Surprise! There is still space for another radio
Oct 06, 2007
<b>SHILLINGS AND CENTS</b><br><br>A recent study of radio listener trends threw up a few intriguing revelations. Media monitoring and research firm, The Steadman Group, carried out the survey.
SHILLINGS AND CENTS
BY PAUL BUSHARIZI
A recent study of radio listener trends threw up a few intriguing revelations. Media monitoring and research firm, The Steadman Group, carried out the survey.
Looking over more than 100 pages of raw data on radio trends, what immediately jumped out at me is the fact that despite our 100 plus radio stations scattered around the nation, there are still gaping holes of opportunity.
It seems to me that, like we do with our shops and other small businesses, the copycat syndrome is alive and kicking in radio as well. Going by the listenership numbers, the only real differentiator among radio stations is language. There is very little differentiation by age, class or any other measure.
I have always wondered about the wisdom of owning a radio frequency beyond 90 FM, being that I listen to radio only when I am in the car. But the survey showed that more than 90% of the listeners consume radio at home and as far as I know, all radios at home go beyond 90FM. Then another 41% of respondents listen to radio in their cars and 6% in taxis. Of course there is some overlapping as to where people usually listen to radio.
Another revelation was that the share of listeners is tilted towards the female gender for local language stations, while the English stations’ listeners are predominantly male.
It suggests that female listeners relate to local languages better than English maybe because English stations are just not catering enough to their needs and tastes or the English stations have decided it’s the men who make the money decisions and that is where they will focus their efforts or the bias is by accident rather than design.
Another interesting, but baffling result was that all the top radios in the Kampala market – where 70% of this country’s economy is derived, have the majority of their listeners falling within the 15 – 24 year old age group.
Considering that the radios’ commercial success comes from their ability to attract advertising revenue, it seems strange that this should be the case as the 35 and above listener is a useful target group to offer to advertisers.
Chances are that after 35, a listener’s career is beginning to take off or in full flight, he or she is growing a family and as a result is consuming more than his prior years. That this segment is not tuning into radio suggests our radio stations are not meeting their needs.
And to accentuate this point, when surveyed by class preferences, the report shows that less than 20% of all listeners of any given radio station’s audience falls in the monied A B or C1 classes, many of whom it would not be wrong to assume are older than 35.
Another survey I have come across also seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom or at least what I thought was conventional wisdom. Given a choice between music and news only six percentage points separated preferences in favour of music. And in this regard, the BBC still has the right mix of news and information for people educated beyond secondary school.
The evidence is here for everybody to see – our radio stations are all the same, an absolute disaster from a branding perspective.
Because there is no cost to switching from one radio station to another, it is all the more important that radios create a unique character, anchored to a specific target audience that hopefully will become loyal over time.
The radio industry is ripe for a shake-up. A consolidation of existing players is a likely outcome within the next few years but mostly likely before that can happen, a few more aggressive new entrants will rear their heads.
pbusharizi@newvision.co.ug
BY PAUL BUSHARIZI
A recent study of radio listener trends threw up a few intriguing revelations. Media monitoring and research firm, The Steadman Group, carried out the survey.
Looking over more than 100 pages of raw data on radio trends, what immediately jumped out at me is the fact that despite our 100 plus radio stations scattered around the nation, there are still gaping holes of opportunity.
It seems to me that, like we do with our shops and other small businesses, the copycat syndrome is alive and kicking in radio as well. Going by the listenership numbers, the only real differentiator among radio stations is language. There is very little differentiation by age, class or any other measure.
I have always wondered about the wisdom of owning a radio frequency beyond 90 FM, being that I listen to radio only when I am in the car. But the survey showed that more than 90% of the listeners consume radio at home and as far as I know, all radios at home go beyond 90FM. Then another 41% of respondents listen to radio in their cars and 6% in taxis. Of course there is some overlapping as to where people usually listen to radio.
Another revelation was that the share of listeners is tilted towards the female gender for local language stations, while the English stations’ listeners are predominantly male.
It suggests that female listeners relate to local languages better than English maybe because English stations are just not catering enough to their needs and tastes or the English stations have decided it’s the men who make the money decisions and that is where they will focus their efforts or the bias is by accident rather than design.
Another interesting, but baffling result was that all the top radios in the Kampala market – where 70% of this country’s economy is derived, have the majority of their listeners falling within the 15 – 24 year old age group.
Considering that the radios’ commercial success comes from their ability to attract advertising revenue, it seems strange that this should be the case as the 35 and above listener is a useful target group to offer to advertisers.
Chances are that after 35, a listener’s career is beginning to take off or in full flight, he or she is growing a family and as a result is consuming more than his prior years. That this segment is not tuning into radio suggests our radio stations are not meeting their needs.
And to accentuate this point, when surveyed by class preferences, the report shows that less than 20% of all listeners of any given radio station’s audience falls in the monied A B or C1 classes, many of whom it would not be wrong to assume are older than 35.
Another survey I have come across also seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom or at least what I thought was conventional wisdom. Given a choice between music and news only six percentage points separated preferences in favour of music. And in this regard, the BBC still has the right mix of news and information for people educated beyond secondary school.
The evidence is here for everybody to see – our radio stations are all the same, an absolute disaster from a branding perspective.
Because there is no cost to switching from one radio station to another, it is all the more important that radios create a unique character, anchored to a specific target audience that hopefully will become loyal over time.
The radio industry is ripe for a shake-up. A consolidation of existing players is a likely outcome within the next few years but mostly likely before that can happen, a few more aggressive new entrants will rear their heads.
pbusharizi@newvision.co.ug