Once again, the Media Monitors reports told the tale of two very different radio markets.
In Toronto, radio activity for the week ending July 26 continued to show signs of summertime strength after three months of buying activity being well below pre-pandemic averages. But in Montreal, after several categories made a big jump last week, some have cooled off again.
The Government of Ontario continued to lead in Toronto, keeping its buy above 1,000 ads. Maintaining a close second with 1,026 spots was Sobeys’ new Voila grocery delivery service, which made a big ad-buying splash not only on radio but also on social, digital and other channels. The Nissan dealer Association upped its buy slightly to 1,023 ads, jumping into third place. New entrant Public Mobile slipped into fourth at 998, while the Toyota Dealer Association stayed steady at 983.
For categories, auto dealers grew their collective radio purchase by nearly 20%, coming in at more than 3,600 total ads. The finance category, meanwhile, reduced its ad buy to 3,565. Other categories with moderate to major growth included food and beverage retailers, insurance providers, local auto dealers and wireless carriers (which increased threefold). Minor to moderate decreases were seen in Asian factory autos, public service, government and unions, as well as business and consumer services.
In Montreal, the provincial government continued to play a major role on the radio, topping the market with 1,058 buys. Consolidated Credit, Mazda and CTV all followed, with their respective buys either remaining flat or decreasing from last week. Kia Forte filled out the top five, with its weekly buy only having one more ad spot than the previous week.
Asian factory autos remained the top category, with a slight increase over last week. Finance was in second, with only five ads fewer than last week’s total. Other categories saw moderate decreases, like governments, local auto dealers, television and cable TV and public service. Domestic factory autos saw a more drastic drop from 1,027 to 576.
Insurance providers and auto dealer associations saw moderate lifts, while bedding retailers and manufacturers saw a single-digit increase.
