The Value of Radio for Master-Planned Community Marketing

With access to 82% of adults who plan on purchasing a home, radio offers an invaluable medium that home builders can utilize when marketing master-planned communities. As many individuals commute or travel on a regular basis, their vehicles allow them personal space for safety, as well as access to local radio stations and on-demand listening.

Home builders and real estate developers should use this opportunity to utilize radio as a platform for advertising master-planned communities. Due to its remarkable reach, traditional and digital radio advertising can strongly guide homebuyers to builders and master-planned communities during their new home search.

Although radio is often seen as an outdated or overpriced advertising medium, many target audiences still actively listen and engage with both traditional and digital radio stations. Below, we examine several factors that make radio an invaluable medium for reaching homebuyers, earning trust and successfully marketing master-planned communities.

Growth in Digital Audio Listeners

While radio is still dominant in the audio media landscape, more listeners are flocking to digital streaming platforms to stream music, live radio programs and podcasts. Digital audio is the second most popular digital activity based on time spent, as the total of online audio listeners in the United States has reached a total of 222 million and is forecasted to surpass 225 million in 2023. Nearly 80% of all music consumption within the United States comes from digital radio streaming accounts. It is also estimated that two-thirds of the US population over the age of 12 listens to online audio every week.

Digital audio is available on several popular platforms including Pandora, SiriusXM and Spotify and weekly digital audio listeners has reached 192 million in the U.S. Pandora is currently the largest streaming service within the US. As the third most popular digital audio subscription service and parent company of Pandora, SiriusXM had 34.5 million active subscribers and ad revenue growth of 24% within the first quarter of 2021. Spotify is also a valuable audio advertising platform as the biggest streaming platform by total subscribers with 365 million listeners largely made up of Millennials aged 25 to 34.

Consumer Mobility

Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in driving levels, U.S driving continues to soar post pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, within just one year after the pandemic, travel on U.S. roads increased by 11%, and that trend does not appear to be slowing down. data shows drivers are returning to the roads. 

With more individuals on the road daily to traveling to the office, taking their kids to school or running errands, drivers are more engaged with their favorite radio stations during this time. 

Along with daily commuting, road trips continue to be on the rise with 2022 referred to as The Year of the Road Trip.  Over 80% of adults surveyed by Outdoorsy confirmed they they were planning a road trip plans with a significant other and 50% planning on hitting the roads with their children.

This offers more opportunities for the home builder’s target audience to tune in to radio stations or stream stations on the go and hear home builder advertisements marketing master-planned communities.

Diversified Reach

Advertising through both traditional and digital streaming radio offers various opportunities to reach new audiences on the road or at home as they listen to music or podcasts.

Traditional Car Radio – More drivers on the road mean radio advertisements are guaranteed to gain high reach among home builder target audiences. About 75% of consumers say that the radio is the audio they use most often while driving. Personal vehicles are also expected to be the primary travel method, which provides direct access to many consumers and potential homebuyers. Among those returning to the office, 60% of those surveyed said they plan to make the switch from public transportation to the use of a personal vehicle.

These drivers who also act as radio listeners are a highly desirable audience that is more likely to be impacted by advertising. These consumers are often highly engaged and hold a considerable amount of buying power, which makes them an ideal audience for local home builders focused on marketing their master-planned communities.

Digital Streaming Radio – Many consumers enjoy listening to digital radio including music and podcasts while multitasking at home – whether cooking, cleaning, working or exercising – not just in their car. As digital radio is uniquely flexible, this provides home builders with a convenient opportunity to reach receptive audiences when they’re away from their mobile phone, television or computer screens.

Various digital audio channels including podcasts also allow home builders to market master-planned communities to niche audiences that are interested in buying a new home. Research shows two out of three podcast listeners provide their full attention to this media, offering home builders an advantageous opening to promote their homes to an actively engaged audience.

Instrumental Parasocial Relationships

Most local radio stations are hosted by a radio personality that has likely gained a following and loyalty from local listeners. Due to consistent delivery of relevant local and national topics, listeners tune in to hear their favorite host and this easily becomes an individual whose opinions they value and trust. By providing these hosts with a live-read script that resonates with listeners and potential homebuyers, builders can take advantage of the valuable relationship the on-air talent has formed with their audience. A recent study shows 77% of listeners would try a brand if their favorite radio personality endorsed it and 80% trust and value their favorite personality's opinion.

Trusted Platform Among Generations

Gaining homebuyer trust is crucial to effectively deliver advertising messages, and luckily radio is seen as a trusted source among many. Research shows that most adults believe radio ads are the most trustworthy source as opposed to television, streaming music services, podcasts, apps, websites and social media. Radio advertisements are also among the top three most trusted types of advertising among consumers, as 52% of consumers state that radio offers useful information about new products and services.

This trust also extends to digital radio advertising, especially among podcast listeners. About 41% of podcast listeners claim that they trust ads featured on podcasts more than those on any other audio platform. Spotify research shows 81% of listeners take action after hearing in-podcast advertisements by performing online research on the company, engaging with the brand’s social media or sharing the brand with others.

With endless channel options available during the new home search, trusted platforms can create a more effective impact on homebuyers. As a trusted medium, audio advertising provides an ideal platform for master-planned community marketing and holds credibility among target audiences across all ages.

Effective Ad Targeting

Although radio stations have a smaller area of influence, this medium offers more efficient advertisement targeting. This is an opportunity for home builders to target desired homebuyers in the specific areas where their master-planned communities are built.

By performing research on radio station listener demographics, builders can reach the correct target audience for their brand. This ensures that the messaging and advertisements about master-planned communities are more likely to reach an audience with whom this content resonates.

On streaming services like Pandora, home builders can target marketing efforts based on over 2,000 audience segments including age, lifestyle, user interests and online listening behaviors to identify listeners that will be the most receptive to marketing messages about master-planned communities. Using this sophisticated data, home builders can take a personalized approach by implementing ads that are relevant and tailored to their target audience. By creating audio advertisements with Pandora, homebuilders can also target their ads to Amazon Echo and Google Home devices which are present in 24% – over 60 million – of American homes.

Effective Lead Generation

Although methods of expanding home builder reach have changed, best practices for ad messages targeting potential homebuyers remain the same. If they are produced well, home builder radio advertisements can effectively generate new leads and become a leading company among potential homebuyers.

On some digital audio platforms like Pandora, home builders can include banner ads that display imagery from their homes or master-planned communities to accompany audio advertisements on mobile devices and computers. Added visuals in conjunction with audio ads increase the chances of potential homebuyers clicking to learn more and boosting your website traffic.

Audio platforms are becoming newly recognized for their ability to offer consumers an immersive experience during the decline of in-person experiences. Radio offers home builders an opportunity to pair their company with a brand voice that provides an exceptional representation of the brand’s identity and truly stands out to homebuyers in a memorable way. By creating radio advertisements that are remarkable and engaging, builders ensure that their brand remains top-of-mind for buyers in the market for a new home.

Opportunity to Connect with Target Audiences

Whether traditional or digital, radio provides a straightforward opportunity to reach listeners as audio advertisements are not easy to avoid and offer digestible information to an attentive audience. With 30 to 60 seconds for delivery, home builders can capture audience attention by addressing a homebuyer problem and presenting the master-planned community as the solution. The ad should also include a call to action memorable to drivers that offers information about how to learn more about the specific master-planned community being marketed.

Buying a home is a stressful process for many in the market. A successful audio ad should speak to that frustration and offer empathy, as well as an opportunity to find a community that solves dissatisfaction. The ad should be focused on the listener and provide empathy and understanding of common homebuyer needs, while clearly providing a vision of how your new community will improve and enrich their lives.

Reach New Audiences More Effectively by Partnering with Milesbrand

Traditional and digital audio offers invaluable, trusted channels that reach and engage potential homebuyers every day. We can help you build and introduce your homebuilding brand to the right audience. By creating compelling, award-winning radio advertisements, we can communicate your master-planned community and company’s unique value to potential buyers.

At Milesbrand, we specialize in positioning brands through omnichannel marketing methods to deliver unparalleled brand advertising. Contact our team to learn more about our experience with exceptional branding and advertising campaigns.