Radio Advertising: Still Worth It in 2025?

If you talk to some individuals in the marketing niche, they might scoff at the idea of radio advertising. They may feel that it’s outdated. Is that really the case, though?

If you visit some marketing entities, like the One Day Agency in Manchester, they might say something different. It’s proof that there are some agencies and marketing specialists who feel that radio ads may still be worth pursuing.

How can you tell whether what you have to sell will move any units if you create radio spots, though? We’ll discuss the subject in detail now.

Conduct Focus Groups

If you ask whether radio spots still work as a form of effective marketing, there’s no way to get a simple yes or no answer. Instead, the answer is maybe.

That might be frustrating, but keep in mind that in marketing, the method you’re using doesn’t matter near as much as targeting the right audience and making sure they hear your messaging. That’s why you might want to conduct a focus group of some of your likely customers to try and figure out whether any of them still listen to the radio.

If you conduct some focus groups with individuals who might conceivably buy your products and utilize your services, you can ask them about whether you like listening to radio shows. You can also get into more detail by asking whether they listen to satellite radio stations or local ones.

Talk to Marketing Agencies

The other thing you will want to do is to talk to a marketing agency that has experience helping companies both in your particular niche and locale. They should be able to tell you whether they think it is worth it to create radio spots.

You don’t just have to take their word for it, though. Marketing agencies are always data-driven entities.

If the individuals who work there tell you that they’ve created and run radio spots for companies in your niche and geographic locale, they can probably show you data proving the effectiveness of such campaigns. If you are convinced by what they show you, then you might hire this agency to see if they can produce similar results for you.

Look at Your Budget

Looking at the budget you have available will also be instrumental in determining whether you want to create some radio spots for your company. For instance, maybe all you have is a shoestring budget if you’re running a startup that just opened its doors to the public for the first time.

If that’s the case, then radio may not be as effective as what you might get back through website and offsite SEO or social media. You also might look at options like TV commercials or spots on podcasts. You may even think about guerilla marketing measures or billboards.

If you determine through market research that radio ads still make sense for your company, and you have the money to create them, then there’s no reason not to do so.

Photo by Jacob Hodgson on Unsplash