NPR Sponsorship Results for a Tech Brand During COVID-19

According to the 2020 SmithGeiger COVID-19 Audience Research, 90% of Americans say daily life has changed and they have been personally impacted. COVID-19 has impacted the world in unprecedented ways. Daily routines are disrupted. Commutes have moved from the highways to the hallways and how audiences consume media has shifted like never before. 

But even though people are engaging with media differently, cross-platform campaign strategies remain as viable as ever. As results from a recent campaign demonstrate, NPR radio can be a powerful piece of a cross platform strategy.

Core NPR listeners — those who choose public radio stations above all other radio stations — declined by only 1% and largely continued to tune in even amidst the overall slump in radio listening this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.¹ Notably, core NPR listener demographics across age, race and gender remain consistent with pre-COVID public radio listenership. Public radio stations are a home for listeners and garner an exclusive audience crucial to a strong cross-platform campaign.

At the peak of COVID-19’s first wave, NPR conducted a listener survey at the end of an information technology company’s sponsorship campaign.² The research was conducted by surveying weekly NPR radio and podcast listeners. The campaign included a wide range of NPR radio titles and run-of-network on podcasts, including hit programs like Code Switch, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and How I Built This. 

The results were outstanding! Key findings revealed the campaign generated positive impressions, brand awareness, and increased usage of the tech tool.

More listeners agreed the brand is trustworthy and a leader in the industry.

Among NPR listeners 35-64 years old who were exposed to the brand’s sponsorship message, the campaign generated:

Additionally, the share of NPR listeners who use the sponsor’s tool most often more than doubled after the campaign:

Across platforms, NPR typically reaches 132M people each month — and this spring more people than ever are turning to NPR.³ In a time where consumer habits are disrupted, NPR continues to be a strong sponsorship partner. NPR is more than a part of people’s media routine. It informs their understanding of the world, how they spend their time, and most notably, their consumption decisions. 69% of NPR listeners prefer to buy products or services from NPR sponsors.⁴

Want to learn how NPR sponsorship can build connections that drive action for your brand?

Contact us

Source: 1. AudiGraphics, June 2020; 2. NPR Radio & Podcast Listener Survey, July 2020. Pre wave fielded in May 2020, post wave fielded July 8-12 2020. 200 radio and podcast listeners per wave. All participants age 18-64. 200 radio and podcast listeners per wave; 3. Act 1 Systems based on Nielsen Audio Nationwide, © 2020 The Nielsen Company. May not be quoted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Nielsen. Fall 2019. P12+. Google Analytics, Sept-Dec 2019. Splunk, Sept-Dec 2019, platform overlap using comScore, Sept-Nov 2019; 4. Kantar, NPR State of Sponsorship Survey, April 2020.