In “The State of Media 2024” study by Harker Bos Group, we surveyed 500+ U.S. media consumers aged 18+, uncovering preferences from Cable/Satellite TV to Music Streaming Services.

Our analysis reveals insights across age, gender, and lifestyle/work choices. Join us as we navigate differences between Office and Hybrid/Remote Workers, and preferences among Urban versus Suburban/Rural Audiences.

Radio Listening Habits Explored

Our research shows that 65% of media consumers tune in to radio weekly. Among them, 38% are avid listeners (3-5 days), while 27% engage more casually (1-2 days). Interestingly, morning radio is favored by 52% of participants, offering advertisers an opportune window to capture audience attention.

Music Rules

In our examination of radio formats, we found that 85% of respondents favor music-centric programming. Intriguingly, 51% also engage with News/Talk radio, showcasing diverse content interests. Additionally, 38% enjoy sports programming, while 22% express a preference for religious content.

Now let’s dive into the Country radio listener….

Country Radio – Listeners

A significant number of Country listeners regularly listen to the radio, with 65% tuning in 3-5 days a week and 35% listening 1-2 days per week.

Country Radio – Times and Activities

Country enthusiasts wholeheartedly embrace morning radio, with 55% expressing a clear preference for this time slot 3% higher than the average radio listener. These devoted fans seamlessly integrate radio into their daily routines, showcasing a greater inclination to tune in while driving, exercising, and working compared to the typical consumer. This not only signifies a broader engagement with radio but also highlights the consistent involvement of Country listeners in various aspects of their lives. For them, Country radio isn’t just a background companion; it’s an essential element that complements every activity throughout their day.

When it comes to radio listening duration, Country fans stand out, surpassing the average listener by dedicating more extended periods, exceeding one hour, to immerse themselves in the world of country music. Yet, in other duration metrics, they match their peers, tuning in for shorter sessions lasting less than an hour.

Country Radio – Reasons

When it comes to radio preferences, Country enthusiasts stand out for their distinct passion and piqued interests. While the majority enjoy the content, which is no surprise considering the captivating and relatable music, they also outpace others for various reasons. They value staying updated with relevant information, local news, and events. For them, Country radio is not just about the music—it’s a conduit to community and connection.

Country Radio – Listening Methods

Country radio fans prefer sticking to more conventional methods for tuning into music. An overwhelming majority of participants rely on AM/FM Radio and SiriusXM/Satellite Radio for entertainment. However, some fanatics also embrace digital methods, listening to radio via phones, podcasts, and smart speakers more frequently than the average radio listener. This suggests that they see themselves as part of the digital age while still respecting their homegrown habits.

Country Radio – Genres and Mornings

Country listeners are slightly more receptive to diverse genres on radio compared to other audiences.

In the mornings, Country listeners are eager to engage. While they enjoy morning music, they seek a broader range of content compared to the average radio fan. Around half of the participants actively participate in contests, call-ins, or interactive segments. Additionally, Country enthusiasts are always curious about the world and others around them, as they are at least 10 percent more likely to tune into radio shows featuring traffic updates, interviews, and trivia. This underscores the importance that Country listeners attribute to variety, news, and society.

Country Conclusions

Country listeners represent a tradition-loving and socially engaged segment of radio audiences. Their appetite for variety knows no bounds, as they eagerly access radio through any available means. These enthusiasts actively seek interaction with their favorite stations, craving the latest updates about society. For Country fans, the passion extends beyond music to a genuine interest in the world. It’s crucial for Country radio stations to prioritize cultivating a strong connection with these listeners, ensuring they feel updated on everything happening around them.

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Harker Bos Group recently conducted an in-depth study, “The State of Media 2024,” surveying over 500 U.S.-based media consumers aged 18 and above. The participants showcased diverse preferences across various media, from Cable/Satellite TV to Music Streaming Services.

We scrutinized age, gender, and lifestyle/work choices, uncovering fascinating insights among different groups, such as distinctions between Office Workers and Hybrid/Remote Workers and Urban versus Suburban/Rural Audiences.

Radio Listening Habits Explored

Our research unveiled that 65% of media consumers tune in to radio at least once a week. Breaking it down, 38% are avid listeners, enjoying radio content 3-5 days per week, while 27% opt for a more laid-back engagement of 1-2 days per week.

When it comes to the preferred time of day for radio consumption, the morning takes the crown, with 52% of participants expressing a preference for this time slot. This not only provides insights into listeners’ morning routines but also offers advertisers and content creators an opportune window to capture their target audience’s attention.

Music Rules

Exploring the varied landscape of radio formats, we discovered that 85% of respondents lean towards music-centric programming. However, the survey also revealed a significant 51% engage with News/Talk radio, showcasing a multifaceted appetite for content. Additionally, 38% of respondents enjoy sports programming, while 22% express a preference for religious content.

Now let’s dive into the Top 40 radio listener….

Top 40 Radio – Listeners

Top 40 listeners are an engaged group. 70% of Top 40 Listeners tune into the radio 3-5 days per week. This is 10 points higher on average than any other music format. They are also a positive bunch. 42% of Top 40 listeners believe Pop songs today are better than they were a few years ago, 25% believe they are the same, 33% say they are worse.

Top 40 Radio – Location & Work

Top 40 listeners are more likely to live in an urban environment than the average radio listener. They are also slightly more likely to work in a hybrid (remote and in-office) than the average radio listener.

Top 40 Radio – Times and Activities

Top 40 listeners overwhelmingly prefer listening to the radio in the morning (64%), and are 12% more likely than the average radio listener to prefer this time. They listen to the radio during a variety of activities, and are more likely to listen to the radio while driving, exercising, working, or relaxing than the average consumer. We see this as representative that Top 40 listeners are simply more engaged with radio across the board, than most radio listeners. They see Top 40 radio as an integral part of their day and believe they are listening to it during all of their activities.

The only time Top 40 listeners do not perceive themselves as more engaged than regular radio listeners is when looking at radio listening duration. They line up with their peers from other formats on almost all duration metrics, including the most typical length of listening 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Top 40 Radio – Reasons

When asked why they listen to the radio, Top 40 listeners are again more enthusiastic than other radio listeners. They almost all say they do it for enjoyment of the content (no surprise when you’re listening to fun, upbeat music!), but they also over index for ever other reason except nostalgia. There is particular emphasis on local content and events, as well as community. Top 40 radio fans want to feel involved and like they are part of the brand.

Top 40 Radio – Listening Methods

Top 40 radio listeners still tune in via traditional, over-the-air radio. However, they are also heavy digital users. They say they listen to the radio via digital methods like their phones, podcasts, streaming, and smart speakers at higher rates than the average radio listener. While this may or may not equate to actual time spent on digital methods, it does show that they perceive themselves to be hip, and part of the digital age.

Top 40 Radio – Genres and Mornings

Top 40 listeners are also more game for a mix of genres than other radio listeners. Three quarters of Top 40 listeners like a mix on genres on their radio stations, which can also be seen in recent crossover hits like “Fast Car” by Luke Combs or “Texas Hold Em” by Beyoncé.

When it comes to mornings, Top 40 listeners are ready to participate and interact! They obviously love music in the mornings but they want to hear every type of content more than the average radio fan, and the majority (68%) participate in contests, call-ins, or interactive segments. Here again, we see the emphasis that Top 40 listeners place on variety, interaction, and community.

Top 40 Conclusions

Top 40 listeners are an exciting bunch of radio listeners. They want variety, and are not afraid to consume radio via any source they can get it. They want to interact with their favorite stations, and they want to hear about their community. Top 40 fans are excited about music and life. Top 40 Radio stations need to focus on creating a relationship with these listeners, and making sure they feel like they are part of the gang.

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To accurately and precisely determine how many people listen to your station Nielsen would need to question every person in your market. Obviously, that isn’t practical, so Nielsen, like other pollsters, recruits a relatively small number of people to either carry a PPM device or write down the stations they listen to. The company tries to recruit a representative cross-section of the market, but it isn’t easy. Most people don’t want to carry a meter or record their listening for a week.

To entice participants, Nielsen offers monetary incentives. But even with incentives, Nielsen struggles to create a panel of participants that closely match a market. The young and people of color are particularly difficult to recruit.

To make their panels representative, Nielsen likes to slice markets into very thin pieces trying to recruit based on various combinations of age, sex, ethnicity, different size households, access to internet, plus other criteria making recruitment that much harder. Combine that with the company’s relatively small number of participants and it is inevitable that many groups will be represented by a tiny number of participants.

In some dayparts we’ve seen important listener segments represented by a single person.

Nielsen claims the numbers are accurate (“radio’s currency,” they say), but the very fact that the numbers are based on the behavior or recollection of a relatively small proportion of a market’s listeners means that the numbers can’t be accurate.

It’s true of every poll, but at least most polls acknowledge the fact by providing the margins of error, a measure of how far the numbers may be from the true answer. (Nielsen does too but try to find it. It’s buried deep and only available to subscribers. On top of that, their error estimates ignore the majority of factors that might invalidate their estimates.)

Further compromising the utility of the numbers is the fact that even if 6+ numbers were accurate, stations focus on specific demographics, the small slices of the market that make up their audience. Margins of error, the estimate of how far a data point can be from the truth widen as we slice the pie.

For example, if a station targets women 18-34 the number of panelists that contribute to the numbers is a fraction of the total “in-tab.” Nielsen has historically fallen short in younger demos so any station targeting younger listeners is relying on the behavior of a small number of target listeners.

So if Nielsen numbers are only an estimate subject to error and uncertainty, why are shares carried out to a decimal point as if they are precise? Can Nielsen claim that there is a real audience size difference between one station with a 2.4 and a second station with a 2.6? No, but carrying shares out to a tenth makes the numbers look more precise than they really are.

If all shares were rounded to whole numbers, the rankers would be more accurate in the sense that whole numbers more accurately capture the reality that shares cannot be determined to one-tenth. The problem for Nielsen is that we would then have many ties.

Let’s say your station has a 3.2 share. Depending on the number of active meters or diary keepers and the demographic you are looking at, the 3.2 share may actually be (for example) anywhere from a 4.0 to a mid-2 share. Your competitor might have a 3.4 share giving the illusion that they have more listeners. However, it’s really a tie. All we really know is that both stations have about a 3 share.

If your station is ranked outside the top five or targets a narrow portion of the market, your share could be every further from your actual market share.

Nielsen trends can be particularly pernicious because of broad margins of error. How would you react to this trend: 5.2, 4.8, 5.0, 4.6? Would you panic? Would you start questioning your programming decisions? In reality the station may be just as strong in the fourth month as the first. The wobbles are just that, all within Nielsen’s margin of error.

While our examples are hypothetical, you need only look at monthly trends to see this in action. Each month there are significant inexplicable share swings where a station has a good book for no clear reason only to crater the next month for no clear reason.

When pressed Nielsen will suggest that it is best to average monthly numbers to smooth out the swings, but wouldn’t it be better if Nielsen smoothed out the swings before claiming their numbers are radio’s currency? And averaging several months may not even-out the swings. Our analyses suggest that Nielsen estimates can be heading in the wrong direction for multiple months.

Radio stations that make programming and marketing decisions based on Nielsen trends are deluding themselves and in all probability taking the station in the wrong direction.

The post Accuracy, Precision, and why Nielsen numbers deliver neither appeared first on Crowd React Media.

It’s a question Harker Bos Group raised in 2007 when we learned that the largest 50 radio markets would no longer be measured via diary. Instead, with the new method, the Portable People Meter (PPM), stations would encode their programming with an “inaudible” identifying code that pager-like devices carried by panelists would detect.

We expressed concern that issues regarding the encoding/decoding process could benefit some formats and penalize other formats. To maintain its “inaudibility” the identifying code “rides” on a station’s programming with the level determined by the loudness of the programming. We believed that louder highly compressed formats would have an advantage over more dynamic less compressed formats.

It didn’t take long before our fears seemed justified. Some stations that performed well when measured by diary plummeted with the switch to PPM. At the time we were told that PPM was more accurate and that stations that suffered under PPM had been boosted by the diary.

The more we learned about the inner workings of PPM the more we questioned that explanation. Nielsen claimed that “if the listener can hear the radio station, PPM can too” but assurances are not proof. It seemed more likely that PPM was failing to capture all listening, that its ability to identify stations was somewhat dependent on the type of programming a station delivered.

General Managers, Program Directors, and Chief Engineers soon figured out how to game PPM with aggressive processing to make the “inaudible” codes as consistent as possible. Fidelity took a back seat to making sure that the product was as consistently loud and compressed as possible. This was practical for some formats but not for background formats.

Efforts to game PPM drove innovation, and several years into the PPM era one company, 25-Seven, developed the Voltair, a processor that made the “inaudible” codes more robust. Stations that used the processor saw a gain in audience, but even with Voltair gains varied by format.

Historically some of the most successful radio formats have been soft relaxing music. Many markets had multiple stations in formats such as Smooth Jazz and Soft AC. The formats were ideal for the many listeners who used radio as background, to fill the quiet while working or relaxing.

Harker Bos Group recently conducted a national study exploring media consumption examining radio and other audio source consumption. We found a significant proportion of listeners gravitating to music formats beyond the few available to radio listeners.

Has PPM forced radio to focus on a few PPM-friendly formats and avoid other formats that don’t register on PPM meters as well? Are there other format opportunities that could attract an audience were it not for PPM’s favoritism? Could radio expand its reach if it wasn’t shackled to PPM? We will have more to say on this topic in future blogs.

The post Is Nielsen Picking Radio Format Winners & Losers? appeared first on Crowd React Media.

The Power of Alexa and Radio

Alexa, the smart voice assistant by Amazon, has become an integral part of many households, providing quick and convenient access to a vast array of services and information. People are increasingly using Alexa to access their favorite radio stations, making it crucial for radio providers to integrate their services seamlessly with this popular platform.

Introducing Amazon’s Radio Skills Kit (RSK)

Amazon has recognized the importance of radio accessibility on Alexa and has made it easier than ever for radio providers to integrate their stations. They’ve introduced the Radio Skills Kit (RSK), “a free, no-code solution that empowers radio providers to create, manage, and promote radio stations on Alexa”.

Getting Started with RSK

All you need to begin is an Amazon account to set up the RSK dashboard and start making sure your station is easily accessible via Alexa. With RSK, you have control over how your station is presented and accessed by users, putting you in the driver’s seat of your station’s visibility and functionality.

Why Direct Integration Matters

It’s vital not to rely on third-party applications to handle the skill in Alexa. Third-party apps may not prioritize your station over another if their names are similar, leaving your potential digital listeners up to chance. Direct integration through RSK ensures that your station is easily discoverable and accessible, enhancing your chances of reaching and engaging with more listeners.

Additional Reasons to Opt for RSK Integration

• Enhanced Visibility: Being a programmed skill on Alexa increases your station’s visibility among users, making it easier for them to find and listen to your content.
• Improved User Experience: Direct integration provides a seamless and intuitive experience for users, encouraging them to engage with your station more frequently.
• Voice Activation: Users can simply ask Alexa to play your station, simplifying the listening process and reducing friction.

Resources to Get Started

Ready to integrate your radio station with Alexa through RSK? Check out Amazon’s Radio Skills Kit (RSK) page for in-depth information and guidance. Additionally, watch Amazon’s informative YouTube video on RSK to gain valuable insights into leveraging this powerful tool for your radio station.

By embracing Alexa integration and utilizing Amazon’s Radio Skills Kit, you can significantly expand your radio station’s reach and enhance the overall listening experience for your audience. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect with a broader audience and maximize your station’s potential in the digital age.

The post Maximizing Your Radio Station’s Reach: A Guide to Alexa Integration appeared first on Crowd React Media.

We find that a radio station continually churns listeners, gaining new listeners at the same time it loses other listeners who have stopped listening. Even if your cume and AQH are identical from one year to the last year, you can’t assume the same people are listening.

It’s what we call audience flow.

Audience flow is the turnover of a station’s audience as new listeners replace ex-listeners. The size of your audience is steady when the number of listeners coming in and going out is the same, not because the same people are listening.

Churn is inevitable. Listening patterns change, listening tastes over time change, perhaps they moved out of the area. All these changes can cost you listeners and quarter-hours. You’ve probably noticed it when Nielsen rating participants rotate in and out. However, it’s not just happening with Nielsen panelists. It’s happening with your entire audience.

Think of your audience as water in a bathtub with the faucet running and the drain open. If the bathtub is filling at the same rate it is draining, the level in the tub will remain the same, despite the fact that the water is continually changing.

Ideally churn works in your favor. If you gain more listeners than you lose your audience is growing. It’s like the faucet flowing faster than the drain with the water rising.

Unfortunately, churn can also be like a faucet trickle when the drain is wide open. Listeners are leaving the station faster than you are attracting new ones. Churn is working against you.

The loss can be caused by a number of things. Your audience may outgrow the station. A new similar competitor might be siphoning-off a portion of your audience. Maybe your programming has become stale or too predictable.

Gradual declines are generally a result of a combination of causes. Perhaps your listeners have been bored with your product for some time but listened because there were no better alternatives—then a competitor launches a better product.

What if your new listeners have slightly different tastes than your current listeners? At first it will appear that your programming is still working as the majority of the audience is the old audience, but over time as more new listeners replace your old listeners you may find your old approach not working as well.

At some point you could find yourself out of step with the new audience that replaced your original audience.

Audience flow and the churn that results is inevitable. Yet too often radio stations are blind-sided when churn results in falling numbers. Next week, in Part 2, we’ll show you how to anticipate churn and how to capitalize on it to grow the station.

The post The Drip Drip Drip of Audience Churn appeared first on Crowd React Media.

Strategic Studies

Strategic studies are like a roadmap for radio stations. They provide a holistic view of the market and help stations define and understand their target audience. By digging into market trends, audience demographics, and listening behaviors, stations can get valuable insights into who their listeners are, what they like, and how they consume radio content. It’s like getting to know your listeners as friends, so you can give them what they want!

But it’s not just about knowing your own audience, it’s also about knowing your competition. Strategic studies allow stations to assess where they stand against their rivals. What makes them different? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Music Pods

Music pods are a crucial part of strategic studies. They let stations try out different sets of songs, or “music pods,” to see which ones resonate the most with their audience. It’s like playing DJ and getting to see which tunes get the dance floor moving. Typically, a station would test pods within their format to test the potential tilts. A classic rock station might test a 70’s pod, an 80’s alternative pod, an 80’s hair metal pod, a 90’s grunge pod, and more.  By understanding the tilt of music their listeners like within the station’s format, stations can fine-tune their hooks lists for the music test.

Once the strategic study is done, stations are armed with valuable information about their audience’s preferences and their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This helps them test hooks with the right tilt, that didn’t come from guesswork. That classic rock station from earlier might know that their listeners consider 90’s grunge “classic” and like to listen to it, something they would not have been sure of before the strategic study. Now they will know to add Nirvana and Pearl Jam to their music test to see how it fares against their current catalog.

Hand-in-Hand Research

With strategic studies and music tests working hand-in-hand, radio stations can avoid testing hundreds of low-testing hooks or guessing which songs to play. Instead, they can make informed decisions based on real data and insights. It’s the difference between getting on the road with vague oral directions from a buddy and setting off on a road trip with a GPS system.

Strategic studies and music tests are powerful tools that help radio stations optimize their programming and stay ahead in the game. It’s like having a secret weapon that gives stations an edge by understanding their audience, assessing their competition, and creating content that hits all the right notes. So, let the research guide you, and keep rocking the airwaves with strategic studies and music tests as your trusted allies!

Key Takeaways:

• Strategic studies and music tests are two-pronged radio research methods for optimizing programming and making informed decisions.
• Strategic studies provide insights into the market, target audience, and competition.
• Music pods, a part of strategic studies, allow stations to test different sets of songs to determine tilt that resonates the most with their audience.
• Music tests fine-tune playlists based on real data, avoiding guesswork.
• Strategic studies and music tests work together to help stations stay ahead in the competitive radio landscape.

The post Two-Prong Radio Research: Strategic Studies and Music Tests appeared first on Crowd React Media.

In March 2023, Harker Bos Group conducted a comprehensive survey of over 800 radio listeners as part of our Media Minute series. We spoke with radio listeners to better understand their preferences when it comes to listening to the radio in their cars. The results showed the changing landscape in car radio usage and significant implications for radio stations.

According to our study, a staggering 98% of respondents indicated that they do listen to the radio in their cars. This highlights the continued popularity of radio as a form of entertainment and information for people on the move. However, what’s interesting is how these listeners are tuning in to their favorite radio stations.

Graph (below): Do you listen to the radio in the car?

When asked about the medium they use to listen to the radio in their cars, 32% of respondents stated that they listen only or mostly via traditional, over-the-air radio. This indicates that traditional Over-The-Air radio broadcasting is still a preferred choice for a significant portion of car radio listeners.

However, the survey also revealed that there has been a significant shift towards streaming radio through phones. 52% of respondents stated that they listen equally between over-the-air radio and streaming radio through their phones, while 16% of respondents stated that they listen only or mostly via streaming radio through their phones. This shows that streaming radio is gaining traction among car radio listeners and becoming a preferred choice for a substantial portion of the audience.

Graph (below): When you listen to the radio in your car, are you listening on the traditional over-the-air radio or streaming radio through your phone?

To break that down into even simpler numbers: 92% of radio listeners still listen via traditional OTA radio and 74% of radio listeners stream radio through their phone, at least sometimes. (Sidenote: this is within 3% of our study from December 2022 when we found that 77% of radio listeners who have ever streamed a radio station on their smartphone!)

These findings have significant implications for radio stations. With the increasing popularity of streaming radio through phones, radio stations need to adapt to the changing landscape of car radio listening. Here are some key implications:

1. Diversify Broadcasting Platforms: Radio stations should consider diversifying their broadcasting platforms to include streaming radio options through mobile apps or online platforms. This can help them reach a wider audience and cater to the growing demand for streaming radio in cars.
2. Enhance Digital Presence: Radio stations need to strengthen their digital presence, including developing user-friendly apps, websites, and social media platforms to engage with listeners and provide a seamless streaming experience.
3. Embrace Hybrid Model: With a significant portion of car radio listeners opting for both traditional over-the-air radio and streaming radio through phones, radio stations should embrace a hybrid model. This can involve creating unique content for both mediums, such as exclusive shows or promotions, to cater to different listening preferences and keep the audience engaged.
4. Audience/Market Reach Implications: Your market reach may be wider than you ever realized. Signal issues in surrounding areas can be solved through encouraging streaming listenership, especially in targeted areas where signal issues are known. You should also be sure you are capturing this significant audience in your ratings.
5. Audience Research and Insights: Radio stations should conduct regular audience research and collect insights on listening habits, preferences, and trends to inform their programming and marketing strategies. This can help them stay ahead of the curve and tailor their content to meet the changing needs of their audience.

Want to know how your specific audience listens to your station? Please contact us to learn more about our Audience/Market Reach Studies and Strategic Studies which can help nail down your audience numbers and their listening habits.

Key Takeaways:

• There is shifting trend in car radio listening, with a growing preference for streaming radio through phones.
  • 32% of car radio listeners listen only or mostly via traditional, over-the-air radio.
  • 52% of car radio listeners listen equally between over-the-air radio and streaming radio through their phones.
  • 16% of car radio listeners listen only or mostly via streaming radio through their phones.
• Radio stations need to adapt to this changing landscape by diversifying their broadcasting platforms, enhancing their digital presence, embracing a hybrid model, being aware of audience/market reach implications, and conducting regular audience research.
• By doing so, radio stations can continue to thrive in the ever-evolving world of car radio listening and stay connected with their audience.
• Please contact us to learn more about our Audience/Market Reach Studies and Strategic Studies which can help nail down your audience numbers and their listening habits.

Study Profile:

• Study Conducted in March 2023
• 800+ Radio Listeners
• Nationwide Sample
• Male/Female
• All Ethnicities/Races
• Ages 18+

Want to read more about over-the-air radio vs streaming radio? Read December’s Media Minute blog.

The post HBG Media Minute: Shifting Trends in Car Radio Usage appeared first on Crowd React Media.

Audacy recently released a great study on the personal connection listeners have between their lives and radio. We felt the report was well written, insightful, and a significant contribution to the industry. We encourage everyone in the industry to read and share it.

One aspect of the study, however, made us uneasy. The word “radio” appeared only four times and three of those four were because listeners called what they listen to radio. In most places you would expect the word “radio” to appear it was replaced with the word “audio.” “Audio” appeared dozens and dozens of times and on every page.

The increasingly common use of the word “audio” where radio would normally be used suggests that some in the radio industry are embarrassed by the label. Perhaps to them radio seems old-fashioned, dated.

We believe this trend is misguided. Trying to distance the business from the term “radio” is a mistake on multiple levels, the most obvious being that listeners call what we do radio, not audio. Ask people what they listen to. Do they say audio? No.

We should call this service we provide “radio” because that’s what listeners call it. In this increasingly complex world of audio entertainment owning the name is a tremendous advantage. It identifies our brand.

Too many in the industry want to hide the label “radio” because they see radio as transmitters, towers, and table-top radios. That’s not how listeners see it. When listeners think about radio they think of what comes through the speakers and earbuds. Radio is curated music and spoken word streamed to listeners. Radio is podcasting. Radio is what we deliver.

Radio most importantly is a relationship between listeners and a local station, its hosts and personalities. Radio is local. No other audio source can claim that.

Local radio reflects the values of its community. Local radio provides reliable community information, companionship, and fun. When a listener tunes to a local station they hear familiar voices, music curated for their town, and relevant relatable news.

It is a personal connection. An experience that listeners value.

Every local radio station is a powerful brand in its own right and collectively the envy of every other audio source. We need to embrace and cultivate Radio as a brand, not bury it.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore these issues in greater depth on the Harker Bos Group Blog and share our research about radio branding.

The post When did “radio” become a dirty word? appeared first on Crowd React Media.

Good radio is local. It reflects the town it serves in both style and content. Local radio is an active integral part of the community woven into the fabric of what it means to live there. Local radio is a friend, a unique source of local information and entertainment.

Listeners talk about their radio station using possessive language because to them the radio station is for them.

Large groups have forgotten the importance of that relationship.

Faced with the challenge of managing dozens of stations in a wide range of formats owners created multi-level hierarchical management structures with many programming and marketing decisions handled at the regional or national level.

In many cases local people at the stations have been stripped of the traditional responsibility of determining programming and marketing decisions, instead left to execute plans and decisions devised by corporate people.

The end result is generic sounding radio. Station A in one market sounds just like station B in another market. The subtle differences between listeners in different towns is erased.

No one at the corporate level can understand a town as well as the people who live there. Consequently no one at corporate level can devise strategies that work in all markets equally well.

Local radio’s strength and strongest weapon defending against the encroachment of national audio services like Sirius and Spotify was its connection with community. Our biggest advantage disappeared when local radio was replaced by generic radio and our industry is paying the price.

The post Time to Make Local Radio Local Again appeared first on Crowd React Media.