As the autumn sets in and the temperatures slump, one thing’s on the minds of young teens –GOING BACK TO SCHOOL. Many higher education institutions are trying to capture the minds of teenagers and young adults who aren’t quite sure about which path to take in terms of studying and careers, so are approaching us to help them with their advertising campaigns.

However, does radio advertising targeting teenagers work?

Radio advertising is still a proven method of attracting new business, and we’ve found that advertising places of higher education is a good way of reaching potential attendees. Although many businesses nowadays do not think it’s worth advertising to teenagers due to a reported decrease in the percentage of radio listening figures for 16-24 year olds.

UK Government figures show in their social trends, lifestyle and social participation figures, that over 16’s are still listening to at least 1 hour of radio on average every day – showing there’s still a market to reach. The UK Government figures also show that 16-24 year olds are using computers in their spare time of around 3 and a half hours a day, where the popularity of streaming AM/FM radio stations are increasing in the UK too.

In a release this year, US-based research centre Edison showed that 13-17 year olds in the United States are dedicating around 53 minutes of listening time to AM/FM radio stations (including online streams), similar to that of the UK. Yes, there are reports of its decline, but still, an hour of listening time is there for the taking, ready to capture the minds of teenagers. In the UK, that equals to approx. 4-5 radio advert breaks.

From this research we still believe that radio advertising is an effective means in reaching the teenage market. When it comes to creating your higher education radio commercial, we always advise appealing to the parent (as Mintel reports), as well as the teenager, as it’s usually the parent who has the last say on where the teenager attends college, but not so much with university, whilst sticking with a regional campaign.

In the UK, ‘clearing‘ is also on it’s way, meaning 1000’s of students will be searching for places at university. Short radio advertisement campaigns based around this time will not only bring brand awareness to students who need it now, but also for the future.

Listen to our latest higher education radio jingles: