Archive
January 20, 2022
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Are you hitting the reset button for 2022? Well, we’re doing just that at Research Director, Inc. One week each month, we’ll provide you with an educational series article on “Back to Basics.” We’ll focus on terminology, basic concepts of audience estimates, and how you can use data to ensure a successful year.
In this first edition, we are covering the basic terms for radio audience measurement. Do you know that there are only two main things measured? They are how many people are listening and how long they listen. You know these as Cume and Time Spent Listening (TSL).
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January 13, 2022
Filed Under: Hot Topics
One of the realities that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated with cruel efficiency is that radio is uber-dependent on in-car listening. The “at-work” environment was diminished by the work from home (WFH) movement. While more people have returned to their regular routines, “at work” will remain challenged until Nielsen solves the ear bud issue. The third triad of radio’s location platform was “at-home.” Unfortunately, being locked down for so long caused a rise in smart speaker penetration, which led to new behaviors that created new habits.
Which brings us back to the car…
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January 6, 2022
Filed Under: Hot Topics
There is a saying in sports: “A tie is like kissing your sister.” Forget the political (in)correctness – it demonstrates how we all feel about a tie. However, is a tie always a tie?
I was recently looking at a San Francisco ranker and the number one station in the market had an Adult 25-54 AQH rating of a 0.2. So did the #2 through #11 stations. Does that mean all of these stations are tied, and therefore equal?
Obviously, the answer is NO!
So what is the difference?
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December 16, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
In today’s modern PPM-encoded world, radio programmers can garner a lot of granular information on their listeners. However, one data point that eludes us is location. We can know if listening is “at home” or “away from home” but have lost the “at work” and “in car” distinctions.
How can we compensate for that missing insight?
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December 14, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Are you looking for new ways to prospect and pitch local business? Are you wondering how you will hit your sales goal?
The answer is Scarborough’s new data.
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December 9, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The world is hungry for content. This is especially true for radio stations. They need content to cascade out of the speakers, on every single social media platform, on the website, in podcasts, etc. The beast must constantly be fed.
Radio stations are also focused on being local. Getting a million views on a TikTok video is great for the ego, but does it boost the local brand? Is it what your fans really care about?
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December 2, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
This year Christmas is a lot different. I’m not talking about the pandemic or supply chain issues. In a normal year, the onslaught of Christmas music on the radio affects two PPM surveys – December and Holiday.
However, Nielsen adjusted the schedule this year so the recently-released or soon-to-be-released (depending on your market) November book began later than normal. The survey ran from 10/14 through 11/10. In many markets across the country, the flip to all Saint Nick began during the first 10 days of November. That means that weeks three and four will be affected by those format changes.
Furthermore, that means, for this season, the stain of Christmas music will affect three surveys. The entire December book will be blanketed by the haunting melodies of Burl Ives, while about half of the holiday book will be similarly affected.
What does this mean for broadcasters?
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November 18, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
It seems like an easy question, but are you sure you have the right answer?
Without being overly dramatic (OK, maybe a little), the future of your radio station and our industry might depend on what you say.
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November 10, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Your market is constantly shifting. A smart programmer knows and properly reacts to these changes. Many times these shifts are subtle and cannot be measured. However, once a year there is a change that can be measured and can impact your success – or how your success is measured.
What are these changes?
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November 4, 2021
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Last week RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) released the most recent radio listening data for the U.K., and they yielded some interesting results. Especially when it applies to digital listening.
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