“Radio is a Cucaracha”: How Brands are Making the Most of Tried-and-True Reach — From the CAO Summit

This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re taking you back to our 2025 CAO Summit for a tactical conversation on one of media’s most resilient channels: radio.

Guest moderator and radio legend Kim Komando leads a panel featuring Nick Macco (Legacybox), Mike Janigian (DraftKings), and Rion Swartz (brand-side growth leader, previously at LegalZoom) on why we shouldn’t write the obituary for broadcast radio just yet.

The panel laid out a playbook for turning “old-school” radio into a modern performance media, and we’re giving you a sneak peek:

“Radio is a ‘cucaracha’—we keep trying to stamp it out, and it just keeps coming back.” – Kim Komando, Host of ” The Kim Komando Show“

Attribution can be simpler than you think: Promo codes and landing pages help, but Legacybox and others on the panel have found that post-purchase surveys consistently matched more complex models. Triangulation is key. DraftKings mentioned their perfect formula for measurement success: promo codes + surveys + MMM.
Creative continuity is key: One of the best things you can do to shore up your radio buy: keep the host connection alive throughout the conversion funnel. Think tailored pages, remarketing with host likeness, and copy that mirrors an on-air read.
Host buy-in > genre: Entertainment, sports, talk radio, you name it—if the relationship is real, the results follow. And don’t sleep on political placements: Legacybox found less crowded inventory and more efficient media on conservative radio.

The common consensus: radio’s not a relic—it’s a responsive reach engine that still delivers results. Pair engaged hosts with pragmatic measurement and you’ll get both scale and signal.

For the full conversation (and more tales from the “cucaracha” that won’t die), tune in below.