WINTER, 2003
I studied this "radio psychology" nearly twenty years ago in the N.A.B.'s Radio Wars project. Radio Wars was designed to give stations a new way to position and promote based on the benefits listeners seek from radio.
Any great salesman sells a product's benefits, not just its attributes. Sports car buyers seek excitement from their vehicles, not overhead cams. Beer drinkers seek good times with their buddies, not just the brew. And, as cosmetics czar Charles Revson once said, "In the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope."
Unfortunately, radio remains focused on the factory: Lite Rock, Less Talk...Classic Rock That Really Rocks...The #1 Hit Music Station. Lines like these sell station attributes, not benefits!
We decided to take a fresh look at the benefits listeners want from radio. We completed 701 telephone interviews with 12-64 U.S. radio listeners in November and early December. We asked about their listening behavior, the overall importance of radio in their lives, and probed the importance of 17 psychological motivations for listening to radio. Here's what we discovered....
Overall, around one-fourth say radio is "very important" in their lives. Only 4% consider it "not at all important." The majority of listeners clearly load on the "important" side:
| Radio is... | |
| 1--Not At All Important | 4% |
| 2-- | 10% |
| 3-- | 31% |
| 4-- | 30% |
| 5--Very Important | 26% |
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Those who name an Urban station as the one they "listen to most" value radio most highly... 40% say radio is very important. Radio is least important among A/C and Oldies P1's. Even so, a fifth of those formats' listeners consider radio very important.
From a demographic perspective, teen listeners place the highest priority on radio...34% find it very important.
One-third say "To relax and unwind when you feel tense" is a very important reason for listening. Essentially as many say "To keep you company when you are alone or lonely" is very important. Here's how listeners rate all of the benefits we tested...
| % rating this benefit "very important": | |
| Relax and unwind when you feel tense. | 34% |
| Keep you company when you are alone or lonely. | 33% |
| Get you going when you need a lift. | 29% |
| Cheer you up. | 28% |
| Take your mind off your problems. | 24% |
| Add to the fun when you're with other people. | 23% |
| Be reassured that nothing bad is happening. | 23% |
| Hear things that make you laugh. | 20% |
| Learn things that make your life better. | 20% |
| Give you things to think about . | 19% |
| Hear what other people are talking and thinking about. | 19% |
| Hear things that are comfortable and familiar. | 17% |
| Keep you in touch with what's hip and hot. | 17% |
| Learn things that make you smarter than other people. | 14% |
| Feel like part of your community. | 13% |
| Hear things that get you excited. | 13% |
| Learn things that make you more interesting to other people. | 11% |
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In general, "mood" benefits like relaxation, escapism and energy are most important, while "intellectual" benefits such as learning bring up the rear. But these data reflect all 12-64 listeners and all formats' P1's! The numbers become more actionable when we break down motivations by format.
News/Talk P1's, for example, are very "different." Mood benefits score low with them. They listen most to hear others' opinions, to get things to think about, and to learn things that make them feel "smarter than others"!
AOR/Alternative P1's are least motivated by learning. They listen to laugh and to "get going" more than average. Even so, listening "to relax" is very important to 41% of them! (We all relax in different ways!)
CHR P1's are the most social listeners. More than any other group, they listen to "add to the fun" with others. "Cheer you up" is another key benefit they seek from radio.
Country P1's seek companion- ship more than any other group and more than anything else... 47% say "company when you are alone or lonely" is a very important reason to listen.
Urban P1's score higher than average for every benefit we tested. Mood benefits are their biggest motivations, however... "to relax and unwind," to "get you going" and to "take your mind off your problems" top their list. No wonder radio is so important to them!
A/C P1's, in contrast, rated virtually all of the benefits we tested lower than average. Radio is more like an "appliance" to them. But one third of them seek "company" from radio -- it's their #1 motivation -- while "to relax" is close behind.
Oldies P1's see radio as a "pick me up." While they score most benefits score lower than average, "cheer you up" and "get you going" are at the top of their motivations.
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It suggests a new way to position and promote your station...one that goes beyond the "nuts and bolts" of programming.
For example, in the '70s and '80s, "Beautiful Music" stations led many markets as "The Place To Relax." While that format is no longer viable, relaxation remains a major motivation. Some softer A/C's -- today's Beautiful Music stations -- could become today's Place To Relax.
CHR's could run TV spots depicting attractive young adults partying and enjoying hot CHR cuts.
Country stations could position themselves as "Your Friend" both on and off the air.
Of course, these are only examples! Our point is: find out which benefits are "hot buttons" for your target listeners. Then, position your station to super-serve those needs.