Click here to view a 10-minute video of the key findings.

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

New data from MRI-Simmons, Edison’s “Share of Ear”, and Nielsen reveals AM/FM radio elevates the media plan with significant incremental reach.

Key findings:

• Reach is the primary media driver of growth. Always aim to get more customers from all segments of the market. It’s the main way brands grow.
• AM/FM radio is America’s number one mass reach media among persons 25-54 and, surprisingly, among 18-34s.
• AM/FM radio generates significant incremental reach to social media platforms and YouTube.
• Digital audio only reaches a third of Americans daily. Adding AM/FM radio causes reach to soar to 72% of the U.S.
• AM/FM radio makes your TV better. The younger the demo, the greater the incremental reach. The addition of AM/FM radio lifts TV reach by +32% among 25-54s and +65% among 18-34s.

Over the last ten years, a vast array of marketing science studies have documented how AM/FM radio advertising can build local businesses and national brands. You can review a summary of these findings here: The Business Case for AM/FM Radio Advertising: Be Known Before You’re Needed

How does AM/FM radio generate such impressive business outcomes? AM/FM radio’s significant reach helps advertisers grow mental availability and create positive brand memories.

The objective of advertising is to increase mental availability, the propensity of a brand to be noticed and thought of in buying situations

In 66 Ways To Screw It Up: How Not to Plan, the most useful marketing strategy book ever written, authors Les Binet and Sarah Carter explain:

“The single most important factor driving brand preference is ‘mental availability’: how well known a brand is, and how easily it comes to mind. Brands with low mental availability tend to struggle, rejected in favour of more familiar rivals. Or not considered in the first place. Brands with high mental availability don’t have to push so hard to sell, so tend to have higher market shares and better margins.”

Ty Heath: The brand that’s remembered is the brand that is bought

The job of advertising to creative positive memories, reports Ty Heath at the B2B Marketing Institute: “The goal is not to create a lead, the goal is create a memory. Lead generation is short term. Memory generation is long term. Win the mind to win the market. Mind share equals market share. The brand that’s remembered is the brand that is bought.”

Brand memories are formed with mass reach advertising, a key driver of growth

In their book System 1: Unlocking Profitable Growth, John Kearon, Orlando Wood, and Tom Ewing explain, “Growth is driven by increasing sales to non-buyers and light users. Your brand needs to become more mentally and physically available to these people. Brands should focus on winning new customers, rather than trying to increase existing customer loyalty. Contrary to popular belief, targeting a wide audience and including non-users is not a waste of money. It’s a key driver of growth.”

Les Binet and Sarah Carter: Reach trumps frequency

In How Not To Plan: 66 Ways to Screw It Up, Les Binet and Sarah Carter offer these recommendations:

• “Always aim to get more customers from all segments of the market. It’s the main way brands grow.
• Talk to everyone who buys your category. Talk to them regularly. Advertising memories fade.
• Go for reach, rather than frequency. Reach as many category buyers as possible.
• Don’t target too narrowly. It may be efficient, but it’s rarely effective. Tight targeting means low sales and profits.”

Given that reach is the most significant media sales driver, smart media planners need to identify strategies to grow campaign reach.

AM/FM radio makes your media plan better by increasing reach

Here are the six slides that reveal how AM/FM radio elevates the media plan:

1. AM/FM radio is America’s number one mass reach media among persons 25-54

If reach is the primary driver of media effectiveness, AM/FM radio is the ideal addition to the media plan that targets persons 25-54.

AM/FM radio leads all U.S. media in reach according to Nielsen, Edison, and MRI-Simmons. Surprisingly, podcasts, a very effective form of audio, rank number two in total U.S. monthly reach, beating TV, Facebook, and YouTube.

While most of the media below are reported on their monthly reach, the AM/FM radio and TV audiences are based on weekly reach from Nielsen’s Q1 2026 Audience Insights report. AM/FM radio’s weekly reach is so impressive even when compared to the monthly reach of other media platforms.

2. Among 18-34s, AM/FM radio is America’s number one mass reach media at an 81% weekly reach

Think AM/FM radio is not be up to the task of reaching 18-34s? Think again!

AM/FM radio leads all media for 18-34 monthly reach! Note that podcasts are a strong number two, surpassing YouTube, linear TV, Instagram, and Facebook.

3. AM/FM radio generates significant incremental reach to social media platforms

The Spring 2026 MRI-Simmons report reveals adding AM/FM radio to social media platforms generates impressive lifts in reach. AM/FM radio generates:

• +34% greater incremental reach to Facebook
• +60% audience increase to Instagram
• 2.1X greater reach to TikTok

4. AM/FM radio generates incremental reach to YouTube

Spring 2026 MRI-Simmons reports adding AM/FM radio to YouTube generates a +46% lift in incremental reach.

5. AM/FM radio is the primary driver of audio reach: If you think you are reaching a lot of America with a digital audio buy, think again

Only a third of America is reached by digital audio in a typical day. Edison’s Q2 2026 “Share of Ear” study of ad-supported audio reveals the combined persons 18+ daily reach of Pandora and Spotify is only 12% of Americans. Adding podcasts causes reach to grow to 32%.

If you check the box on audio with just a digital audio buy, you’ve missed two thirds of America.

Adding AM/FM radio to digital audio causes reach to soar from 32% to a 72% net reach, an increase of over two times. AM/FM radio reaches the 40% of Americans daily who are not reached by digital audio.

6. AM/FM radio makes your TV better with stunning incremental reach growth

Nielsen’s Q1 2026 Audience Insights reports reveals the addition of AM/FM radio to TV generates a major reach lift across all demographics. The younger the demographic, the greater the incremental reach growth.

• Among persons 18+, AM/FM radio generates a +23% lift in TV reach
• Among persons 18-34, AM/FM radio lifts TV reach by an astonishing +65%
• Among 18-49s, AM/FM radio increases TV reach by +45%
• Among 25-54s, the addition of AM/FM radio grows TV reach by +32%

Key findings:

• Reach is the primary media driver of growth. Always aim to get more customers from all segments of the market. It’s the main way brands grow.
• AM/FM radio is America’s number one mass reach media among persons 25-54 and, surprisingly, among 18-34s.
• AM/FM radio generates significant incremental reach to social media platforms and YouTube.
• Digital audio only reaches a third of Americans daily. Adding AM/FM radio causes reach to soar to 72% of the U.S.
• AM/FM radio makes your TV better. The younger the demo, the greater the incremental reach. The addition of AM/FM radio lifts TV reach by +32% among 25-54s and +65% among 18-34s.

Click here to view a 10-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.