As marketers hunt for the most engaged consumers, some unexpected brands are finding a winning play with local sports radio.   

For years, many advertisers assumed sports radio was best suited for a handful of categories (think beer, snacks, and automotive). While those industries continue to thrive, today’s results tell a broader story.  

From legal services to healthcare providers, grocery stores, insurance, and more are seeing significant results by advertising on Audacy Sports radio stations.

If the strongest brand-media-consumer partnerships are built on a foundation of trust, few media environments deliver like sports radio. Listeners develop lasting relationships with their favorite hosts, stations, and teams. Avid young fans are more active with sports radio than they are with sports on linear TV or YouTube.

Sure, fans can find scores and highlights anywhere, but sports radio delivers harder-to-replicate intangibles: insider perspective, live commentary, expert analysis, and a sense of community. 

Those connections run deep. In fact, more fans tune in the day after a heartbreaking loss, than after a big win. That level of engagement creates an environment where advertising doesn’t just reach consumers, it resonates.

Whether you’re launching a new product, driving app downloads or new appointment bookings, or boosting sales, sports radio delivers highly attentive audiences. And when our hosts recommend a product or service, listeners are far more likely to pay attention and take action. The result is campaigns that are memorable, trusted, and power conversion.  

The performance speaks for itself. Audacy Sports delivers across the full marketing funnel, boosting purchase and usage by 40 percent. Sports radio listeners embrace brands that support their favorite teams and leagues. And that halo effect extends to radio advertisers, with 7 in 10 fans saying they trust sports radio sponsors. 

There’s nothing quite like the power of a host or influencer endorsement to turbo-charge a radio campaign. And sports radio hosts excel at testing, recommending, and authentically endorsing products and services to their loyal audiences.

When hosts talk, fans react. One in two fans are happy to support brands recommended by their favorite sports radio personalities. 

Another sports radio advantage is access to beloved teams, athletes, and coaches. Our stations curate bespoke in-person events and activations that bring fans and brands together, uniting around their fandom. Those interactions are a boon to long-term awareness and brand loyalty. 

More than ever, we’re able to demonstrate radio’s worth. Advertisers have access to a full suite of radio measurement tools. From web lift traffic time-based, spike analysis, pixel-based attribution, in-store foot traffic, and custom brand lift studies, we can demonstrate radio’s effectiveness at driving results. 

Like a good teammate, we’re on your side too. We can also guide our brand partners on how to leverage their own tools to measure campaign impact using Google Analytics and Google Search Console.  

With MLB deep in the second half of the season, and college and NFL football kicking off around the corner, there’s no better time for advertisers to embrace sports radio. For nontraditional advertisers looking to stand out, sports radio isn’t just an unexpected choice anymore—it’s a smart play.