Study: Radio ads lift insurance brand and....more

INSIDERADIO


TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2015

A new advertising effectiveness study from Nielsen demonstrates how radio performs for one of its biggest ad categories: the insurance industry. An eight-city Katz Radio Group campaign for American Family Insurance increased several brand metrics, the study found, including the likelihood to request an insurance quote. The study included listeners aged 25-64 who tuned in to one or more stations airing AFI commercials from November 10 through December 28, 2014 and compared their engagement with the company to listeners who didn’t tune to those stations. The big takeaway: those who heard the campaign were 25% more likely to request a quote from the company than those who didn’t hear it. So-called insurance brand-switchers who were exposed were nearly twice as likely to request a quote, highlighting radio’s ability to influence the company’s best prospects. Beyond lifting quote requests, the campaign raised all key brand perceptions, especially among those seeking new insurance. For instance, those who heard the campaign were 44% more likely to recommend the insurance brand than those who didn’t hear it. There was a 20% increase in the perception that AFI offers competitive rates and is easy to do business with when compared to the control group. "In this study, we saw that radio increased the likelihood that people would recommend the brand to others, and for any marketer, influence is powerful," Nielsen SVP of Media Analytics Carol Edwards told Inside Radio. Edwards said the study demonstrated the medium’s strength at "clearly communicating the key brand message and attributes," which in this case were competitive pricing and ease of doing business.

Radio’s role as a branding medium confirmed. Radio is often seen as an inexpensive frequency medium that delivers consumers close to the point of purchase. But a new study from Nielsen and Katz Radio Group shows radio in a new light as a powerful branding medium. The campaign for American Family Insurance drove home the company’s slogan: "Your dream is out there. Go get it. We’ll protect it." Listeners reached by the campaign were 43% more likely to associate the slogan with AFI than with those who didn’t hear the radio ads. "One of the things we’re finding from this study is that radio is proven to be effective at branding and delivering more than just last minute point of purchase customers," Nielsen SVP of Media Analytics Carol Edwards told Inside Radio. The study shows how radio can help a client cut through the clutter in a competitive marketplace. "Radio shines in this study, as a strong partner for an advertiser fighting for share of voice in a very crowded category," Katz Media Group EVP of strategy, analytics & research Stacey Lynn Schulman said. Not only did the program show a lift in engagement with the client, "the various message points were clearly heard, recalled and accurately attributed to the right advertiser," Schulman said. "That’s a breakthrough solution." The analysis also reinforces the incremental value radio delivers as part of an integrated campaign with other media. "It demonstrated that people exposed to this campaign on radio increased recall on other media as well," Edwards said. For example, those exposed to the radio campaign were four times more likely to recall the insurance company’s online campaign compared to the control group.

The Power of Radio: Listeners to the rescue in Florida. When a family lost their home to a fire, they thought insurance would help them rebuild fast. But a contractor took the money and didn’t do the work. Radio came to the rescue and raised $15,000 with a social media mention. Alyssa De Le Sala’s home was badly damaged in a fire that started in her family’s garage two years ago. But issues with a building contractor left the Lutz, FL home still in need of repair. So Alyssa and her brother decided to help their family in whatever way they could. Last week, Alyssa advertised on a local radio show, reading a letter and including a hand-drawn flier that said, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." That old adage is something she took literally. The Kane Show on Alpha Media country WFLS-FM, Fredericksburg, VA (93.3) reported on Facebook that the De Le Sala family "got ripped off in an insurance scam." Alyssa wrote in a letter to the show, asking for help getting the word out about her lemonade stand. As of Saturday, Alyssa’s Lutz Lemonade raised nearly $15,000. The Tampa Tribune reported that the