Over the past decade, radio broadcasters have brought increased content to owned digital channels to give listeners the opportunity to engage new channels. And today, we see that the broadcasters that have adapted their content and platform strategies to include digital channels are reaping the benefits of engaging audiences of all age groups.
Radio Listenership
Traditional radio remains very popular with Baby Boomers, who spend the most time listening each week. While younger listeners (Gen X, Y and Z) spend less time listening, they are more likely than their older counterparts to have tuned into radio via digital means in the past month.
Given their engagement with streaming applications, nearly one-third of Gen X and Y tuned into local radio stations digitally in the past month. In fact, these two groups comprise 80% of digital radio listeners. This means that in order to engage with this audience, digital radio has a crucial part to play in radio broadcasters content strategy.
How To Engage Younger Listeners
Advertisers continue to see radio as a valuable media platform. In Q1 2021, ad spend (commercial breaks on Live/Broadcast shows) was S$48.4 million, bouncing back from the pandemic where in Q2 2020 ad spend was S$29.5 million. The growing number of digital platforms and content opportunities gives advertisers new ways to reach and connect with younger audiences.
Overall all Singaporean radio listeners (aged 15+) love to shop, online that is! Approximately half have shopped online in the last month.They favour clothing, food delivery and electronics. In Q1 2021, Harvey Norman, Gain City, Courts, Cold Storage, Lazada and Shopee were the biggest radio ad spenders among retailers.
There are unique differences however between older and younger generations of radio listeners. Social media is a vehicle for radio broadcasters to reach younger listeners. Two thirds of Gen Z listeners claim to access social media multiple times a day and are more likely than older generations to engage with fan pages. By comparison only 23% of Baby Boomers access social media daily. This leaves ample opportunity for shareable, community based content. It’s clear there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to effective marketing.
Now is the time to tune-in to these younger audiences and listen to what they’re passionate about.
