Britain Loves Radio! At least that's what all the audience stats suggest, with RAJAR showing that radio is listened to by more people than ever, and IPA Touchpoints highlighting that it is the second biggest medium in people's lives after TV. Yet despite all this listener love, radio seems resolutely typecast as a tactical advertising medium; restricted to delivering the rational messages within the ad campaign. And that's why we commissioned this study - to understand the emotional influence of radio relative to other media, and explore how this can benefit advertisers.

"Media and the mood of the nation" set out to explore how media improve people's mood. This subject was of particular interest because academic and advertising research shows that ad messages work better in mood-enhancing media

"Media and the mood of the nation" is a new research study (conducted by Sparkler Research in Spring 2011) that set out to explore how media improve people's mood. This subject was of particular interest because academic and advertising research shows that ad messages work better in mood-enhancing media.

Our key findings suggest the following: Consuming any medium (TV, Online, Radio) has a significant uplift effect on people's mood. Radio however, generates the highest Happiness and Energy levels of the three media measured, and on more occasions. On average, when consuming radio, Happiness & Energy scores increase by 100% and 300% compared to when no media is being consumed. This mood-boosting effect of radio editorial extends into the ad break generating 30% higher levels of positive engagement with radio advertising.

So, for advertisers, radio represents a unique and powerful opportunity to reach consumers in a positive frame of mind, when they will be more receptive to advertising messages. From this we conclude, that for advertisers Radio is a powerful Emotional Multiplier, boosting consumer happiness and enhancing receptiveness to advertising.