10 Best Radio Ad Agencies in the US [2024 Review]

Radio advertising has become ever more accessible due to its broad reach and low cost, even for startups and smaller brands.

While AM/FM radio stations are one of the oldest forms of telecommunication, internet radio, satellite radio, and streaming radio continue to supercharge its popularity, along with digital platforms such as iHeartMedia, SiriusXM, and Spotify. However, running a radio ad campaign can be complex and challenging.

That’s where a radio agency comes in! They specialize in creating and promoting content specifically for radio and have access to the best script writers and voice actors to bring your ads to life without visual aids.

In this review, we’ll give you a roundup and complete review of the best radio marketing companies in the US.

Common Services Offered

Creating your ad and ad campaign

A radio marketing agency has vast resources, including voice actors, copywriting, specialized software, and recording equipment. They will handle everything with you, helping you create the radio ad that best fits your brand.

Built-in loyal audience

If you want a ready-made audience to market your business, radio is the way to go. Most radio fans regularly tune in to their preferred stations, demonstrating their devotion. Agencies specialized in radio can help you find the right station, the one where your target audience tunes in.

Measurement

Radio is one of the more tricky marketing channels to track, and measuring the success of a radio ad campaign can be challenging. You’ll need to monitor website traffic, sales, ROAS, and so much more. But a great marketing agency will have the skills and resources to do this for you effectively.

Contextual Advertising

Contextual advertising is radio advertising in which the ad’s content is closely related to the message you want to send to your customers. Radio ads can be changed and played at certain times of the day to reach the ideal people, all researched and handled by the agency.

Geo-Targeting

Geo-targeting is the process of reaching people based on where they live, and a core component of many mobile marketing strategies. One of the best things about radio advertising is that it can reach people locally and all over the country. Different radio commercials can be played based on your target demographic’s location, and agencies will use this to their advantage.

Demographic Targeting

Radio ad broadcasting is based on the marketing principle of the target audience. This includes the people you want to reach, often described by their age, gender, sexual orientation, level of education, job, type of music they listen to, and so on. An agency will know how to work these factors into your campaign.

Time Band

Radio ads can be tailored to a particular time of day to ensure they reach their target audience at the best time. Most radio stations divide the day into three parts: morning, afternoon, and evening. Advertisers specialized in radio will put your ad on the air at a time that works for you, ensuring your target audience hears it.

Our Top 10 Picks

1. Jacob Tyler

In 2000, Jacob Tyler was started in San Diego, California, as a branding and digital marketing company.

When working with this global integrated brand experience agency, customers can get holistic help from the company with their marketing and creative needs when creating a radio ad campaign. Traditional advertising and Google AdWords are covered, as well as web design, video, social networking, and radio commercial production. Basically, anything you need to make a memorable and effective radio ad.

2. Manifesto Agency

Manifesto is a bold brand agency located in Portland, Oregon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Nashville, Tennessee. They know how to bring people together around the heart and soul of the most ambitious companies in the world.

Whether your project is about branding, marketing strategy, digital advertising, or experiences, they know it all starts with figuring out what makes you different.

Through competitive and qualitative research, they find deep human insights and design radio ads and campaigns that help businesses say what they stand for, drawing people in.

3. Daniel Brian Advertising

DBA was founded in 1992 and is located in Rochester, Michigan.

They have more than 30 years of experience developing creative and measurable ways to get families interested in retail, healthcare, finance, entertainment, and athletic goods.

DBA has a lot of proprietary experience creating social and digital media, such as branded entertainment, crypto/NFT development, digital TV, radio ads, and content marketing. For their full-service radio advertising, they offer performance marketing strategies and campaign management services.

4. Spire Agency

Spire makes brand assets that are targeted, creative, relevant, and cost-effective for B2B clients. The ultimate goal of Spire Agency is to improve the brands of its B2B clients by setting up pleasant and memorable interactions between the company and its customers.

Furthermore, Spire is the most well-known B2B branding and marketing company in Texas. Through smart graphic design and creative radio advertising campaigns, they help B2B brands stand out, improving their bottom lines.

5. GKV

GKV has been making successful advertising, direct mail, branding, digital, and public relations campaigns for over 40 years by shaking up the status quo.

They are headquartered in Baltimore, which they see as “the opposite of normalcy”, not basing themselves in a massive city like New York. In addition, Baltimore is considered one of the most significant test markets in the United States since it gives access to a varied and developing consumer market that wants a voice and isn’t afraid to be heard.

Even though conventionally, they are an advertising firm, they bring critical thinking, planning, and creative execution to their radio ads and radio marketing campaigns.

6. Division of Labor

Division of Labor is a private advertising agency in San Francisco. They develop ideas and campaigns to help businesses market themselves and sell things through different media channels, radio being one of their most effective.

Division of Labor is a smaller advertising agency. But it’s hard to know what to call them these days because they are a digital advertising agency, a radio agency, and a creative branding firm.

They develop integrated radio marketing plans to promote your products and make your brand more well-known.

Before starting a project, Division of Labor works closely with its clients to set goals and ensure they are met when the project is done.

7. Cutwater

Based in San Francisco, this independently owned company has a highly skilled and experienced team of writers and sound creators.
At Cutwater, they take a brand and shape it into something unique so that it has a better chance of being heard, standing out, and getting through. They use this business model because they think that people care more about unique brands and because they know that unique brands are what lead to growth and customer preference.

This is very evident in the way in which they run their radio ad campaigns. From start to finish, they work with their clients to make a brand voice and advertisement that sets them apart from all the other ads on the radio.

8. Tronvig

Tronvig is a Brooklyn-based boutique brand strategy and marketing consulting firm.

Over the last 24 years, it has worked with organizations large and small in the cultural, charity, and commercial sectors, promoting their clients through effective radio marketing.

They assist clients in finding and clarifying a strategic position that enables them to separate themselves from their competitors. They do this by using time-tested tools that have been created and perfected.

9. Theory SF

Theory SF, founded in 2015, is a multi-disciplinary marketing firm in the center of San Francisco.

They are a group of experienced creators and thinkers who focus on making radio advertisements that create brand love and results. Theory SF uses all kinds of advertising, including traditional, mobile, digital, social, and radio advertising strategies.

10. Big Day the Agency

Big Day the Agency’s openmindedness is their best quality. Since execution preferences do not limit them, they can respond to briefs with solutions that are fair to customers, culture, and your brand.

Sometimes that requires a full 360-degree campaign. Sometimes the best thing to do is a focused social activity. Either way, they will put love, care, and a lot of hard work into building the perfect radio marketing campaign for your brand.

Their only goal is to make sure the right channels work harder and smarter for your business.

Cost and Effectiveness of Radio Advertising

According to the statistics in 2023 Share of Ear report by Edison Research, AM/FM radio continues to dominate the audio medium at 37% time spent, vs. 19% for music streaming and 11% for the much-hyped podcasts, the distant number two and three. Meanwhile, a 60-second ad costs $5-$750 or $200-$8,000 a week, depending on local vs. national radio stations, audience size, listener demographics, time of day, etc. Given the broad reach and low cost, radio is one of the most efficient marketing channels.

If you are interested in learning about why radio advertising works so well, check out this video by TheLBRBChannel.

Final Thoughts

A radio marketing company specializes in creating and promoting audio commercials.

And a great agency has vast resources at its disposal, including voice actors, scriptwriters, and recording equipment. They will handle everything, working with you and helping you create the radio ad that best fits your brand.

So, if you want to extend your reach and increase your sales without working yourself to the bone, then a radio marketing company might be the right way to go.

References

Media Update: Three Reasons Why Digital Radio is Becoming Popular

True: How to Measure Radio Advertising Success.

Observation Baltimore: Baltimore is Perfect for Market Research

Research Director Inc: Radio – A Great Way to Reach a Loyal Audience at the Right Time