How to use audio
Using spot advertising
Spot airtime can be bought across different day parts and days of the week depending on the objectives of your campaign.
Setting campaign weights
There are really two ways of considering campaign weight planning: weekly reach and weekly frequency.
Weekly reach
Weekly reach is the percentage of your target audience that will hear an ad within a week. The richest data we have about audio campaign planning is from Radiocentre Ireland’s CampaignFX research which shows that generating maximum WEEKLY REACH is the best way to optimise audio return on investment. In the study when weekly reach data was modelled against uplifts from audio, the results demonstrated significantly improved returns at the higher coverage levels and support optimising weekly coverage. It challenges the traditional view that audio is a “the frequency medium”, and suggests that maximising weekly reach is the best way to attain optimum effectiveness.
Weekly frequency
On the other hand, if you are looking for guidance about weekly frequency then the learning is based less on data and more on historical practice. It is generally accepted common practice, when planning an average weight campaign, the target audience should hear the ad campaign at least 4 times over a 2/3 week period. Lighter weight campaigns should ensure the target audience hear the commercial at least 3 times over a 2/3 week period while a heavy weight campaign (eg product or campaign launches ) will ensure the target audience will hear the commercial at least 6 times over a 2/3 week period.
Summary: reach or frequency?
Most recent advertising industry research (e.g. the IPA’s ‘The Long and the Short of It’ by Les Binet and Peter Field; ‘How Brands Grow’ by Byron Sharp) highlights the fundamental importance of reach for campaign success. This makes sense – if you plan the perfect weekly frequency but only a small proportion of the population are exposed to this then the campaign effects will be limited. High reach gives the campaign the optimum chance of wider success.
In this context, it makes sense to prioritise weekly reach over frequency unless there are very specific tactical reasons to do otherwise.
What is the optimum spot length?
Whilst the most common spot lengths are 30 and 40 seconds, spots can in effect be any time length of 10 second increments up to 60 seconds or even longer. Research suggests that longer time lengths are more effective at generating recall but, because longer commercials cost more, they do so less efficiently than shorter time lengths. Ultimately this boils down to the creative approach i.e. how long does the ad need to be to get the message across effectively. It can be helpful to include a recommended time length in a creative brief, if only to help manage budgets from both a media and budget perspective, but it’s worth being open to deviating from this for the right creative idea.
How long should my radio campaign be?
The standard campaign length for most individual campaigns is around four weeks. However, what is right for your campaign will depend on the objectives. Is this about maintaining a constant level of awareness for an existing brand? In which case consider running over as long a period of time as budget will allow. Or is it about achieving maximum awareness as quickly as possible for a new brand launch or tactical offer? In which case, consider a shorter heavier burst of activity. Bear in mind it takes time for a new campaign to become established so we would recommend a minimum of four or five weeks to ensure cut-through.
Selecting stations
In general people seek to use stations that reach a high percentage of their chosen target audience as efficiently as possible. Traditional means of measuring station performance (weekly reach, average hours listened by the target) give some indication of what coverage might be achieved, but little indication of the efficiency.
For this, the advertiser needs to look at the station’s profile i.e. what proportion of the total listening to the station does the target audience represent. The JNLR research provides this data.
See JNLR summary here Radio Centre Ireland - The April '24 to March '25 JNLR/Ipsos survey reveals that Irish radio is enjoying its highest audience ever
Another important factor for many advertisers is selecting stations that focus ons pecific locations. With a range of national, regional and local stations covering all of Ireland, audio is highly flexible geographically – providing opportunities for all types of advertisers to precisely target important locations efficiently.
Using Branded Content
Advertising on radio isn’t just about the spot ads that you hear during the traditional ad break. Branded Content allows advertisers to take advantage of various other creative opportunities and partnerships that stations are able to offer and benefit from the close relationship between listener and presenter.
What is branded content?
Branded content is any on-air activity that takes place outside of the spot advertising break e.g. sponsorships, promotions and advertiser-funded programming elements. The regulations permit for brands/products to be endorsed on-air within radio programming by presenters or brand ambassadors – provided it is transparent to listeners that a commercial arrangement is in place.
Branded content benefits
Branded content allows advertising a greater level of integration into station content through the development of new and creative mechanics. Station content has always had high levels of trust, and branded content allows advertisers to benefit from the unique relationship stations enjoy with millions of listeners every day. This means that station branded content can deliver unique and powerful partnerships in ways that no other broadcast medium can.
Briefing branded content
The best branded content projects require the input of people on both the sales and programming side of the station. It is vitally important therefore that everyone involved in the development process has a clear understanding of the strategic background to the project: in particular, about the brand and what it aims to achieve.
As with most things in the marketing world, this places a huge responsibility on the quality of the brief.
A good brief should provide rich context and clear direction to help inspire great ideas but allow plenty of room for creative development. In particular, there are three main characteristics that help to enhance radio branded content briefs:
Simplicity: keep the brief clear and concise and avoid unnecessary marketing speak/jargon. Try to limit information to that which is relevant to or will help in the development of the radio branded content idea. Allow room in the brief for the station groups to develop ideas.
Focus: ensure that the brief is very clear about the marketing challenge that the branded content needs to address, and how this relates to other marketing activity.
Time: allow enough time for the station groups to consider the brief and develop ideas before responding. In general, a time frame of two weeks between brief and response should be enough to allow the station to involve the right people in the development process.
The Failte Ireland Daycations is a great example of the effective use of branded content.
Read the case study here Radio Centre Ireland - Failte Ireland Daycations: Locals know best
Using Digital Audio
The rise in listening through connected devices has created huge commercial opportunities in the form of digital audio advertising placed into streamed or downloaded audio content including broadcast radio, on-demand music services, and podcasts.
Research highlights how live radio and on-demand services play complementary roles forthe listener – and they can also do so for advertisers. Using both in tandem can help optimise the effects of a media campaign.
View the need state research here Radio Centre Ireland - Radiocentre Ireland releases needstate research which show the drivers behind the continued growth in audio
Because digital audio is delivered over connected devices, digital audio can use data to target a more precisely defined audience and influence the content of the commercial that the listener hears via dynamic creative.
All stations can offer individualised personal data-led targeting of listeners to their streamed content. Technology allows advertisers to target based on factors such as specific location (eg city, town), time of day, weather, listening device (i.e. smart speaker, mobile phone, PC, tablet etc) and context. A great example of this is the campaign for Irish Life’s MyLife App, where dynamic technology was used to generate 23,688 possible variations of the Irish Life audio ad to ensure each message was tailored to the specific situation that was relevant to the listener (day and time of year, time of day, location, device used to listen).
Read the Irish Life Case Study here Radio Centre Ireland - 23,688 Steps to Success with MyLife
Creative
Great writing, stand-out performance and quality sound design are key to creating effective audio advertising.
The creative idea and the quality of your ad can have a huge impact on its commercial success. Advertising studies show a strong link between creative excellence and effectiveness.
Below are tips to help make great audio ads.
1. Make ads that connect emotionally with the listener
People are busy and they don’t really seek out advertising, many pay to block out advertising (ad blockers, Spotify Premium, YouTube Premium etc). So, brands need to create advertising that is interesting and entertaining, advertising that appeals to people’s emotions. Audio ads should contain characters with vitality, a story should unfold in an interesting way, there should be a clear sense of place. Distinctive accents, clever playing with words, unexpected contextual noise, and sounds of the living are key features that make audio ads more interesting. Unlike visual media, which presents an image outright, audio invites listeners to create their own mental imagery. This immersive storytelling engages the brain on a deeper level, making messages more memorable and impactful.
2. Create with the listener in mind.
Audio can put the listener at the centre of brand communications. Commercials on TV, video, out of home, online show other people interacting with a brand, with audio, you can easily make the listener the central character to intrigue and involve the listener. Make audio ads relatable with creative strategy that speaks to the listener directly.
3. Stand out but be consistent
Ads that stand out from the category, and other audio ads, get more attention and result in listeners feeling greater emotional intensity. However, It’s important for audio ads to be consistently distinctive, i.e. sounding different from other brands but consistently sounding like themselves. Fluent device is a term that is rising in popularity, which means developing your audio brand assets, your brand sound, sonic, jingle, voice, character, jingle all the things that makes your brand sound like your brand. And keep them consistent.
4. Embrace the power of music
Sir John Hegarty, a luminary in the advertising world, has articulated the significance of sound in advertising. He emphasized that music is "the most powerful selling tool ever." Music activates our limbic systems, accessing people’s emotions and memories and no visual stimulus affects us quite as strongly. A well-crafted ad with the right combination of voice, music, and sound effects can transport listeners, making them feel, experience, and most importantly, act. Music brings audio ads to life by attracting attention and creating emotion. Using music generally caused a huge jump in long-term effectiveness. However, melodic music is more powerful than repetitive, rhythmic soundtracks. Choose music listeners can hum to and lodge in their memory.
5. Brand early and brand often
Without the advantage of visual cues, introducing the brand’s distinctive audio assets earlier in the ad, ideally within the first few seconds and then repeating throughout, can help listeners process the ad more effortlessly. This doesn’t mean just repeating the brand name again and again but instead utilising the brands full audio assets- be that strapline, character voices or music. This can help enhance both short-term and long-term ad effects.
You can find out more about creative effectiveness by reading and listening to Radiocentre Ireland’s Listen Up webinar here Radio Centre Ireland - Radio is as likely to cause long-lasting effects through an emotional response as TV according to new research
Measuring Your Campaign
If you are using radio either as a one-off test campaign or as part of a longer term strategy it is important to consider how you are going to measure the effects of your investment. Not only will this provide you with tangible outcomes resulting from your activity it can also help you understand how to optimise any future radio investment.
In today’s dynamic media landscape, audio advertising—both traditional radio and digital streaming—continues to play a vital role in marketing strategies. Whether you're broadcasting to commuters on FM radio or targeting niche audiences on platforms like Spotify, Pandora, or podcasts, measuring the effectiveness of these campaigns is key to optimizing performance and proving ROI.
1. Set Clear Objectives
Before measuring success, define what success looks like. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website visits, boost sales, or promote app downloads?Your goals will determine which metrics matter most.
Common objectives include:
2. Use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Depending on your platform and objective, your KPIs may include:
For broadcast Radio:
· Reach & Frequency: How many people heard your ad, and how often?
· Gross Rating Points (GRPs): A standard radio metric indicating audience reach and ad frequency.
· Brand Lift Studies: Pre- and post-campaign surveys to track changes in awareness or perception.
· Call Tracking & Promo Codes: Use unique phone numbers or discount codes to attribute responses directly to the ad.
· Foot Traffic Attribution: Some services can track location data to measure in-store visits after hearing a radio ad.
For Digital Audio:
3. Leverage attribution technology
For digital audio, sophisticated attribution tools are available to link ad exposure with user behaviour:
4. Use Post-Campaign Surveys
Especially effective for both radio and digital audio, post-campaign surveys can measure:
Surveys help capture qualitative feedback that traditional analytics might miss, especially around brand perception.
5. Analyse Incrementality
To isolate the impact of your audio campaign, use techniques like:
· Controlled testing (exposed vs unexposed groups)
· Pre-post comparisons (brand awareness, traffic, or sales before and after the campaign)
· Market-level analysis (comparing regions with and without ad exposure)
6. Combine Data Sources for a Holistic View
Integrate data from your CRM, website analytics(Google Analytics, Adobe), POS systems, and third-party tracking to gain a full picture of campaign effectiveness. Omnichannel analysis helps attribute outcomes more accurately, especially for campaigns that use a mix of traditional and digital audio.
Measuring the effectiveness of radio and digital audio advertising requires a blend of traditional metrics, digital analytics, and strategic testing. With the rise of programmatic audio and sophisticated tracking tools, advertisers now have greater power than ever to prove audio's impact and refine their approach for future success.
