Latest CRA campaign focuses on effectiveness of radio ads

The radio industry has focused its latest on-air advertisements, part of its successful multi-million dollar advertising campaign, on its recent effectiveness research while still using humour as a key element.

Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner told radioinfo: “The new ads, on-air nationally now, highlight the key findings of a recently released Advertising Effectiveness Study, which shows that by shifting 20 per cent of a television advertising budget to radio, brand awareness can be increased by up to 20 per cent and sales lifted by up to 15 per cent.”

“Everyone wants to be able to prove the effectiveness of their advertising and clients insist upon it.”

“The radio industry has compelling evidence that advertisers can increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns by increasing their radio buy. This is an important message – and one we believe needs highlighting for potential advertisers.”

The ad campaign, written by international award-winning director of Eardrum Australia, Ralph van Dijk, continues to use comic Mark Mitchell and rely on humour to convey the message that radio is a cost-effective medium for advertisers.

Van Dijk commented: “In this campaign the message is a little more technical and that in it self can be funny. We look at how in today’s marketing climate there is so much focus on the bottom line there is no room for wastage. This makes the new ad effectiveness research even more valuable to anyone in marketing.”

“Because our target audience consists of marketing savvy experts, the entertainment value needs to be high. Plus the ads cut through so much they need layers to ensure they stand repeat-listening. We’re a cynical bunch at the best of times but thankfully the response has been excellent. We even get fan mail!”

The new ads, part of the industry’s ongoing, multi-million brand campaign, follow on from ads which targeted niche markets like the insurance industry and most recently, used senior executives of major companies to explain why they use radio as part of their advertising mix.

Notable business leaders included were Harvey Norman’s chairman Gerry Harvey; John Symond, managing director of Aussie Home Loans and Carlton and United’s general manager of regular beer, Matt Keen, who each talked about the benefits of radio advertising and how the use of the medium helped sell their message and target their brands effectively.

Ms. Warner said: “Radio advertising is now being taken very seriously at an international creative level and the industry’s own campaign reflects the great strength of good Australian radio ads. Today’s advertising climate is also highly competitive and very cluttered, making it imperative for advertisers to use effective and efficient mediums for their message to get through – radio is often the best answer.”

Commercial Radio Australia has also recently released a major collection of effectiveness research from Australia and around the world that provides evidence that advertisers can increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns by increasing their radio buy.

The organisation joined with its counterparts from the US, Canada and the UK to publish the leading studies, called the International Research Compendium, which explores the use and effectiveness of radio advertising in combination with newspapers, internet and outdoor. The compendium, believed to be the biggest collection of radio research in the world, also covers hot topics such as ad avoidance, return on investment and the benefits of synergy.

Ms Warner said good research was at the heart of making sensible decisions about advertising spend and the compendium would be able to assist with this.

The International Research Compendium can be viewed on the Commercial Radio Australia website at www.commercialradio.com.au

The new commercial can be heard at the weblink below. Click on Commercial 22 “Research”.