Radio And The Power Of The Parasocial

As the dollars have moved away from legacy media, landing with a loud thud on the digital side of the street, radio broadcasters have been understandably frustrated by this cruel reversal of advertising fortunes. After all, broadcast radio served as a reliable, go-to marketing solution for a wide array of products and services for decades—until Internet-powered platforms flipped the script. And by now, we know the rest of the story.

On top of that, critics of so-called linear media frequently make the case that “old school” media like radio and TV lack attribution. That is, it is difficult for sales reps in radio, for example, to make the case that radio actually works—that it reaches the optimal audience with a compelling message that stimulates prescribed actions—like making a purchase or even voting for a political candidate.

That’s the argument radio broadcasters have had to make for years—that the combination of compelling radio personalities, a strong, relevant message, and innovative marketing can stimulate action, build better brands, and motivate young people to buy products or get behind a cause.

These days, the trades are littered with research studies attempting to justify radio’s efficacy in a rapidly changing world of media and technology. And yet, you’re excused if your eyes glaze over every time one of these is published. 

Hardly a day goes by when stations aren’t being pushed to prove their mettle. Oftentimes, they’re stuck using pie charts and bar graphs to make their case. And yet, deep down inside, we believe radio still works. So, how do we prove it?

That’s why when one of media’s premiere researchers, Edison’s Larry Rosin, approached me with a very different “take” on attribution and the power of radio, he had me hooked. And it happened in his home state of New Jersey. In this guest post, Larry’s story makes a compelling case that radio is still one very powerful medium.  – FJ

Radio And The Power of the Parasocial

By Larry Rosin

Everyone who works in commercial radio knows that advertising on the radio “works.” Run commercials for your store, or your concert, or your event, or your product, and you will see an uptick in awareness and sales. And as we know, if that ad buy includes a sincere endorsement from an on-air talent, the power is usually amplified many times over. That’s because listeners build a relationship – what psychologists refer to as a “parasocial” relationship, with radio hosts. Over time, they come to see radio talent as “friends,” even though in most cases they have never actually met the talent and the relationship is entirely one-way.

Radio salespeople know that the announcer-reads are more powerful and thus worth more to clients. But it’s not always easy to prove the power of these parasocial relationships. Fortunately, a nice little test-case just played out in my longtime home of New Jersey, where last week there were primaries for this November’s gubernatorial election. The data from the Republican primary shows just how powerful radio can be.

The leading candidates in the Republican primary were Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman who was the candidate in the last election in 2021 and came surprisingly close to winning, and longtime host of the morning show on “New Jersey 101.5,” Bill Spadea. Readers of JacoBLOG are probably aware of this unique radio station which does intensely local news and talk content on weekdays and plays Classic Hits on the weekends.

Spadea was always an underdog and when President Trump endorsed Ciattarelli several weeks before the election, the race was essentially decided. However, the results show rather conclusively how the relationship that Spadea had built with his listeners made a profound difference in his support. That’s because the Trenton-based WKXW only can be heard over the air in the central parts of the Garden State. The coverage map, per radio-locator.com, looks like this:

The “heartland,” if you will, of the state, which includes the homes of Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Edison Research (and the namesake Menlo Park laboratory location where the lightbulb was invented), the state capital of Trenton, and Princeton University all fall within the red circle. If we translate the coverage map into counties that are designated as local, distant, or fringe to the signal, it looks like this:

Note that the lightly-populated counties at the southern end of the state cannot hear New Jersey 101.5 at all over-the-air.

And now, remembering that he was the high-profile morning man on NJ101.5 for over a decade, take a look at Mr. Spadea’s support in the primary by the same county map:

One can quickly and easily see that the two maps nearly perfectly align – the closer to the broadcast tower one lives, the more likely that someone who participated in the Republican primary voted for Spadea. Those who had less familiarity, with him or none from his radio gig were far less likely to vote for him. In the “red” counties where the station is heard best, Spadea garnered over 30% of the vote, and in the county where the tower is located, over 40%. Outside the signal’s range, support was extremely low.

There is a longstanding argument about whether “Central Jersey” actually exists – or if the entire state is just “North” and “South.” But Central Jersey is entirely visible on these maps. These counties – home to Snooki, Albert Einstein, and Grovers Mill (where the aliens landed in the radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds”), where the highway’s jammed with broken heroes like Tommy and Gina, giving it a shot – are also united by a radio station’s signal and its programming content. And where people who feel they “know” Bill Spadea were far more likely to vote for him. Just as they would, and do, buy the products endorsed by radio talents like him and so many others.

Note: Larry’s story was inspired by a tweet on X from @rudnicknoah