Jacobs Media Strategies: Your Station Needs 'Secret Sauce'

To what degree are listeners tuning in for radio's personalities, hosts, and shows?  And in a world where Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and SiriusXM are providing music services, how is local radio competing in that highly charged subscription environment?

In a blog posting this week, Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media Stratgeies, writes the upcoming release of Techsurvey 2021 clearly reveals how habits and priorities have changed – and what they mean to radio broadcasters as we enter (hopefully) the “recovery phase” of COVID.

Jacobs' favorite chart in Techsurvey attempts to answer the question, “Why AM/FM radio?” Respondents were given a long list of potential reasons why they opt for broadcast radio (over other options) – and they were asked to identify the main driver for choosing a regular radio station.

The runner-up response in the 2021 Techsurvey, when asked for the main reason they listen, he reveals, is “DJs, hosts, shows,” favored by a robust 61% of respondents (just behind No. 1 “easiest to listen to in car,” at 65%). Responses of a similar kin include “feel a connection with radio” (52%), keeps me company (46%), and what’s going on locally (37%).

Like most research findings, there's perspective to be gained in looking at data points over time.  And fortunately, Jacobs been asking these same questions over many years.

In comparing those who say music is a main driver in listening to AM/FM radio versus those who say personalities are part of the secret sauce, an unmistakable trend has emerged:

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And in the big picture, that makes a great deal of sense.  Music has become commoditized and ubiquitous, available on umpteen streaming services, as well as on satellite radio, your cable or dish system, and your Bluetooth speaker system.  It seems like in recent years, seemingly everyone has become a music radio programmer.

But it's personalities that have become highly proprietary.  Anybody can duplicate your music, but its the people behind the mic that are your “secret sauce.”