Radio: The Leading Media Destination For Affluent Consumers

Affluent Americans wield immense purchasing power across every category. Higher-end brands have traditionally invested in print and TV properties that cover interests that are synonymous with wealth: travel, finance, fine dining, home decorating, as well as sports such as tennis and golf. But how do radio’s most affluent genres stack up? Katz's new analysis of MRI-Simmons data finds that AM/FM radio offers marketers numerous options to engage with this important and influential segment.

Katz examined the media behavior of wealthy Americans to understand how media fits into their lifestyle, looking particularly at their radio formats, magazines, TV stations, and newspapers of choice. Wealth was determined by evaluating net worth, as opposed to the traditional metric of annual income. Net worth is often considered a better indicator of spending power, as it incorporates all the owned assets of the individual's household (including financial accounts, home value, and possessions), not only a regular paycheck.

Radio Formats Rival Upscale Media Brands

Looking at a list made up of 25 of the top 50 highest household net worth properties, it is clear that many commercial radio formats attract consumers who are as affluent as some of the most well-known, upscale media brands. In fact, radio’s most affluent formats, All News, Classical, and News/Talk stations engage audiences that are wealthier than every measured TV, magazine and newspaper property. Those listeners have an average net worth higher than even Kiplinger's, the Golf Channel, and The Atlantic. All Talk listeners edge out Conde Nast Traveler readers, Sports listeners beat the readers of Golf Magazine, and listeners to Adult Album Alternative music stations rival readers of the Wall Street Journal.