Consumers are on-the-go

Spring is here and consumers are once again on-the-go. As the country opens up, people are getting out of their homes again, but they're doing it differently. More than ever, people are choosing personal vehicles over public transportation as a means to get around — recent data shows that driving interests are even higher than pre-COVID levels¹. The good news for advertisers is that you can easily reach them with radio ads when they're out and about.

This likely won't be changing anytime soon, either; 87% of adults believe traveling by personal vehicle is low risk and 43% of adults say they will travel less by airplane even after COVID-19 is no longer a threat².

Reaching people in their cars 

Determining how many radio ads to run depends on your advertising goals. Are you or your client trying to spread the news about a grand opening event or are you just testing the waters to see if radio is a good fit?

I Want to Give Radio a Try

If you're just testing the waters with radio, a light schedule over a few weeks is a good way to get a modest level of reach and frequency. 

I want to be top of mind

If you want to reach customers with more frequency to make sure your brand is at the top of their mind, you should consider a medium schedule with multiple ads per daypart over the span of at least few weeks. This is also a good option if you have a sales event or promotion that you'd like your customers to know about.

I want to reach a lot of people

If you have a big promotion or event that you want lots of people to know about, you'll want a heavy schedule to frequently reach more people. Keep in mind, if you want a heavy schedule for a short period of time, like before a big grand opening, you'll want to increase your budget so your ad plays at a high enough frequency. 

No matter what schedule you choose, radio will help you connect with consumers when they're on the path to purchase. If you're a small business owner, iHeart AdBuilder is a self-service solution that can help bring the power of radio to your business.

Sources: 1. Apple Maps, Indexed vs 1/13/2020. 2. Study - “How Much Will COVID-19 Affect Travel Behavior?”, University of Chicago,June 2020; iHeartMedia Holiday Survey – Sept 2020, A18+ (n=299. 3. Source: The Infinite Dial 2020, Base: P18+ driven/ridden in car in last month and used any audio source in car 2. The Infinite Dial 2020, Base: P18+ driven/ridden in car in last month and used any audio source in car