As 2019 comes to an end, we’re looking back at the blog posts that resonated the most. Here are the top 5 most popular audio insights posts of the year in descending order:

5. 7 Things Brands Have Completely Wrong About AM/FM Radio: In May, we sought to change the media industry narrative: “New media kills old media.” Using data from research leaders Nielsen, Edison Research, and the Advertising Research Foundation, we disproved 7 of the biggest misconceptions brands held about AM/FM radio. The reality: AM/FM radio has massive reach, a dominating share of ad-supported audio and in-car listening, a huge Millennial audience, has remained stable since 2008, and should be included in media plans, even those targeting a younger demographic.

4. Westwood One And LeadsRx Debut First-Ever Direct-To-Consumer Media Attribution And Awareness Report: In April, we partnered with LeadsRx, a leading multi-touch attribution firm, to release a major media attribution and awareness report covering the direct-to-consumer retail category. The report used analyses by LeadsRx and data commissioned from MARU/Matchbox to reveal insights on the marketing effectiveness of DTC advertising campaigns. Findings included what media mix matters, when it moves the mark, who pays attention, and more. The key takeaway? Combined, TV and AM/FM radio ads generate twice the site traffic lift of Google/Facebook ads.

3. Westwood One And Audience Insights Inc.’s Podcast Download – Spring 2019 Report Highlights: Podcast Usage Habits, Advertiser Insights, Podcast Discovery, and More: Adding to our fall releases of the Westwood One Podcast Download, for the first time we introduced a second study to the franchise: Westwood One And Audience Insights Inc.’s Podcast Download – Spring 2019 Report. The report examined the podcast consumption habits of 1,407 monthly podcast listeners and focused on four distinct segments based on when people began listening to podcasts. These segments included “Podcast Pioneers” who started listening four or more years ago, those who began listening 2-3 years ago, and “Podcast Newcomers” who began listening within the last six months. The study covered podcast usage habits, advertiser insights, podcast discovery, promotional trends, and the most popular content genres.

2. First-Ever Podcast Creative Test Gives Brands a Playbook to Drive Branding, Messaging, Reputation and Call to Action: In an industry first, in partnership with ABX, a creative testing service that evaluates every type of brand creative across all media, we conducted a creative test of five brands’ podcast ads, television ads, and online video ads. The findings showed that podcast ads were comparable to television or online video ads run for the same brands on clear branding measures. The study revealed podcast ads are as effective as television ads at driving conversation and purchase. It also revealed that while live reads are incredibly impactful, they have to be done correctly to ensure the brand is the hero of the storyline.

And our most popular post…

1. Why Is P&G The Fastest Growing Advertiser On American AM/FM Radio?: In 2017, Procter & Gamble was the 39^th ranked advertiser on AM/FM radio, according to Media Monitors. By 2018, they had made the substantial leap up to fifth place. In our early-January analysis of their AM/FM radio allocations, we saw that each quarter represented exponential growth. P&G executive John Fix led P&G’s rediscovery of AM/FM radio as a solution for digital fraud and eroding TV audiences. Other brands can follow P&G’s lead using simple lessons as a roadmap: build your brand via reach to grow sales and profit, talk to people long before they come to buy, remind the many, don’t lecture the few, take the “me” out of media, avoid marketing professional biases, and focus on the average media habits of the consumer.

Lauren Vetrano is Director of Content Marketing at CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.