Majority of Tuesday's Senate Seat Winners Relied on Radio

KATZ ANALYSIS OF MEDIA MONITORS DATA FINDS WINNING CANDIDATES INCLUDE RADIO IN MEDIA MIX

As political pundits discuss what happened with the predicted "Red wave," in the 2022 midterms, a Katz analysis of Media Monitors data delves into a totally different type of wave that played a part in Tuesday's election: the radio airwaves. 

Katz tracked Senate races across 30 states leading into the general election and found that two-thirds of winning candidates benefited from radio's mass reach & influence in the weeks leading into Election Day. Candidates using radio included a broad mix of Democrats and Republicans, incumbents, and those vying for open seats. And the types of radio ads running spanned those placed by candidates and by PACs (both supporting the candidate and targeting the opposition).

WINNING CANDIDATES INVESTED EARLY IN RADIO 

As seen in previous analyses conducted by Katz on gubernatorial races this election cycle, radio was not an afterthought for many Senate seat winners. Rather, it was an integral part of their media strategy that kicked in early for the majority of candidates - some as early as August, more than two months ahead of Election Day.

These winners started advertising an average of 6 weeks ahead of the general election, the week of September 26th, a stat that holds true for both Democrats and Republicans. The earliest advertisers in radio were John Fetterman (D-PA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), investing 13 and 12 weeks ahead of Election Day, respectively.  

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As candidates and agencies look back on the 2022 midterm cycle to see what worked and what didn't, they can be confident that radio dollars were funds well spent. And for Herschel Walker (R) and Raphael Warnock (D) facing a runoff election in Georgia, radio will undoubtedly have an important role to play in these weeks leading into December 6th. 

Listener Levels Rise Heading into the Holiday Season

OCTOBER MARKS THIRD MONTH OF GROWTH IN PPM MARKETS LED BY DRIVE TIMES

Nielsen PPM data for October 2022 reports radio's weekly reach at 121.2 million, marking its 3rd month of consecutive gains and setting the stage for strong 4th Quarter listening. 

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DRIVE TIMES LEAD DAYPART GAINS

October reflects robust listening in all dayparts, but drive times are prime time when it comes to growth. AMD and PMD have experienced the largest increases over the past few months, including 4 months of consecutive gains. Looking at a three-month trend, Nielsen reports an increase of +12% in AMD, up +1M, and a +5% lift in PMD, up +500K over August. Midday, Evening, and Weekend remain relatively flat over the same frame. 

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MORE OUT-OF-HOME LISTENING IN OCTOBER

As of October, 69% of radio's consumption is taking place away from the listener's home. Hitting the highest level for the year, October reflects a slight uptick from 68%, which has held steady for 7 months.

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Increased consumer activity outside the home offers more opportunities for listening occasions in the car and away from home. Nielsen's PPM updates continue to show that radio listening is normalizing alongside consumer behaviors.

Radio Engages with Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers

NEW KATZ INSIGHT HIGHLIGHTS "HOLIDAY SHOPPING BY THE NUMBERS" 

Katz's recent deep dive into the holiday shopping season highlights consumer spending trends, why now is a critical time to engage with consumers to influence these consumer dollars and how AM/FM Radio is the efficient and effective media to do so. 

AM/FM RADIO IS KEY TO REACHING HOLIDAY SHOPPERS

No medium is immune to changes in usage over holiday weekends, especially Thanksgiving weekend, when most people are off work and many are traveling to visit loved ones. Radio does see variations in its daily listening, while still maintaining strong audience levels throughout the holiday weekend. Radio reaches more than 8 out of 10 of the typical audience on these atypical days – and more than 9 out of 10 on the important shopping days of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. 

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Looking back at 2021, the extended holiday weekend started off strong on Wednesday the 24th, reaching +6% more listeners than the average day. Radio retained 80% of its average audience on Thanksgiving Day, then rose to 92% on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Radio hit 88% of its audience on Sunday and over-indexed again on Cyber Monday, reaching +7% more listeners than average.  

AM/FM Radio is positioned to be a valuable asset for retailers during this major holiday shopping weekend. Marketers can take advantage of radio's consistent, widespread reach across demographics, local influence, mastery of time and place opportunities, and proven results to impact consumer spend.

Read more in Katz's Radio Insight.