As Jacobs Media prepares for its 9th Techsurvey, Fred Jacobs looks at what he and his company have learned over the years. Technology has evolved by leaps and bounds over the last nine years, and Jacobs visualizes these changes through the Techsurvey Media Usage Pyramid, as well as looking ahead to what 2013’s survey will bring.
Fred Jacobs
It is hard for me to believe that Jacobs Media has been conducting our Techsurveys for eight years, as we get everyone ready for #9. Originally, these “polls” (as we called them at the time) were designed to help Rock programmers better understand the changes around them, particularly as new technology and gadgets were impacting their audiences.
Back in 2005 when we hit on the idea of aggregating radio station databases to create large, national studies of Rock, Alternative, and Classic Rock/Hits listeners, the world was a simpler place. Consumers were IMing, iPods were beginning to catch on, and there was no such thing as Facebook for the masses.
In the very first study, 53 stations produced more than 19,000 respondents – and we knew we were onto something. To summarize many of the key findings, Jacobs Media digital research whiz, Tim Davis, devised the “Media Usage Pyramid.” They have now become our main graphic representation of each study’s results ever since. Here’s that first pyramid from “back in the day” – 2005:
To say the least, things were quite a bit different back then. Only 87% owned a cell phone (there were no iPhones yet), while only a quarter of the sample communicated via text messaging. Only about a fifth owned one of those Apple iPods. And yet, despite the simplicity of our world in 2005, it didn’t seem that way. In fact, many radio managers looked at that first pyramid and began to actively consider an environment with more consumer choice, options, and distractions.
So, now look at the same pyramid from Techsurvey8. Here we have 170 stations across 12 different formats that generated more than 57,000 respondents.
Today, there’s video streaming, thanks in large part to YouTube, and social networking (powered by Facebook) which now impacts the lives of 85% of our sample. More than half carry a smartphone. Of them, 90% download apps, while a quarter have already purchased an iPad or similar device. Then there’s Pandora – a pure-play music service that nearly one-fifth listen to weekly. None of these were around when we first got our national web surveys going.
Now we’re producing multiple pyramids – by gender, market size, format, and of course, individual radio stations – in order to tell this amazing story about media consumption and change.
Suffice it to say, in just a few years, it’s become a different environment. And the one thing we know about the future is that it will be different from the present. From Groupon to Pinterest to Kindle Fire in this year’s survey, new platforms and gadgets will become mainstream in the years to come and will have an impact on broadcasters.
Each of these innovations brings with it challenges and opportunities for radio operators. But you need an understanding of how they impact your audience in order to plan, budget, or even ignore the things that just don’t matter.
So that’s why I’m excited about Techsurvey9 which will go into the field in late January of next year. Our goal is 300 participating radio stations, and we hope to exceed our 12 formats from Techsurvey8. Urban and Hispanic radio are important for us to measure, as well as the ability to now trend our findings from Techsurvey8.
When you think about the amount of money, time, and resources that many radio stations have poured into digital over the past few years – without really knowing about what their audiences desire or are doing in this space – it speaks to the need to do your homework and get a strategy.
That’s why we started doing these studies in the first place, and they were never more important than they are today. Over the past several months, I have presented various versions of Techsurvey8 to radio companies, state broadcaster associations, and via webinars for our stakeholder stations. While it is instructive to see the national results alongside how each of our dozen formats performs, there is nothing more valuable than managers seeing the results for their own stations.
Consultants are fond of saying that every market is different. And in fact, it’s true. After reviewing the results for stations in New Orleans, San Francisco, Omaha, and Cleveland, I can tell you that every brand has its own media and technology footprint. Cities and towns have their unique media and technology DNA. No two are alike.
Your station can be a key participant in Techsurvey9, which provides you with all the national and format data, as well as the results from your own audience, accompanied by your station’s own “Media Usage Pyramid.”
These studies are also predictive. In the pioneer 2005 poll, we saw how “cell phone only” emerged as an industry issue, especially when you consider than Arbitron did not include these consumers in their ratings surveys at that time.
That study created awareness for problem that Arbitron (and other major pollsters) have now addressed.
Last year, we began to measure the “connected car,” and its impact on the broadcast radio business. “Digital dashboards” like those found in many Ford, Toyota, and GM vehicles affect radio listening, and serve as challenges to radio programmers and mobile app developers to focus on the automotive space.
We also learned last year about the importance of “emotional triggers” for many radio stations. When it’s on its game, radio doesn’t just play great music, have funny morning show, and talk about current topics. It provides a sense of companionship, escape, and the ability to change a listener’s entire mood. Take that, Pandora.
It seems almost counter-intuitive that radio stations continue to pour thousands of dollars into determining whether “Call Me Maybe” is burned out or to determine “who plays too many bad songs mixed in with the good ones.” And yet, few have taken the time to understand how their audience is being impacted by media choice and change.
So, let’s experience this technological adventure together. Check out our website for more details on Techsurvey9, and let’s include you in what will be a historic radio research endeavor. This may be the best “return on investment” your station will get all year long.
2013 will be an amazing year, and our goal is to help you navigate it like a pro.
http://www.jacobsmedia.com/techsurvey9/
Fred Jacobs is President of Jacobs Media. The Southfield, Michigan based firm consults many of America’s most successful Classic Rock, Mainstream Rock, and Alternative stations. Fred can be reached at (248) 353-9030 or fredjacobs@jacobsmedia.com.
