The commercial radio and internet industries are to put aside their fierce rivalry and sell the virtues of both platforms to advertisers.
The Radio Advertising Bureau and the Internet Advertising Bureau made the pledge as they published research showing that one in five online users listen to radio at the same time. A further 59% researched products on the net after hearing about them on the radio, the survey found.
Previously the bright upstart of the advertising world, radio has suffered in recent years. Last year, internet advertising outstripped radio for the first time in Britain, generating turnover of £653.3m, against its close rival's £637.4m. Its market share edged ahead to 3.9% of the total market, compared with radio's 3.8%.
The RAB's Mark Barber, who wrote the report, said the two bodies intended to work together by recruiting an advertiser to test their research.
"We want to test these findings out in the real world and find an advertiser who wants to test the responsiveness of this combination. That would be a collaborative project," Mr Barber said.
He said a combination of internet and radio could result in almost instantaneous purchases once an ad had been heard. In an ideal scenario, a web user would hear a radio advert and then click through to the relevant company's web site and make a purchase.
"You have an immediate closure of the gap between the communication and the purchase. It is very different from TV where you will see the commercial in the evening and go to the shops the following lunchtime."
However, the study also shows that broadband users spend 36% of their "media time" watching television, compared with 26% listening to radio and 24% spending time online. Before the advent of digital media, audiences could be reached by one of three platforms: television, radio and billboards.
The arrival of multi-channel television, the internet and mobile phones, and the subsequent competition for the population's attention, has led the radio and TV industries to woo advertisers with research such as the RAB/IAB study.
