Nielsen’s Jon Miller: "In today's fragmented media world, radio remains the top way people discover new music."

As a company, Nielsen provides world class measurement across verticals. How does this multi-platform expertise help validate radio’s core business of spot revenue?

Jon: “The data speaks volumes; in today’s fragmented media world with so many choices available for consumers, radio continues to reach more Americans each week and deliver impressive results for advertisers.”

“It’s truly exciting to marry together the wealth of consumer information and advanced analytics that Nielsen has to assess radio as part of the larger media mix, and this is where the reach story really bears fruit.”

“For example, a number of studies we’ve done show light TV viewers cannot be effectively reached by running more television ads because their consumption levels are so low. But those very same consumers CAN be reached with a radio campaign during the day, during the week when they’re out of the home.”

That makes sense, especially based on what we know about radio and the relationship between heavy consumption and employment. Switching gears to smartphones for a moment and mobile devices overall, what are you seeing there?

Jon: “In our Q1 2018 Total Audience Report, we break out weekly time spent. AM/FM radio consumption maintains a very healthy lead over smart phone streaming (P18+).”

Weekly time spent among users of each platform (hrs:mins)
Radio: 13:30
Streaming audio on smartphone: 1:00
Streaming audio on tablet: 0:35 (35 mins)

What’s also worth mentioning is that radio’s reach is generally consistent across generations (95%-98%) as reported in our Audio Today 2018 report.

Despite iPhones being more than ten years old, we continue to deliver the audience that advertisers want to reach. Along those lines, there’s a lot of conversation about a renaissance in audio with national advertisers. What can you tell us about that?

Jon: “The reach story and the advanced analytics I referenced earlier are giving some advertisers a reason to reconsider their media mix. Case in point, the largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in the world came back to spend money in radio again after years away. These advertisers need the incremental reach that radio delivers to move product off the shelves, and the bonus is that they’re reaching such a qualified audience away from the home, with money to spend.”

In fact, P&G, the CPG I alluded to earlier is not alone. Here are the Top 10 PPM advertisers in 2017 by ad spend, which also can be found in the Audio Today 2018 report.

Great to see the names on that list. As the currency provider for the industry, Radio Rally Point will be visiting with Nielsen Audio regularly. For now, any additional thoughts on what you see?

Jon: “Another advantage that radio has is the ability to deliver the advertiser’s message in a more controlled environment, free of the issues and controversy that are impacting digital media right now. Marry that together with those advanced analytics – return on ad spend data – and it gets easier all the time for radio to demonstrate accountability and results to the ad community.”

Have a suggestion for someone you'd like to see featured in Radio Rally Point? Email your suggestion to DMR/Interactive.

Thanks for reading and working each day to drive radio forward.