Does Traditional Advertising Affect Millennials?

Avenues for reaching millennial consumers are numerous today, and these buyers enjoy effortless access to advertising. Thanks to capabilities like geo-fencing, shoppers are targeted on every website, channel, or app they visit on any device they use. Businesses can even send push notifications to customers’ cell phones as they enter a building.

Avenues for reaching millennial consumers are numerous today, and these buyers enjoy effortless access to advertising. Thanks to capabilities like geo-fencing, shoppers are targeted on every website, channel, or app they visit on any device they use. Businesses can even send push notifications to customers’ cell phones as they enter a building.

But what about traditional advertising like radio and television? Do these still have the power to affect millennials? What’s the best way to reach them using these channels?

Traditional Advertising in a Digital World

Despite the popularity of new media and its advanced methods of reaching consumers, traditional advertising still has enduring strength. While it is true that broadcast, cable, and satellite television now take a backseat to online entertainment venues, radio is and always has been different. A viewer will skip over ads when watching TV. Radio listeners are more likely to consider an advertisement placed during a favorite program as relevant to them. The ability to target millennial listeners in this way is a benefit for advertisers.

According to Forbes magazine, one of the main ways millennials differ from the generations before is in their TV viewing habits. Based on a broad survey of individuals in this 26 to 40 year old demographic conducted by Statista, 71% of viewers rely on online streaming and OTT for visual content. Because television is a stationary activity, it won’t reach a consumer who is on the go. For this reason, television’s reach and effect are limited.

Radio can be listened to while doing something else like riding in a car or exercising outdoors. It stands out for its ability to reach and affect millennials. Also, data shows that more than 72 million millennials listen to AM/FM radio each week. Even in the face of streaming services and YouTube, that number remains more or less consistent. If fact, 93% of Americans tune into radio weekly rather than watch television or use smartphones, tablets, or computers. Because radio seamlessly crosses over to social media, advertisers get maximum ROI.

Radio is the best example of traditional and digital media working together. Loyal millennial listeners can be directed to sister podcasts and vice versa, keeping them engaged throughout the day. Listener loyalty of this caliber increases ad frequency.

Advertising to Millennials on Radio

The key to effective advertising to millennials is to do it so that they want to receive it. Millennials respond to things that resonate with them rather than those that promote products or services directly. Instead of hearing about how much something costs or why one product is superior to another, they would rather know more about the efforts a business makes to protect the environment. How employees are treated or what’s done to promote racial equality are topics about which they care. They want to spend their money with companies that offer a good buyer experience and have similar commitments to the community.

Millennials also rely on relatable influencers. This gives radio an advantage over other media forms because of the Power of Personality (POP).

Millennials Respond to Personalities

Radio personalities are significant to listeners in this demographic, and many tune in to hear a favorite show. Personalities speak to listeners in a powerful way, and they matter beyond the time slot when they are on the air. Personalities come to feel like family to their listeners by connecting with audiences through social media and community events. These trusted thought leaders are not only followed to another station, but their endorsements for particular brands carry weight.

Personalities establish relationships with millennial listeners by making them laugh and making them think. Many report that their daily routines would not be the same without their favorite on-air hosts. When a radio personality talks about music, news, brands, politics, or their thoughts on business, people listen. If they happen to be local, this is even more effective because it becomes like getting the inside scoop from a trusted source. A voice reading a script is now a recommendation from a friend.

Millennials are drawn in when they feel understood. They enjoy a sense of community when interacting with media of any type. POP encourages loyalty, and this drives listeners to other places where the personality might appear. A relationship built on the radio carries over to digital as listeners follow their favorite personalities from one avenue to the other.

Millennials Like Modern Messages on Traditional Channels

Advertising to millennials is most effective when a brand can resonate with their values. Millennials value personalization and will frequent channels that deliver recommendations that are relevant to their preferences and needs. A problem comes in when advertisers resort to old tactics like focusing on price or product benefits. The interest today is on brand experience and how a company treats its employees. Buying power is also important.

Radio takes this into account and affects millennials with personalized messaging while television and other traditional marketing channels lag. Much of its strength comes from the power of personality and the willingness to advertise to millennials in ways that resonate rather than promote.