Radio: The “Primary” Medium for the 2016 Presidential Race

More than anything the Local Vote research points to the continued saliency of traditional media with voters particularly radioamp160 Since Nielsen began adding radio to its Comparative Media reports our industry has been reminded of the strength of this formidable mediumamp160Today so much of our media consumption is disposable that we frankly forget the value of consistency Radio is unapologetically not a fad but a remarkable survivor throughout 100plus years of great media disruption Since its inception radio has weathered the introduction of television motion pictures cable satellite radio and TV personal computers cell phones the Internet and social media to name just a few And while the power of amp8220mass reachamp8221 may not be amp8220de rigueuramp8221 conversation for todayamp8217s targetdriven marketers there is something powerful to be said for radioamp8217s ability to still dominate all other media including television in reaching the largest number of people regularly across all audience segments Yes even 9 out of 10 Millennials are engaging with radio daily These young arbiters of trends have not only stuck with radio but are now being touted for their role in the resurgence ofamp8202 amp8202wait for it amp8202vinylPerhaps thatamp8217s why when we look at the Local Vote findings we see that for followers of candidates like Bernie Sanders known for his appeal to younger voters radio is tops among media choices Indeed 93 of Sanders supporters use radio daily while broadcast TV ranks the lowest 80 of any candidate supporter groups Audio streaming online radio as well as pure plays like Spotify also ranks highest for Sanders supporters versus other candidatesRadio is a force to be reckoned with in the political space Not only does radio rank tops with almost all candidate supporters it is most dominant among amp8220undecidedsamp8221 with 95 using radio daily 2amp82114 points ahead of the next media alternativeSome may look at the data and wonder if it is worth comparing media that arguably reach the majority of the population amp160In the political arena however itamp8217s important to reach every potential voteramp160 In Wisconsin for example the reach and influential power of radioamp8217s news talk personalities played a pivotal role in the Republican primary outcomeamp160amp160 If youamp8217re not convinced by reach alone however then consider that radio also scores high marks for its length of tune and a significant portion of radio listeners are not heavy TV viewers The Katz study proved that one third of all undecided voters spend twice as much time with radio as they do with TV 1 hour and 52 minutes daily vs 52 minutesamp160 That translates to a significant portion of undecided radio listeners being twice as likely to get your message versus undecided TV viewersBut what good is amp8220reachamp8221 if you canamp8217t target an audience Ah but you can Radio is the original targetable medium and now with data science so much more can be done Take Milwaukee for exampleamp160 In the radio landscape there are a plethora of format options that are highly targeted choices among particular political groups When you think of radio and politics Iamp8217ll bet youamp8217re thinking amp8220newstalkamp8221 radioamp8202 amp8202and youamp8217d be right if you were trying to court Ultra Conservatives but youamp8217d be missing the opportunity to engage OntheFence Liberals urban stations or even Mild Republicans rock stationsamp160 The Local Vote study takes this yet another step further allowing us to target by issues as wellamp160 So for instance if youamp8217re trying to reach Republicans who are selecting their candidate based on the state of national security then youamp8217d need to be on newstalksports radio but Democrats with the same concerns are more likely to be listening to classical or jazz stationsThe truth is that mass media is actually the only place you can achieve reach and targetabilityamp8202 amp8202 and that matters greatly when you are introducing a new product or a candidate to the world Targeting is a fantastic device for connecting with groups youamp8217ve already identified as potential consumers or voters amp8202but what about those groups you havenamp8217t predicted or have no data yet to mine Thatamp8217s where the unparalleled reach of a mass medium like radio will always be essentialSo the next time youamp8217re thinking about doing something innovative and effective think radio amp160In the marketing world thereamp8217s always time to coursecorrect and bring new consumers to the brand In the political world however itamp8217s winner take all And every vote countsFor more insights from Katz Media Groupamp8217s Local Vote 2016 study contact Stacey Lynn Schulman atamp160StaceyschulmankatzmediagroupcomImage at top courtesy of Corbis The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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Radio: The “Primary” Medium for the 2016 Presidential Race

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Stacey Lynn Schulman

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