When you’re a brand looking to grow, reach alone isn’t enough. You need trust, storytelling, and results that show up in the real world. That’s where radio comes in.

In our latest webinar, How Growth-Minded Brands Break Through with Audio, Audacy’s CMO Jenny Nelson sat down with two radio advertisers who know exactly how to turn airtime into action: Gary Sarner, founder of ROI360+ The Radio Experts and a veteran in the legal space, and Kris Santin, VP of Sales at Choice Cabinet, a leading home improvement brand. Together, they unpacked how smart radio strategies are helping brands connect, convert, and scale.

The panel unpacked what’s really working in the world of radio advertising, from branding strategies to host partnerships, to real business outcomes.

As Jenny Nelson put it:

That’s where Gary and Kris come in. Here are four key insights and advertiser takeaways from their conversation.

Radio works because it’s personal. People don’t just hear hosts – they know them. And that trust makes all the difference for advertisers.

“That connection — the authentic way we feel engaged with our hosts and with talent — delivers really powerful outcomes for advertisers,” said Jenny.

Gary Sarner agrees. “It’s the talent that makes a difference in somebody’s life,” he said. 

And Kris Santin has seen this firsthand through his partnership with Andy Baskin, host on Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan: “Andy really has our cabinets in his kitchen and he’s genuinely passionate about it”. That kind of authenticity can’t be faked – and it’s what makes the endorsement so effective.

In a competitive category like legal, where Gary works, you can’t just show up once and expect results. You need consistency, variety, and repetition.

“It’s all about frequency,” Gary said. For Shulman and Hill in New York City, Gary’s team is running approximately ten different types of radio commercials. “[We’re running different lengths] fifteens, thirties, as well as fives, eights, and tens. It’s all about frequency.” 

Results don’t always come overnight. But when you invest in your brand voice over time, the payoff is real – and lasting.

“The power of branding is so important,” Gary emphasized. “One of my favorite lines is that marketing campaigns are not built in weeks or months. They are built over years. If you’re expecting immediate results it’s not going to happen. You have to build a brand first.”

Staying local and leaning in to that connection with the community is crucial in the legal space. Gary shares, “It’s one of the businesses where you see so much advertising in America, yet only two percent of the population will be in a car accident or need a personal injury attorney. So the crucial part of our campaign is that we need to let people know who they are – because [the space] is very competitive.”

For Kris and the team at Choice Cabinet, the switch to radio from his digital agency has delivered measurable results – fast.

“Within two weeks of launching our campaign on The Fan, people were walking into our showroom saying they’d never heard of us before – but now they had, because of the radio,” Kris said. “That was the first sign that our campaign was working.” 

That initial momentum snowballed.

Kris has now expanded Choice Cabinet’s campaign from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, with Detroit next in line.

These result may sound unique, but they’re not. It’s no surprise to us that this trust and consistency drives consumers to buy your brand. In fact, radio consistently drives conversions better than every other channel. Nearly half of radio listeners (47%) report purchasing a product or service they heard advertised on radio – a conversion rate stronger than digital video, search, and TV.

Final Takeaway

As Jenny closed the session she shared, “I’ve had a front-row seat to Audio’s impact for years, and I can tell you – it’s one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s toolbox. It reaches locally, builds trust, and drives performance. And when you tap into the power of hosts, frequency, and brand-building, it becomes unstoppable.”

Ready to break through? So were Gary and Kris – and they’re proof that radio drives more than awareness. It drives real growth.