Thousands converged at Chicago’s historic Navy Pier last week to see international art galleries and dealers presenting art and design from around the world at SOFA CHICAGO 2011, the largest and longest continually running art fair in Chicago, and the co-located Intuit Show of Folk & Outsider Art.

Radio promotion played an important role in SOFA CHICAGO’s attendee advertising campaign, just as it has for the past several years. The radio ad buy included more than 150 spots, which were all tasked for attendee acquisition and not branding. The spots ran on top-ranked stations, specifically chosen because of their reach against the show’s core target demos. This targeting ability is one of the key benefits of radio. 

As a consumer show in one of the largest markets in the U.S., SOFA CHICAGO has plenty of media channels to choose from, including a vast and growing list of new digital advertising opportunities, so the fact that radio continues to be a material part of the media mix is worth noting. 

According to Arbitron’s September 2011 RADAR® 110 National Radio Listening Report, radio reaches and estimated 241.4 million people 12+ each week, representing 93 percent of the U.S. population 12 and over. 

Even as digital media use has skyrocketed, radio penetration has still remained strong, north of 90 percent of people 12 and over in the U.S. each of the past six years, according to a report from Arbitron and Katz Radio Group. This scale and the high penetration across virtually all key demos is another reason radio is an effective vehicle. 

Radio may not get all the headlines that digital media get these days but it continues to be an excellent medium for driving attendance for consumer shows, and in certain situations even for b-to-b shows.

Cristopher Levy is managing partner of Encore Media Partners. Encore is an audience strategy, marketing and media buying agency covering traditional, digital and mobile platforms, which specializes in local, national and global trade and consumer shows, exhibitions and conferences. Reach him at clevy@encoremediapartners.com.