Click here to view a 12-minute video of the key findings.

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

A nasal congestion and allergy relief brand ran a major national AM/FM radio campaign in winter 2026. To measure the entire campaign, the Cumulus Media | Westwood Audio Active Group® retained Quantilope to conduct a brand effect study of these exposed and not exposed to the AM/FM radio campaign. 1,000 U.S. adults 35+ were surveyed in March 2026.

Key findings:

• Audio is the ideal media platform for nasal treatments. Heavy podcast and AM/FM radio listeners far more likely to be aware of and use brands in the category.
• AM/FM radio worked: Those exposed to the AM/FM radio campaign exhibited much stronger brand equity (awareness, favorability, ad recall, consideration, and usage) versus those unexposed.
• While TV spend for the nasal/allergy relief category dwarfs audio investment, brand equity and usage underperform among heavy TV viewers.
• Surprisingly, brands that strongly advertise on TV have greater awareness among heavy audio listeners than among heavy TV viewers. This is because heavy audio consumers are much bigger users of the entire nasal/allergy relief category than TV viewers.

AM/FM radio works: Awareness, familiarity, favorability, consideration, and usage are much stronger among heavy audio users, trumping TV

• The advertised brand had the strongest aided awareness among heavy AM/FM radio listeners (70%) compared to the total U.S. (58%).
• Audio listeners were two to three times more likely to indicate they were extremely/very familiar with the brand.
• 40% of heavy audio listeners are very/somewhat favorable about the brand, outperforming heavy TV viewers (25%) and the U.S. average (23%).
• One of three heavy audio listeners would consider using the brand compared to only one out of five heavy TV viewers and the total U.S.
• Heavy audio listeners are much more likely to be brand users (8 to 9%) versus the total U.S. (3%) or heavy TV viewers (2%).

The nasal/allergy relief category spends massively on TV and little on audio, according to MediaRadar and Magellan AI

Despite significant TV campaigns across the nasal/allergy relief category, brand awareness is much stronger among heavy audio listeners

Versus TV viewers, audio listeners exhibit much stronger brand favorability and consideration

The reason nasal/allergy relief brand equity is so much stronger among audio listeners? Compared to TV viewers, audio listeners are much bigger users of all brands in the nasal/allergy category

• Nearly 80% of heavy audio users currently use a nasal/allergy relief brand versus only 62% for heavy TV viewers.
• 41% of heavy podcast and AM/FM radio listeners currently use NyQuil compared to only 28% among heavy TV viewers.
• 38% of heavy podcast listeners and 34% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners currently use Mucinex, versus only 24% of heavy TV viewers.
• 28% of heavy podcast listeners and 24% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners currently use Sudafed, versus only 17% of heavy TV viewers.

A wide array of AM/FM radio programming formats and podcast genres can be utilized to reach nasal/allergy category users

Aided ad recall: Audio listeners are much more responsive to the AM/FM radio ad than consumers overall and TV viewers

The nasal/allergy relief ad’s key copy points resonated strongly with audio listeners; TV viewers? Not so much

Audio listeners are far more likely to take action after being exposed to the AM/FM radio ad

Key findings:

• Audio is the ideal media platform for nasal treatments. Heavy podcast and AM/FM radio listeners far more likely to be aware of and use brands in the category.
• AM/FM radio worked: Those exposed to the AM/FM radio campaign exhibited much stronger brand equity (awareness, favorability, ad recall, consideration, and usage) versus those unexposed.
• While TV spend for the nasal/allergy relief category dwarfs audio investment, brand equity and usage underperform among heavy TV viewers.
• Surprisingly, brands that strongly advertise on TV have greater awareness among heavy audio listeners than among heavy TV viewers. This is because heavy audio consumers are much bigger users of the entire nasal/allergy relief category than TV viewers.

Click here to view a 12-minute video of the key findings.

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group^®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.