This paper examines to what extent different instruments and/or methods of advertising-impact research describe radio's specific contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of combined radio and TV campaigns in a comparable way. A total of eight combined radio and TV campaigns relating to beer products were analysed. Three different instruments and/or methods to determine the advertising impact of radio (and TV) were used: the (more or less) classical survey covering the well-known advertising-impact indicators, such as advertising awareness and brand awareness; sales analyses based on measured purchases and measured TV and (surveyed) radio consumption within a Single Source Panel; and an econometric model based exclusively on market data. The positive results, which tend to be very similar, should strengthen confidence both in the instruments used and in the effectiveness of radio advertising.
The effect of radio spots/radio campaigns on advertising recall, brand awareness and inclination to buy has been adequately demonstrated in numerous studies based on the most diverse of research tools and analysis models. The toughest test of a radio campaigns success, however, is measuring the additional sales it generates for the advertised brand. It has been possible for some years now to study the sales impact of TV campaigns based on analyses of single source panels. The launch of AC Nielsen Single Source PLUS Radio in spring 2000 allows the efficacy of German radio campaigns to be evaluated. This analysis tool is capable of providing a detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of a radio campaign, based on the parameters of spot effectiveness, insertion effectiveness and campaign effectiveness. The results of analyses performed to date on radio campaigns indicate that the influence factors in radio campaigns are broadly comparable with those at work in TV campaigns. Findings from single-source research also confirm that insertion strategies based on recency planning are particularly effective.