It’s official – radio makes people happy

New research for the Radio Advertising Bureau has found that radio listeners have higher levels of happiness and energy than consumers of other forms of media.

Their ‘Media and the Mood of the Nation’ study says the findings mean people who listen to radio are therefore more engaged with advertising messages that they hear.

The project by Sparkler Research on behalf of the RAB surveyed 1,000 consumers via their smartphones, asking what media, if any, they were consuming  and to rate aspects of their mood from -5 to 5+. The main finding was that those taking in any media – TV, radio or online – were happier and had more energy than those consuming no media at all.

A separate investigation done in a lab used EEG brain scan techniques on six volunteers and showed that radio stimulates positive engagement levels within the brain. Wave activity in the brain was monitored while the participants were exposed to audio clips of editorial content, adverts and silence. The scans also showed that those levels were higher by 30% when advertising messages were preceded by editorial content compared with when they were played as a stand-alone ad break.

In the smartphone surveying, radio came out above TV and online for lifting happiness and energy levels. Compared with those consuming no media at all, radio helped raise happiness by 100% and perceived energy by 300%.

Mark Barber, Planning Director at RAB said: “Our latest research highlights the immense potential of radio to influence emotions, in turn, offering a huge boost to advertisers seeking emotional engagement to build their brands.”

John Robson, Founding Partner of Sparkler Research added:  “With consumer confidence affecting both national mood and economy, these findings illustrate how powerful a boost media and radio in particular can be to both. Clever marketers will be looking to harness this potential, encouraging consumers to overcome high street gloom and looking to start spending again.”

Take a look at the full report here.