Survey: Radio Has Perception Problem

Nielsen's latest Total Audience Report indicates that radio reaches 93 percent of adult 18 and older. But when radio reseacher Mark Kassof tells people he works in radio, he hears them say “No one listens to radio anymore.”

So, it made Kassof wonder about consumer's actual perception of radio, so he posed the finally:

Think about the radio stations that broadcast on FM radio and AM radio. Many of them can also be listened to online or using smartphone apps. Around what percentage of Americans 18 and older would you guess listen to FM or AM radio stations during an average week? 

And based on 704 telephone interviews with 18-64’s in the U.S. conducted  July 1-5, their estimate of the percentage that listen to FM or AM during a typical week averages…just 53%.

In other words, consumers grossly underestimate radio listening!

Kassof concludes, "our medium has a PR problem. Perception is reality. So radio’s reality is that it’s great at marketing clients’ goods and services, but has fallen short marketing itself.