Nielsen: Even When Quarantined, People Still Listen to Radio

People still listen to radio! Nielsen has released its March radio listenership statistics, marking the first time real numbers from the COVID-19 period have been compiled and published. The results are encouraging. Whether working in the office or at home, radio’s numbers remain solid across the board. Among the highlights:

 

  • AM/FM Radio retained 96% of its reach and 90% of its average quarter-hour audience

 

  • When compared to February, March maintained nearly all its audience

 

  • Listening is up across digital platforms, including Web and SmartSpeaker consumption

 

In addition, recent stats from the Nielsen Scarborough USA+ database show that 90.1% of persons who always or mostly work from home are reached by AM/FM radio each week … which is actually a higher number than the total population. According to the study, “The American worker is continuing to listen to AM/FM radio, especially those who work in their homes. In the challenging days ahead, this will more likely become a stronger bond.”

 

A stronger bond? No question about it. Nielsen research indicates 60% of Americans depend upon radio as a primary source for timely information. And during trying times, companionship and the human connection are more important than ever! AM/FM radio provides these things and more.

 

UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY AWAITS

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade is a famous quote often attributed to Dale Carnegie. It’s also very apropos to today’s automobile dealers. While a good percentage of our nation’s dealers have decided to go dark during the pandemic, others are seeing this time as an opportunity and are taking full advantage of the options available to them.

 

Dealers who continue aggressively advertising are getting incredibly low ad rates in today’s climate, as radio stations are willing to give deep discounts – and throw in other complimentary perks – in order to sell unclaimed ad time. This allows dealers to dominate their market for a fraction of the usual cost.

 

If your competition has drastically cut or eliminated his advertising altogether, you have been given a golden opportunity. What will you do with it?