As Blockbuster Films Heat Up the Holiday Season, AM/FM Radio Gets Listeners to the Theater

While 2018 has been a year of major blockbusters from the film industry there is still an impressive list of heavy hitters coming to screens before the end of the yearamp160 In light of this Westwood One sought to better understand the mindset of movie fansamp160 A national study with MARUVisionCritical of 269 respondents was conducted last month which looked at the profile and intentions of American moviegoers as well as how AMFM radio impacts their holiday movie entertainment choicesOne thing was clear Americans still love moviesamp160 Virtually three out of fouramp160Americans 73 have gone to aamp160movie theater in the last 12 months Who are moviegoersamp160 Breaking it down by generation there39s a significantly younger skew of this audienceamp160 In the last 12 months 87 of Millennials 1834 have gone to the movie theater 85 of Gen Xers 3549amp160and 65 of Boomers 5064Using Scarborough data Westwood One took a closer look at the mega fans or movie fanaticsamp160those who have watched a film at a theater fourplusamp160times in the last 30 days and usually saw a movie within the first two weeks of opening in the last 12 monthsamp160 Demographically their profile aligns closely with heavy AMFM radio listeners and heavy internet usersamp160 Compared to television these three groups are all younger more likely to be employed affluentamp160and have childrenFor example the average age of the movie fanatic is 42 years old compared to TV39s heavy user who is 61 years oldamp160 Movie fanatics earn an average of 63K a year putting them just above heavy AMFM radio listeners who make an average of 60Kamp160 Seventyeight percent are using social media exactly the same amount as heavy AMFM radio listenersamp160 They39re an attractive group for movie studios looking to target a young demographic with money to spend on their familiesThis monthamp160sees a long list of movies making their way to the massesamp160 The MARUVision Critical study reveals that overall 77 of those who have gone to a movie in the past 12 months intend on seeing a flick in Decemberamp160amp160So what do they want to seeamp160 Nearly half are eyeing DC39s epic Aquaman as their choiceamp160 Disney39s Mary Poppins Returns and the Will Ferrell and John C Reillyfronted Holmes and Watson will each see about a quarter of moviegoersThese selections make sense when taken with what was also revealed about movie genre preferenceamp160 According to the study the most frequently watched movie genre among moviegoers is a comedy 59 followed closely by action 49 and drama 39Moviegoers are also eager to seek out new movie releasesamp160 Nineteen percent go to the movies once a month as new movies are cycling out of the theaters the MARUVisionCritical study revealsamp160 How do they hear about these new moviesamp160 Whose opinions do they trust to inform these repeated visitsamp160 AMFM radioListeners tune in for various reasons but people turn to AMFM radio because it resonates emotionallyamp160 One of the major factors is onair personalities and the relationships they have with their listenersamp160 Another Westwood Onecommissioned MARUVisionCritical study released earlier this year revealed the strong affinity between a radio DJ and listeneramp160 Fortysix percent revealed that their favorite AMFM DJ personality or show represented an opinion leader they trustedamp160 The same holds true for moviegoersamp160 Over 1 in 3 36 of moviegoers would be likely to see a movie recommended by an AMFM radio personalityRadio is also an effective medium overall for reaching this group due to high ad recallamp160 Sixtyone percent of moviegoers recall hearing a movie advertised on AMFM radioamp160 That number jumps to 70 when looking at those who visit the theater once a month or more according to the studyamp160amp160Plus radio delivers holiday crowds at their most valuable moment in their carsamp160 Edison Research39s quotShare of Earquot from Q3 2018 has AMFM radio39s incar share of adsupported devices at 86amp160 RADAR data shows twothirds of AMFM radio listening occurs away from homeWith captive audiences similar to their core customers and who are close to the movie theaters along with the trust between personality and listeners studios who utilize AMFM radio can make a big impact especially in these high moviegoing holiday monthsClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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As Blockbuster Films Heat Up the Holiday Season, AM/FM Radio Gets Listeners to the Theater

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Pierre Bouvard

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As Blockbuster Films Heat Up the Holiday Season, AM/FM Radio Gets Listeners to the Theater

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Pierre Bouvard

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