Let’s pretend your client’s Radio campaign is a car. 

Reach? That’s the tires. Strategy? That’s your GPS. Budget / Repetition? Absolutely, that’s the gas tank (enough “fuel” is very important). But the creative? That’s the engine that actually moves the thing forward. 

And according to a massive study by Nielsen and NCSolutions – we’re talking 450 campaigns across all kinds of media – guess what accounted for 49% of the sales lift? 

Bingo. The creative. 

Meanwhile, targeting (the thing most advertisers obsess over) was responsible for just 11%. Eleven! We’ll call that the cupholder. 

The crazy part – most marketers feel that only around 21% of ad effectiveness comes from the creative – when 49% does! And that 25% of ad effectiveness comes from targeting – when only 11% does! See video link from Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group at the end of this article that illustrates this wide gap between perception and reality.  

Great creative is the part that makes people care. It’s the spark. The story. The laugh at a red light. It’s what earns trust, grabs attention, and gets remembered. 

Wouldn’t you like to separate yourself from all the other advertising salespeople out there who are touting all the same old crap – like reach, station rankings, demographics, impressions, etc.???!!! 

If your clients would ever question why you spend time crafting, refining, and rewriting radio scripts – tell them this: “Creative drives ROI.” Period. Not in the fluffy, artsy way. In the measurable, customers-in-the-door, dollars-in-the-till kind of way. 

Every time you present a campaign, you’re handing your client either a rusty old beater or a sleek, emotional powerhouse. They both might get airtime, but only one’s going to get results. 

Want to sell more effectively, renew easier, and cause your clients to love you more? 

Make better ads. 

Here’s a link to an 11-minute video from the “Cumulus Media Westwood One Audio Active Group” YouTube channel that summarizes the studies mentioned above very nicely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-wZxQaROuI 

Note: At about the 4:30 mark, it says, “Creative is a key driver of advertising performance… second only to investment levels”. Meaning, don’t skimp on the number of ads you schedule. Repetition is very key. Targeting, not so much.