Radio ads have better recall than web: survey.

Inside Radio shared this information on the strength of radio this morning.  As marketers rush to go digital, a new survey commissioned by the Southern California Broadcasters Association shows consumers are more likely to notice their message on broadcast radio and other traditional media.

Broadcast radio ranked second behind newspapers in the online survey of 2,015 adults aged 18 and older when respondents were asked if they recalled noticing any specific advertisers while using various media platforms.  Radio had a 10.9% advantage over social networks and 13.1% edge over search engines and showed even greater margins when compared to viewing online video ads and mobile ads from non-radio sites.

Even Millennials, who were more likely to use a search engine, social network or smartphone than listen to radio, recalled noticing broadcast radio commercials by a 12.5% margin over search engines and 9% more than mobile ads.

SCBA president Thom Callahan says the data shows search engine usage “has no correlation” with ad recall on search engines. “The consumer clearly recalls and pays attention to radio commercials much more than to any digital, search engine, or social media ads,” he says.

The online survey was conducted in May by Marketing Charts, using SurveyMonkey’s audience panel, with additional data from Harris Interactive and Experian Marketing Services.  A separate February 2014 study from Goo Technologies/Harris Interactive found just over two thirds of respondents (64%) notice ads on radio, just ahead of TV.  Further back were online search engines (41%), social media (38%) and online banner ads (27%).