General
Highlights of 2013 for Mobile Digital Radio
2013 has been an exciting year. Although we don’t yet have final published data for 2013 we thought we would give you what we at Exaget see as the highlights for mobile digital radio.
UK Radio listening via a mobile phone has shown consistant growth from 20% of adults listening in Q1 2013 to 24% Q3 2013. Up 38% year on year with over 40% of 15-24 year olds also having claimed to have ever listened to radio via a mobile phone. (RAJAR)
Total mobile Adspend in H1 2012 was £188.1m and reached £429.2m in H1 2013 soaring by 127% like–for-like growth. Mobile accounts for 14% of total digital Adspend. The growth in mobile advertising spend in the UK shows no signs of abating, and should represent nearly one-quarter of display spending and more than one-fifth of search by 2014, according to estimates from media investment management firm GroupM. IAB research also reveals that nearly 40% or respondents claimed that new budgets are being allocated for mobile.
We saw Apple enter the market with ITunes Radio: Pandora’s rival Internet radio service (ITunes Radio) launched on September 18 in the US and notched up more than eleven million unique listeners in the first five days after its launch on iOS7 and the desktop ITunes software. Last month, Apple revealed that iTunes Radio has reached 20 million users listening to a billion songs. ITunes Radio is due for release in the UK in early 2014.
In car internet radio seems to be a possibility soon as companies like Toyota, Nissan, Ford etc. plan to launch new cars with built in “Internet Radio Panels”. Earlier this year Ford had announced a new developer program which will allow radio stations to gain space on a vehicles digital screen via apps. The Ford SYNC app link already includes a way to listen to the radio via smartphones.
Smartphone sales account for more than half of global mobile phone market up nearly 50 per cent on last year, More than 250 million smartphones were sold worldwide in the third quarter, a 46 per cent increase on the 171 million sold for the same period last year. The research indicated that global mobile phone sales will reach 1.81 billion for all of 2013, a 3.4 per cent increase on 2012.
Android has also furthered its dominance, with more than eight in 10 smartphones sold in the third quarter of 2013 using the operating system. Android continued to dominate the number one OS spot in the UK with 58.4 per cent of the market. Apple iOS remains in second position with 28.7 per cent Windows Phone continues to improve with share of seven per cent, up 4.1 per cent from a year ago, but BlackBerry’s share fell 10.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent.
Samsung leads this market with 32.1% of global market share followed by apple at just 12.1% in Q3-2013.
In the UK Smartphone penetration remained at 63 per cent, with smartphones making up 84 per cent of mobile sales. Android continued to dominate the number one OS spot in the UK with 58.4 per cent of the market. Apple iOS remains in second position with 28.7 per cent Windows Phone continues to improve with share of seven per cent, up 4.1 per cent from a year ago, but BlackBerry’s share fell 10.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent.
So all is moving in the right direction………..already looking forward to see what 2014 has in store for us.
Demographics of Internet Radio Listeners
With internet radio being used by more and more people across a range of devices, it is important for people to know that they are getting hear when it comes to advertising. Increased listening to internet radio stations whilst on the move and sharing across social media platforms give businesses and consumers better choices and increased relevancy.
The infographic below shows how users are broken down by gender, how they listen to internet radio stations and how social media use is on the increase.
If you are considering using mobile app advertising for your business, it can greatly increase your presence across social media, so make sure you are getting the most out of your advertising today and get in touch with us.
If you found this month’s Infographic interesting feel free to join our mailing list or donate a share, like or tweet. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our update into your mailbox. If you are a broadcaster, or advertiser and are interested in learning how targeted audio advertising can work for you get in touch.
Exaget Team
Twitter – @Exaget
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Convergence of Mobile and Radio
Combining Mobile and Radio can lead to a better ROI for the Advertisers. The growing Smartphone population is not something to be ignored. In Europe, smartphones overtook feature phones in 2011, with the same expected globally next year.
People are spending much more time on Apps rather than browsers on their devices. Unlike the desktop, where search is a great way to look for anything, specific bookmarks or apps are the way to go with mobiles. There is also an increase in the number of average apps per device. In the US, 56% of Smartphone Owners Have Downloaded Any Audio App with top 3 being Pandora, iHeart and the stations own app.
Radio continues to hold its own. And this is not just in terms of the number of people listening but also the average listening hours. A study by Edison and Arbitron found, not surprisingly, Radio is the media predominantly consumed before arriving at a store. It is a media that can be consumed while on the move. What is also interesting is the high response rates of follow up actions to Radio commercials, with almost half having responded to a radio ad.
RAB’s study on the impact of Radio advertising found that the average RoI from Radio is over 7 pounds. And adding radio to the campaign mix has a positive impact on the overall RoI of the campaign. there are number of factors why Radio tends to be having these positive impact. Radio is the closest thing to personal (mobiles have taken that role now) and has a strong emotional connection to the listener – which contributes to this impact.
Users tend to click more on ads and brands that are locally and otherwise relevant. The personal nature of the mobile device makes it possible for advertisers to serve ads that are likely to be acted upon more.
In a study in the US, it was found that 60% of Internet users have listened to Internet radio. Mobile is about half of that, according to various reports. Which is in line with the UK stats too – where in about 24% have listened to radio via their mobile. These stats exclude the music streaming apps, which are growing rapidly.
The trends are clear for Internet radio growth and advertising. The market is in the early phases but given the trends in mobile adoption and its effectiveness – this is definitely the area of growth.
It is not just about the volumes, but the impact of Digital Audio too. Internet radio has seen increased response rates consistently. This is a great opportunity to increase your ROI, is doable today and is waiting to be exploited.
If you found this week’s update interesting feel free to join our mailing list or donate a share, like or tweet. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our update into your mailbox. If you are a broadcaster, or advertiser and are interested in learning how targeted audio advertising can work for you get in touch.
Exaget Team
Twitter – @Exaget
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Radio Going Digital
April 29, 2014
The impact of digitally delivered media continues its rise, providing both opportunity and challenges to traditional radio broadcasters. This was confirmed by Jacobs Media’s Latest techsurvey 10.
In this survey, media habits of 11 different format core audiences listening to 199 radio stations in the U.S. & Canada, along with five generations from Boomers to Millennials, in all 37,063 were interviewed in January 2014, different patterns of consumption emerge.
Here are some of the key findings from Techsurvey10:
Core radio listeners going digital: Survey shows that three-fourths (75%) own a smartphone, while more than half (51%) carry a tablet. And now more than half (55%) stream audio at least weekly, an increase of 22% from 2013. Radio apps are popular among smartphone & tablet owners, led by Pandora (63%) & iHeart Radio (39%).
Average Listening and Platform: 95% tune in daily. Compared to a year ago, 90% say they’re listening to the same amount of radio – or more, though the number of people listening to Radio for 1 hour or less is increasing. Many respondents are now actively accessing station content on digital channels. When asked to recall their prior week’s listening to the station that sent them the survey, 17% of all broadcast radio consumption is occurring on digital channels – via computer and mobile streams, as well as on other sources. That goes up to 29% for Sports Radio. The younger the generation, the more reliance there is on digital platforms to enjoy broadcast radio.
Annoying Commercials: Gen Y and Z consumers are the top generations for mobile music streaming applications like Pandora, iHeart, iTunes, TuneIn etc. they are also the most critical of their commercials stating them to be annoying.
Connected Cars: 19% of respondents say their vehicle supports a system like Audi Connect or Ford SYNC. Similar to last year, half (50%) say the lion’s share of their radio listening takes place in cars, especially progressively younger consumers.
Social Media and Share: Of those with a social media profile, 95% are on Facebook. And of those, nearly three-fourths (73%) visit at least daily, making Facebook’s “regularity” nearly five times greater than the nearest social networks. But Generation Z indicates their Facebook engagement is waning and being replaced by more time spent on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
In this year’s study, the percentage of those who frequently share online content via social, web, and email sources has doubled. Now more than one-third (34%) say they frequently share compelling content, a huge opportunity for great stations and personalities. Women and Millennials are most apt to profile as “serial sharers.”
Personal touch: Three in ten (30%) respondents indicate they listen more to stations that interact with them, especially women and members of both Generations Y and Z
Data collection: Radio has an opportunity to collect much-needed user data and improve, as more than seven of ten (72%) “streamies” say they’d be willing to provide basic information digitally in exchange for accessing station streams.
Best source for new music: A majority (51%) of those interested in new music designate radio as their go-to source. While Gen Z respondents are also choosing YouTube and Pandora to find out about new music and new artists, broadcast radio also leads in the areas of artist access and listener trust when it comes to music consumption.
Key Takeaways for broadcasters:
• Due to the digitisation of listening habit, radio is now not only competing with other radio but also with digital music streaming competitors.
• Broadcasters should take Social media seriously as it can be the best source to acquire digital listeners.
• Measuring the digital listeners, gathering data about their listening behaviour, platforms etc. and accordingly modifying digital strategies is a must.
• When it comes listener to loyalty and emotional connection, traditional radio has the advantage of giving that personal touch (human element) which should be utilised for maintaining relationships with their listeners.
• Digitisation of streaming gives an advantage of gathering information about the listeners such as age, gender, location etc. and this information can be used to provide the listener with relevant geo-targeted audio advertisements thus removing the annoying factor and providing best ROI for the advertisers.
If you found this interesting feel free to join our mailing list or donate a share, like or tweet. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our update into your mailbox. If you are a broadcaster, or advertiser and are interested in learning how targeted audio advertising can work for you get in touch.
Exaget Team
Twitter – @Exaget
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