The Power Of Radio, And The Rise In Hispanic Listeners

Released this week, Nielsen’s “State of the Media: Audio Today Q3” focuses on African American and Hispanic listeners, highlighting what we have known for a while: Americans, regardless of background or ethnicity, love radio. What makes radio unique, from the largest to smallest markets, is that it is live and inherently local, and there isn’t another medium that has been able to match it.

(I will admit that I am inherently biased towards radio. Prior to joining Media Solutions, I spent over seven years at iHeartMedia working in radio markets both large and small across California.)

I’m not alone as a radio listener: over 247 million Americans, aged 12 and up, listen to the radio each week. Hispanic people account for 41.3 million weekly listeners and African American persons account for 31.8 million weekly listeners. According to Nielsen, the Ethnic Composition of the National Radio Audience is 13.3% Black, 16.6% Hispanic and 70.1% Other.

What does a Hispanic Radio Listener look like? Here are some interesting details based on National data for persons age 12 and up:

• 54% Male, 46% Female
• Spends an average of 12 hours and 50 minutes with radio each week
• Top Daypart is 10 am – 3 pm
• Mexican Regional is the #1 Format by share of total listening
• 70% are listening OOH and 30% are listening at home
• 56% are employed full time, 14% part-time and 30% are either unemployed, retired, or in school

Most striking 97% of Hispanics, age 18 or older, are reached weekly, making radio the leading platform.

Released quarterly, the Nielsen “Total Audience Report” for Q2 2016 highlights the increasing fragmentation of the media landscape. As we know, digital has provided people with more options for TV, Movies, and Music, making the time spent with traditional mediums fluctuate greatly over the last few years. For radio, the average adult listens to 7 AM/FM stations (and 20 TV Channels), and, accounting for digital devices, account for the most time spent per month. Hispanic adults listen to an average of 8 radio stations per month, with some fluctuations based on Demo:

• Persons 18-34: 8.2 stations
• Persons 25-49: 8.9 stations
• Persons 50+: 8.2 stations

Weekly time spent with AM/FM radio* amongst Hispanics has also grown year over year:

• Q2 2016: 13:08
• Q2 2015: 12:46

As has monthly time spent with AM/FM radio*:

• Q2 2016: 55:27
• Q1 2016: 54:10

*For Persons Age 12+, time shown in HH:MM

Even though the listening data is on a National level, Radio’s reach should not be underestimated. California’s population is 39% Hispanic and growing, making it the largest non-white minority group in the state. Also, the median age of Hispanics in California is 28 years, 7 years younger than the population as a whole. (American Community Survey, Census.gov)

Even though car manufacturers continue to add many entertainment options to vehicles, the AM/FM radio still comes as standard. Since Californians continue to drive to work, the grocery store, park and everywhere in general, Radio is the number one method to reach consumers.

Media Planning and the Political Window

Even though one of the two Presidential nominees has been determined (and the other will be soon as well), the California Primary is still happening, and is, for those who reside in the Golden State, very important. Whether you are on the Broadcast or Agency side, this time of year the two words that everyone dreads are: Political Window.

A quick refresher on the window: in the 45 days prior to a Primary (or Caucus) and 60 days prior to the General Election, a candidate purchasing advertising “shall be charged no more per unit than the station charges its most favored commercial advertisers for the same classes and amounts of time for the same periods.” (FCC, Sections 73.1942 [47 CFR § 73.1942], Section 76.206 [47 CFR §76.206] Candidate rates).

If you are at all curious what the landscape looks like for television stations in early Primary/Caucus states, visit Stations.FCC.gov and type in the call letters of your favorite broadcast TV station. Or, take a look at a station in Iowa, where their Political Window was open from December 18 through February 1. The Political File for KCCI‐TV in Des Moines is quite impressive for 2016, and will only continue to grow as Iowa will also hold a Primary on June 7 and is considered to be a Swing State in November.

As of today, California is in the window leading up to the Primary on June 7th. In case you don’t have it marked on your calendar (highly advised if you haven’t yet), the next window opens on September 9th. What does this mean for your in‐window advertising? I have some thoughts:

• Planning is critical. The farther in advance you are able to get an order in, the better. This is less to do with rates, and more to do with stations (TV, Radio, Pandora, etc.) selling out.
• Flexibility is greatly appreciated by both broadcasters and planners. If you aren’t up for election or trying to pass/defeat a ballot initiative on November 8, it might be worth exploring the feasibility of running your schedule either before the window opens or after it closes. 
• Creativity is valuable. Since zero dollar spots affect a station's lowest unit rate (LUR), bonus weight can be hard to come by during the election. 

What Can You Learn From Steph Curry & Under Armor

I am a sports fan. I grew up watching and playing soccer, tennis and skiing. My love of football is a funny story, grown out of a want to do anything other than catch up on required college reading for whichever class I happened to take during fall quarter. Baseball is enjoyable as a pitching duel, home run derby and statistics lesson.

My first love, however, is basketball.

There’s the drive. And, two from the paint!

Off the glass. Banks it in.

He fires. Quick catch and release. Nothing but net!

It is, put simply, the best. That’s one reason why the ESPN.com article, “You Won’t Believe How Nike Lost Steph to Under Armor” by Ethan Sherwood Strauss caught my eye.

The Steph Curry of 2016 is the reigning NBA MVP, team leader, single season 3-point record-holder, and cool dad. In terms of endorsers, you can’t go wrong with the guy. But, as Strauss says 2013 Steph Curry wasn’t there yet. He was an outstanding athlete on a team that had nowhere to go but up, but in terms of LeBron, Kobe and Jordan, Curry wasn’t on everyone’s radar. Yet.

Regardless, one would have hoped that the Nike, especially Nike, had done a little more investigation. But, at the end, Under Armor played the best game.

These are my takeaways from this legendary story:

• Don’t give up. Don’t stop trying to pitch new clients, or strategy, or creative. Under Armor took a different route to reach Steph Curry, they started wooing his teammate Kent Bazemore , who in turn became a street team and brand ambassador all rolled into one. While we don’t all have the budget of Nike and Under Armor, a killer idea for a new market strategy (with detailed research to back it up) is just as valuable as free shoes.
• Don’t be afraid to try something new. Dell Curry couldn’t have said it any better. Whether it’s a new medium, strategy or even proposal layout, take the leap. You don’t know until you try.
• Never underestimate the person sitting on the other side of the table. Being the incumbent gives you an edge, but never assume that your competitors haven’t done their work to get to your client either. We don’t know why Nike didn’t offer the chance to host a training camp, but if he attended them as an up and coming athlete, they must have been important. Nike, having had Steph Curry signed to the brand, should have known this. This is part of incumbency, having access to the client. It might mean being able to bring a “one more thing” big idea that started as an offhand mention walking to the elevator after a meeting.
• Lastly, but most importantly, Do your homework. Proofread your deck. Practice your presentation with an audience. If you are even the slightest bit unsure of how to pronounce someone’s name, pick up the phone and ask. Worst case scenario on the day of the meeting, if you still aren’t sure, ask. Coming from someone with an awfully hard to pronounce name, the effort is not unnoticed.

Steph Curry and the Warriors have had a pretty good year. So did Under Armor. I can't imagine that the Nike Marketing Department isn't doing anything other than looking back and shaking their heads.