MUMBAI:Car owners may not turn out to be the largest audience segment for radio in the country, but they are the ones that advertisers are most likely to target, if a Madison study is to be believed.

In its latest media newsletter, Madison says that it is not important whether in-car listeners form the bulk of listenership base. Radio worldwide has been the best medium to target upwardly mobile high spending executives and business people, says the study. Quoting previous studies, Madison says that in-car listeners have proved to be light consumers of other media like television, making radio a very effective medium to reach. Research by Radio Advertising Bureau, UK indicates that contrary to popular myth, nearly 85 per cent of in-car audience do not shift stations frequently while driving.

The Madison study points out that in other markets, many successful service brands, especially those in office supplies and financial services have benefited by judicious use of radio. The study notes that campaign efficiency increases by around 15 per cent if 10 per cent of a given TV budget can be re-deployed by advertisers on to radio.

For advertisers keen to employ radio as a secondary medium, Madison has some good news. Quoting a Statistical Research Inc study, it says that Imagery Transfer helps three out of four consumers who have watched a TV spot 'replay' the visual image mentally when they hear a radio commercial for the same brand. Another series of studies called 'distraction study' tried to simulate the fact that radio listening is always secondary activity. These tests also indicated that listeners were able to create and keep images fresh and top of mind even when engaged in other tasks.

Sonic branding, where aural brand elements are used, is also very effective in sustaining brand recall, says the study. Citing the example of Britannia's Ting-ting-ti-ting campaign, the study says that creation of sonic branding reduces long term cost of advertising, as one need not air the complete commercial to register recall.

While spots of 45 seconds or more are effective on radio, research also indicates that the fatigue factor is high with radio commercials - a factor that can be countered with copy variations, says the study.