Roadmap '22: Listeners Headed For Smartphones

The annual Albright & O’Malley & Brenner PreCRS session covered a lot of ground in three hours Wednesday morning, but much of it pointed to what the A&O&B team listed as the main takeaway of their “Roadmap 2022” presentation: “If you have a phone, you have a radio.”

Country Insider reports Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig touched on it in his presentation on connected country listeners, noting that today’s omnichannel audience thinks in terms of “audio” and “video” more than “radio” and “TV.”

“The barrier of thinking about radio or TV for us is different than it is for the audience,” Anstandig said. “They're used to going to any type of platform to consume our brands now, and their habits are changing. This is something that's not going to go back to normal.”

Anstandig also said that stations without an existing mobile app are missing an opportunity, “because that is the new preset.”

“The mobile app has become an extension of the station on everything from a promotional and programming perspective,” Anstandig said. “So one of the big takeaways that we got from our research is [listeners] still want you, they still want your content, but you have to be accessible where they're going now. You have to be available on mobile; you have to be available on smart speakers.”

Futuri’s research shows that 34% of country listeners own smart speakers and that those who do are two times more likely than the national average to use them to listen to live radio.

And while many stations have developed the habit of reminding their audience to listen on smart speakers, “it’s time to really tell them where we need them to listen,” says A&O&B partner Kenny Jay.

Noting that smart speakers are most commonly found within three places in the home — the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom — Becky Brenner recommended promoting smart-speaker listening in home offices. “Talk about where they can listen to you,” she said. “There are still some giveaways that I think are really good and cost effective. People who are giving away Alexas are seeing a great deal of response.”