Reaching the Millennial Country Radio Audience

December 17, 2015

It is well-known that marketers look to the habits of the youngest consumers to anticipate future trends. In Country Radio, this means the development of rich social networking and mobile marketing strategies among younger listeners, who are driving its growth.

Scarborough performed a study that analyzed the Loyal Country Radio Listeners audience, finding that Millennials are a large force in the Country Music format today. In this study, Loyal Country Radio Listeners are adults who listen to the Country, New Country, or Classic Country radio formats, and who are members of the top-two heaviest listening quintiles. Millennials are highly involved in social networking and online radio listening, utilizing mobile devices like smartphones or tablets to do so.

Millennials represent 25% of Country Radio’s loyal listening audience. Plus, Country Radio is the second-most popular format among Millennial Loyal Radio Listeners (adults who are ages 18-29 and are members of the top-two heaviest listening quintiles), with 42% tuning in. That’s second only to Pop CHR.

Online Millennial Loyal Country Radio Listeners love social networking; 95% of this group who are online engage in social networking. They spend nearly 90 minutes on social networking sites daily, which is 23% more than the average Online Loyal Country Radio Listener. Facebook has the largest percentage of online Millennial Country Radio Listeners with 84%.

There are many different reasons for social media usage among this consumer group. 40% of Online Millennial Loyal Country Radio Listeners say that using social media to find information about news and current events is very or somewhat important to them. 26% indicate the same for showing support for favorite companies or brands, and 37% for finding local information.

Mobile devices are an important aspect in the lives and radio listening habits of Millennial Loyal Country Radio Listeners. 65% own a Smartphone, and almost one-quarter (24%) own a tablet. 36% of this consumer group who access the internet listen to local or internet radio online; more than half of those listeners do so via their Smartphone and 12% through their tablet. In total, more than 60% of Millennial Loyal Country Radio Listeners who access the internet and listen to radio online do so via a mobile device.

Research Director, Inc. can be a valuable resource to you and your country-formatted station as you target accounts geared toward Millennial consumers. Our Ratings Experts have access to an abundance of research and we are here to help get you on that buy!

-Morgan O’Connor, Research Specialist

Source: http://dialog.scarborough.com; Scarborough USA+ Study, Release 1, 2013

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