Car buying is one of the most researched purchases a consumer makes. They compare trims, read reviews, check inventory online, and spend weeks in consideration before stepping onto a lot. Given all that digital activity, it seems logical that digital advertising should dominate the auto media mix. It's also not what the large-scale attribution studies show.
The Largest Radio Attribution Study Ever Done in Auto
LeadsRx, working with iHeartMedia, conducted a comprehensive study measuring the web traffic impact of radio advertising across auto dealers. The scale makes it difficult to dismiss:
Source: LeadsRx / iHeartMedia auto dealer attribution study (17 months, 310 dealers)
LeadsRx tracked website visits in the minutes immediately following each radio spot airing, across 1.8 million individual data points. A 17% average web traffic lift across 310 dealers is a consistent signal at scale. Dealers who committed to higher frequency saw dramatically stronger results:
Source: LeadsRx / iHeartMedia auto dealer attribution study
At sufficient volume, radio doesn't just nudge awareness — it drives measurable search and site activity that shows up in your analytics as organic traffic.
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Who Is Actually Listening, and Where
Edison Research's Q4 2025 Share of Ear data shows that 53% of all AM/FM radio listening now occurs in vehicles, an all-time high. Your most likely buyer — someone who owns a car and drives regularly — is your radio audience, listening in the same environment your product operates in.
Edison's data also shows that heavy drivers are 36% more likely to purchase a new vehicle than light drivers. The audience with the highest purchase intent happens to be the one with the highest radio exposure.
What CMOs Think vs. What the Data Shows
Circana's research on CMO perceptions found that radio ranks last among major media in perceived effectiveness, yet places second in actual measured ROI across product categories. The gap between perception and performance is wider for radio than for any other medium in the study.
In auto, dealers typically allocate budgets based on what feels accountable. Digital gets a large share because every click is traceable. Radio gets underfunded because its results are harder to see in real time. The measurement tools that close this gap are more accessible than most dealers realize, but they require a willingness to look beyond the last click before a purchase.
The Dealer Spend Trend Is Already Shifting
Radio's share of auto advertising spend has been growing. In 2023, radio nearly tied television as the leading medium for auto dealer advertising, and radio's share grew 26.5% year-over-year. That growth is driven by dealers who ran the numbers and reallocated accordingly.
Radio builds the awareness that makes someone type your dealership name into Google. Google gets the credit. The dealer who understands the full chain does something different with their budget than the dealer who only counts the last click before a sale. Home services businesses face the same measurement gap, and the dealers who've figured it out are pulling away from competitors who haven't.
What This Means for Treasure Valley Dealers
The Treasure Valley is a high-commute market. Ada County and Canyon County residents cover significant ground between Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Boise, and Eagle — often in the same day. That drive time translates directly into radio listening, and radio listening translates into the brand exposure that primes someone for a dealership visit.
The dealers who are consistently in their customers' ears during those months are the ones whose names come to mind first when the decision is made. Awareness drives search. Search drives visits. Visits become sales.
Want to see what this looks like for your dealership?
We'll show you which Treasure Valley stations skew toward in-market vehicle buyers, what your competitors are spending, and how to structure a radio schedule that drives measurable web and lot traffic.
Talk to us about advertising →Sources: LeadsRx / iHeartMedia auto dealer attribution study (310 dealers, 1.8M spots, 17 months). Edison Research Share of Ear Q4 2025, AM/FM in-vehicle listening share. Edison Research, heavy driver vehicle purchase propensity data. Circana CMO perception vs. actual ROI study, radio vs. other media. Radio Advertising Bureau / Katz Media, auto dealer radio spend growth data (2023 YoY). Cox Automotive, auto consumer digital research behavior data.