Click here to view a 16-minute video of the key findings.

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

According to Dale W. Harrison of Inforda Life Science Services, “The reality is that most [business-to-business] (~95%) customers are NOT in-market and represent future buyers who will only bring THEMSELVES in-market once a need emerges!” According to Ehrenberg Bass Institute of Marketing Science, only 5% of business-to-business (B2B) firms are in-market for a product or services at any point in time.

Harrison urges B2B brands to focus on future buyers and “being known before they are needed” by building brand awareness, recall, and trust among out of market consumers so that when an “urgent high-value need” emerges, they are the brand that comes to mind.

LinkedIn has partnered with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute to publish a series of papers on How B2B Brands Grow. In The 95-5 Rule, John Dawes explains “why to prioritize the 95% of ‘out-market’ buyers who pay a company future cash flows.”

Some of the most successful AM/FM radio and podcast advertisers are (B2B) brands

These companies sell to businesses rather than consumers. Big spenders on AM/FM radio include brands marketing to small business decision makers (Staples, Indeed, Dell, Intuit, and ZipRecruiter), brands targeting IT decision makers (CDW), and brands focused on facility managers (Grainger).

Magellan: B2B brands have spent $182M on podcast advertising over the last 14 months

Magellan, the firm that tracks podcast advertising expenditures, reveals significant spending from B2B brands over the last 14 months. Top B2B brands are purchasing hundreds of podcasts.

Magellan: Business services and software – Jan 1, 2023 through Feb 22, 2024
Name	Ad count	Podcasts	Spend
NetSuite	7379	358	$17,416,200
ExpressVPN	3240	219	$13,668,400
LifeLock	7521	627	$9,334,500
Stamps.com	3610	573	$7,627,300
ShipStation	3461	478	$5,986,500
IBM	3115	175	$4,318,600
Dell	2147	51	$4,208,700
HubSpot	2115	84	$3,835,600
IBM watsonx	2522	111	$3,763,100
Amazon Business	1623	60	$3,399,000
LinkedIn	2325	252	$3,398,100
AT&T Business	1019	106	$3,123,200
Miro	3264	597	$2,743,000
Odoo	878	19	$2,730,200
Canva	1166	109	$2,421,000

AM/FM radio reaches 85% of all business decision makers weekly; Podcasts reach 40%

Along with digital, AM/FM radio reaches nearly all business decision makers weekly, more than broadcast television, cable television, or newspapers. Podcasts reach nearly 40% of all business decision makers on a weekly basis, even more on a monthly basis.

AM/FM radio delivers massive reach among target business decision maker segments

Drilling down, AM/FM radio reaches nearly all business decision makers in important consumer categories for advertisers:

• 84% who work in management positions
• 85% who purchase information technology (IT)
• 85% who purchase business travel or convention arrangements
• 86% who purchase overnight delivery services
• 86% who purchase office equipment and supplies

Podcasts also have significant reach in these business decision maker segments, reaching one in three across the board.

Edison Podcast Metrics: Podcasts are a rich media platform for B2B brands

The just released Q4 2023 Edison Podcast Metrics study reveals 53% of weekly podcast listeners participate in purchase decisions at work. 32% say they are the primary purchase decision maker. 17% of weekly podcast listeners are business owners.

AM/FM radio impacts business decision makers where they are a captive audience – commuting in the car

The car is the ideal place for AM/FM radio to reach business decision makers. According to Edison’s “Share of Ear” study, AM/FM radio commands a massive 85% share of time spent listening to ad-supported audio in the car. Podcasts occupy the second spot at 7% of time spent with ad-supported audio in the car.

The car is also an ideal place to reach business decision makers because it is an environment to deliver one-on-one messaging. According to the U.S. census, 77% of American workers commute by car or truck. Nearly 90% of these in-car commuters drive alone. AM/FM radio offers a direct channel to B2B consumers.

Nielsen Scarborough: Business decision makers are similar in profile to heavy AM/FM radio and podcast listeners

Business decision makers are a highly desirable consumer group – slightly younger, more educated, and more upscale than the overall U.S. population. Among all major media, the AM/FM radio, podcast, and digital audiences align most closely with the profile of business decision makers. Heavy TV viewers are less of a match to the business target as they are much older and far less likely to be employed.

Audio connects with business decision makers on an emotional and intellectual level which means listeners are highly attentive

Compared to the average adult, business decision makers are more likely to turn to audio (AM/FM radio and podcasts) as sources for ideas, learning, and information. Business decision makers are actively engaged with audio, making it an ideal and attentive environment to market business-related products and services to a receptive audience.

Business-to-business professionals listen to a variety of AM/FM radio programming formats and podcast genres

There is a myth that business-to-business professionals only listen to News/Talk and Spoken Word AM/FM radio formats. The reality is that they listen to a wide variety of AM/FM radio formats. Some of the most listened to AM/FM radio formats among the B2B segment are Adult Contemporary, Country, and Top 40/Pop Contemporary.

Signal Hill Insights, a leading audio marketing research firm, reveals that “learning something new” is a key reason people listen to podcasts. This highly engaged and attentive audience provides an ideal context for B2B marketers.

Business decision makers don’t stick solely to Business podcasts. According to the Edison Podcast Metrics study, primary business decision makers and business owners listen to a wide variety of podcast genres.

MESH Experience: Among IT decision makers, AM/FM radio is the number one media platform

MESH Experience, a leading market researcher, conducted a study of 401 IT decision makers in October 2023. MESH reports that 90% of IT decisions makers are reached by AM/FM radio, the most consumed ad-supported media platform.

Classic Rock leads a wide diversity of AM/FM radio programming formats listened to among information technology decision makers

MESH Experience found a large number of AM/FM radio programming formats have strong listenership among IT decision makers.

Information technology decision makers listen to wide array of podcast genres

Just buying ads on Tech podcasts would miss the vast majority of IT decision makers. The key to B2B success is optimize for reach.

MESH Experience: Information technology decision maker case study reveals AM/FM radio drives stronger impact than TV for IT brand despite the brand spending 5X more on TV

A campaign effect study conducted by MESH Experience found that AM/FM radio drove stronger brand equity than the TV campaign despite the brand spending 5X more on TV. Compared to TV viewers, AM/FM radio listeners had strong awareness of and familiarity with the brand and greater brand positivity and purchase intent.

Nielsen Media Impact: How AM/FM radio elevates the B2B TV media plan

Via Nielsen Media Impact, the media planning and optimization platform, this analysis of recent B2B TV campaigns reveals how the overlay of AM/FM radio generates significant incremental reach growth.

Five recommendations for B2B brands from the Les Binet and Peter Field, “the godfathers of marketing effectiveness”

Les Binet, global head of effectiveness at adam&eveDDB London, and Peter Field, acclaimed marketing consultant, assembled a powerful set of five recommendations for B2B brands.

1. Invest in share of voice: To grow, ensure your share of voice is greater than your market share
2. Balance brand and performance investments; allocate 46% to branding, 54% performance/sales activation
3. Expand the customer base with mass reach media
4. Maximize mental availability: Ensure your brand comes to mind quickly and easily in buying situations 
5. Harness the power of emotion in creative: emotion is the strongest selling tool you have

System1: Five elements of effective and profitable B2B creative

System1, the leading creative effectiveness measurement firm, offers these five creative elements for B2B marketers:

1. Story arc: Those who tell the best stories rule the world
2. Characters: We all need someone, or something, to cheer for
3. Soundtrack: Music speaks straight to the heart and stirs the soul
4. Emotion: Speak to the heart, don’t bother the brain
5. Fluent device: Use fictitious character or characters or a scenario, expressed as a slogan

System1: Audio creative best practices

Andrew Tindall, Senior VP Global Partnerships at System1, has authored Listen Up!, a new book on audio creative effectiveness. Andrew offers these audio creative practices:

“Brands need more audio-distinctive brand assets: Ideally to be peppered through ALL ads. Early brand recognition in audio ads is key to growing ad recall. So, brand early and often with distinctive assets. Why not create a jingle? They dramatically increase long- and short-term effectiveness.

SLOW DOWN: An ad being clear and easy to understand is key to building positive emotions. Everyone overestimates how familiar listeners are with your brand. Ads need to slowly and clearly say brand names. The only brands that can get away with not doing this are those that have invested in audio assets heavily for years. There are not many of these brands!

Put on a show and entertain for commercial gain: Listen Up! builds on the work of Orlando Wood to identify right-brain creative audio features. Features that attract and sustain our broad attention. Those that earn our interest, not expect it. The use of audio depth, characters, stories, a clear sense of audio-place, dialogue, and unexpected contextual sounds. These features are all more associated with emotion and memory formation. Key for brand building.

Use pauses and hushed voices to create dramatic intimacy: “Sotto Voce” is Italian for under the voice, a dramatic lowering of volume. A technique used by Mozart and Beethoven to modulate volume and pace, to create intimacy. Pauses and hushed voices create dramatic intimacy. It helps to tell stories. Build emotion. Listeners lean in and their senses heighten. Audio is a very close, omnipresent and intimate medium. Use dramatic intimacy to elicit emotion, build more memory structures and create more lasting effects for your brand. Don’t shout.”

Key takeaways:

• 95% of businesses are not in market for products and services:  The primary goal of B2B marketing is “being known before you’re needed.”
• AM/FM radio reaches 85% of all business decision makers weekly. Podcasts reach 40%.
• Business decision makers are similar in profile to heavy AM/FM radio and podcast listeners.
• Audio connects with business decision makers on an emotional and intellectual level providing an engaged and attentive audience.
• Business-to-business professionals listen to a wide variety of AM/FM radio programming formats and podcast genres.
• MESH Experience: Among information technology decision makers, AM/FM radio is the number one media platform.
• IT decision maker case study: AM/FM radio drives stronger impact than TV for an IT brand despite spending 5X more on TV.
• Binet and Field’s effective B2B marketing strategies: Invest in share of voice; Balance brand and performance investments; Expand the customer base with mass reach media; Maximize mental availability; Harness the power of emotion in creative.
• System1’s ideal creative elements for B2B: A story arc, characters, soundtrack, emotion, and a fluent device (fictitious character/ characters or a scenario, expressed as a slogan).
• System1’s Andrew Tindall’s audio creative best practices: Brands need more audio-distinctive brand assets; Slowly and clearly say brand name; Put on a show and entertain for business gain; Use pauses and hushed voices to create dramatic intimacy.

Click here to view a 16-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.