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Radio Reaches a $1.3 Trillion
Consumer Segment

Previous posts have focused on radio’s diversity – its diversity of music, formats and ability to reach different age groups. Radio also reaches a diverse audience – general market, Hispanic and Blacks/African-Americans.

According to African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, a report released by Packaged Facts, African-American buying power grew 27% to $1.3 trillion – from 2010-2015. That buying power is forecast to grow 16% from 2015-2020.

While many pieces focused on Blacks/African-Americans’ rise during Black History Month, it’s important to note that this is a powerful consumer segment that should be reached for more than just that period of time. Read on to learn about some of the powerful ways that radio reaches this target audience.

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Consumer Segment”

Radio = Results

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Jim Higgins, President, Chief Operating Officer, United Stations Radio Networks; co-author and contributor: Matthew Warnecke, Senior Account Executive, United Stations Radio Networks

As audience behaviors expand, contract, and realign, much time is taken up with the search for the latest answer to age-old marketing questions. Namely, where are the consumers? How can we reach them? What are their lives like? How can we do more with less?

Potential customers are now living in a media consumption world of “and,” rather than “or.” In other words, don’t put all of your commercial messaging into one media. It’s finding the right “mix” that can mean success in reaching audiences effectively. Multi‐media is the smart answer and radio/audio is a substantial part of that mix. Depending on which recent studies you look at, at least 90% of Americans listen to radio every week! Whether it’s RADAR (247M weekly 12+ listeners), or Nielsen’s Q4 Total Audience Report (280M weekly 6+ listeners), marketers can’t go wrong when they look for consumers among a universe of HUNDREDS of MILLIONS. If we look at Adults 18+, 92.5% (222.2M) tune in to radio each week (Nielsen Comparable Metrics 3Q 16). Nielsen says that is a larger number than TV, larger than PCs, larger than smartphones, larger than tablets. Read that previous sentence again.

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Radio Listener Fans – A Treasure Trove of Information

Radio listeners’ emotional bond with the stations they tune into is no surprise.  We’ve shared in the past the unique connection that listeners have with the personalities on those stations.

Today, the two-way conversation that radio has with its listeners extends well beyond the call-ins from years ago.  Radio engages with its listeners via text, tweets, social media and even via their loyal listener database.  If the concept of a database for a radio station surprises you, then read on.

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The Radio on Main Street Podcast
Featuring Surprising Revelations from the HD Radio Ad Study

In this episode of Radio on Main Street, RAB President and CEO Erica Farber speaks with Joe D’Angelo, Sr. VP Broadcast Radio, and Rick Greenhut, Director, Broadcast Business Development from Xperi, the new parent company of HD Radio.

Joe and Rick provide updates on HD Radio and share some of the surprising highlights gleaned from the recent HD Radio Ad Study.

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Radio – A Smorgasbord of Creativity

The Radio Mercury Awards just announced finalists for the 2017 awards.  There were 117 radio spots and campaigns nominated by a group of some of the most creative minds in the ad business.  It’s amazing to imagine all of those creative minds in one room – listening to their thoughts, insights, and of course, jokes.

“Anything is possible” was the theme set for this year’s awards by Mark Gross, founder and creative director, Highdive Advertising and chief judge for the 2017 Radio Mercury Awards, and there is a video to prove it. If you haven’t already seen it, I encourage you to do so as it truly highlights all that is possible on the radio.

Creativity is not just limited to the commercials that run on the radio stations. Creativity is also seen in the numerous ways that radio goes to market to help drive traffic and awareness of brands and products for advertisers.

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There’s Something for Every Ear

“I’m a purple person.”  “I prefer basic black.”  “I like to wear bold colors.”  People have distinctive tastes and preferences when it comes to clothing or accessories.  These preferences are personal, similar to that of radio listening, and similarly, music choice.

A researcher at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K. studied over 36,000 participants’ ratings of 104 music styles and found a direct correlation to their personalities.  The study showed that heavy metal music fans are normally calm and comfortable around others, while classical music lovers are often shy and creative.  Hard-working and outgoing would be words to describe pop and country music listeners.   The relationship between radio and the listener has always been an emotional one but what they listen to is not just personal, it is an extension of who they are.

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