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

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

A brand awareness study conducted across a number of categories in Springfield, Missouri reveals long running AM/FM radio campaigns have built significant brands with strong awareness and purchase intent.

Key findings:

• Since 84% of purchases are effectively decided before shopping begins, brands need to be known long before they’re needed.
• While Madison Avenue is obsessed with measuring the short-term sales effect of advertising, successful Springfield businesses recognize their primary job is to create future demand.
• Kitchenland USA, A-1 Roofing, Dave’s Discount Carpet, and Ozark Fence have built strong brands as a result of their consistent long-term use of AM/FM radio advertising.
• Local businesses need to constantly advertise since new people are always moving to town who don’t know the local brands.
• The number one brand in many local categories is “don’t know.”

All hat and no cattle! Win the mind, to win the market

We have all sat through monthly digital meetings with local businesses that show tremendous growth in impressions, click- throughs, etc. Yet the sales have not improved.

More and more, business owners are not seeing the connection from digital impressions to increased sales. They are frustrated.

In Texas they call it, “All hat and no cattle.” The real cowboys are discovering that to win sales at bottom of funnel, they need to win the mind at the top of the funnel first. Mind share equals market share.

Since 84% of purchases are effectively decided before shopping begins, brands need to be known long before they’re needed

This key conclusion is from a major study called How Humans Decide from WPP Media, Saïd Business School, and Oxford University. The data is based on a decade of research of 1.2 million consumer journeys across over 200 categories in 47 countries.

Most consumers already know which brand they will buy. As such, the major job of advertising to “create future demand,” influencing people long before they come in market.

Erwin Ephron, considered the father of U.S. modern media planning, famously said, “Most advertising usually works by reminding people about brands they know, when they happen to need that product. Ads work best when the consumer is ready to buy. Reminding a lot of consumers is better than lecturing a few.”

How advertising really works: Meet successful Springfield, Missouri businesses

Springfield, Missouri lies 1,167 miles to the west of New York City.  Springfield has long been an excellent test market for national brands like Coke, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and AT&T. 

Springfield is also home to successful local firms that understand the job of advertising is to “be known before you’re needed.”

Kitchenland USA: Over 20 years, AM/FM radio campaigns grew the business from $500,000 a year to $7 million

Chuck Mefford’s marketing agency BrandsFormation was the “agency of record” for Brad Schrock at Kitchenland USA from 2002 to 2023. The long running campaign extolled, “Kitchens made in the tradition of my slightly obsessive Amish family: Kitchenland USA.”

Kitchenland USA’s AM/FM radio campaign is on 52 weeks a year and generates a weekly frequency of three. Kitchenland USA did this consistently for over 20 years, eventually adding digital, bottom-of-the-funnel tactics as well. They had a jingle and humorous “Tom Bodet” style ads featuring the owner, Brad.

Thanks to its AM/FM radio campaign, Kitchenland USA grew from a cabinet shop doing $500,000 a year in 2002 to over $7 million a year in sales in 2023 when Brad sold his kitchen business to a large regional supply company.

A Quantilope brand study of 105 consumers in Springfield, Missouri conducted in August 2026 reveals strong levels of aided awareness (39%) and ad recall (11%).

AM/FM radio works: Kitchenland USA’s awareness among AM/FM radio listeners is +21% greater than in the total market

Those with the greatest exposure to Kitchenland USA’s advertising campaign, AM/FM radio listeners, are much more aware of the brand versus the overall market.

AM/FM radio makes A-1 Roofing famous

Started in 1992 by Brian Garber and his wife, Sally, they selected the “A-1” name so they would appear at the beginning of the Yellow Pages listings. By 2002, with Yellow Pages use waning, Brian turned to Chuck Meffords’ BrandsFormation agency to grow top of mind awareness.

AM/FM radio campaigns began 52 weeks a year. Brian did the AM/FM radio ads. They were humorous and had a great jingle: “Look for the dog on the side of our trucks that goes Roof-ROOF!” Branding since 2003.

After twenty years of consistent AM/FM radio branding, A-1 Roofing has a significant 55% aided awareness, a 12% unaided awareness, and an impressive ad awareness of 27%. Most impressively, nearly one in five consumer say they would purchase from A-1 Roofing if they had the need.

Dave’s Discount Carpet’s 20-year AM/FM radio campaigns generate a 59% aided awareness

Dave’s Discount Carpet opened their doors in 2008. They now have three locations. They are positioned as the home of low overhead carpeting with no fancy showrooms and no high commission salespeople. Just high-quality flooring at discount prices.

The Dave’s Discount Carpet team attended Chuck Mefford’s BrandsFormation BrandKamp in 2009. They began their consistent 52-week AM/FM radio campaign with a weekly frequency of three. They have been heavy AM/FM radio users for the past 15 years.

Dave’s Discount Carpet ads are highly creative ads featuring Dave always trying to save dollars for his customers with a logical and nagging spouse as the protagonist.

The long-term AM/FM radio branding campaign has paid dividends with 59% aided awareness, 25% ad recall, and an impressive 23% purchase intent.

Dave’s Discount Carpet’s AM/FM radio campaign has been a huge success. Aided awareness among AM/FM radio listeners (69%) is +17% greater than in the total market (59%).

Ozark Fence’s AM/FM radio campaign causes an awareness surge to tie a much older competitor

Joe Everest began his AM/FM radio campaign in 2015 after attending Chuck Mefford’s BrandKamp event. Joe started branding every year after that. Their campaign theme was, “Ozark Fence: the first family of fencing in Springfield, MO.”

Joe Everest does the ads with his voice and uses a great jingle. Joe has returned to BrandKamp events several times to share his story with fellow business owners.

While 44% of Springfield consumers are unable to name a fencing company, Ozark Fence has a 15% unaided awareness and Carnahan-White has a 14%.

Since 2015, AM/FM radio has put Ozark Fence on the map with strong brand equity: 40% aided awareness, 13% ad recall, and 15% purchase intent.

Brands need to constantly advertise since new people are always moving to town who don’t know the local brands

A good rule of thumb is one third of any local market has moved to the area in the last ten years. Those newly arrived are much less aware of local businesses and service providers.

In Springfield, Missouri, 31% of the population moved to town in the last ten years. All the major brands in the study have much lower aided awareness among those who moved to the Springfield market in the last ten years. Brand awareness is much higher among those who have lived in the market for ten or more years.

The number one brand in many local services categories is “don’t know”

This shows how hard it is to build brand awareness. However, it’s easier to build a brand in a category with a high “don’t know.”

Key findings:

• Since 84% of purchases are effectively decided before shopping begins, brands need to be known long before they’re needed.
• While Madison Avenue is obsessed with measuring the short-term sales effect of advertising, successful Springfield businesses recognize their primary job is to create future demand.
• Kitchenland USA, A-1 Roofing, Dave’s Discount Carpet, and Ozark Fence have built strong brands as a result of their consistent long-term use of AM/FM radio advertising.
• Local businesses need to constantly advertise since new people are always moving to town who don’t know the local brands.
• The number one brand in many local categories is “don’t know.”

Recommendations:

• Create strategy to increase awareness and ad recall.
• Try long AM/FM radio advertising flights with frequent airings. For example, during key sales seasons, then multiple airings per day prior to and during that season.
• Consider host-read endorsements, taking advantage of the personal connection hosts have with audiences.
• Enhance creative with jingles to increase memorability.
• Create a two-pronged drive to the website and physical locations through repeated address mentions in the advertising copy.
• Create strategy to increase favorability/purchase intent/brand used most often: Use customer testimonials highlighting brand strengths. Include in advertising copy and consider personal appearances on local stations.

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.