Radio is the ideal advertising platform for Quick Service Restaurants. Radio is unparalleled in it’s ability to reach, engage and drive response of the target audience(s) on their path to purchase with messaging that is relevant, likable, and resonates with QSR consumers.

Radio connects with QSR consumers across demographics and tastes, reaching 90% of adults who eat at any kind of fast food or sit-down restaurant, 91% of adults who have dined in an Italian, Mexican, or Chinese/American restaurant in the past month, and 92% and 93% of Black and Hispanic QSR patrons. The profile of a radio listener and that of a QSR consumer is strikingly similar across key domains AND radio outperforms TV across the board.

Radio reaches QSR consumers at a pivotal moment: when they are in their cars and making their food and shopping decisions. According to USA TouchPoints, fast food purchases are “57% more likely to be considered in the same half-hour as car travel, than they are in daily life.” As Pierre Bouvard, chief insights officers for Cumulus/Westwood One explains, “AM/FM Radio is the ideal media to reach consumers during the lunch planning and consideration hours of 10am-noon, and the afternoon when dinner meal planning occurs.  With the vast majority of radio listening occurring away from home, in car and at work, radio is the ideal ‘last mile’ medium to create QSR consideration and purchase.”

In a  2016 study conducted by Nielsen, QSR ads outperform other ads in consumer rated likability, relevance, memorability, engagement, and brand recall. As  Bouvard explains, there is “no more perfect ad medium” than AM/FM radio because “You’ve got me in the car, I don’t have a refrigerator in the back seat, I’m hungry, and I’m sitting in something that can take me to the actual place that will feed me the burger and fries.” When consumers hear QSR ads on the radio they are likely to be made more excited for their next meal and motivated to eat at the restaurant that’s top of mind.

McDonald’s, an industry leader with  31% of the total foot traffic among all top QSRs across the U.S., leveraged the power of radio, investing $64 million in radio advertising between January and November of 2016 alone. Not surprisingly, McDonald’s beat same-store sales expectations in the first quarter of 2017. Coincidence? Definitely not. McDonald’s is so successful because it is utilizing the power of radio advertising more than it’s competition. If you are a QSR hoping for a $3 to $1 return on investment or BETTER, look no further than radio. 

Please contact us to help get you started with your next radio campaign.