s unparalleled audience. And now, you can get them excited about increasing web traffic and driving SEO. Now that’s compelling!