“Navigating The Digital Landscape” Study from Jacobs Media Strategies

Bingham Farms, MI —  In Jacobs Media’s new web study of radio listeners, a big story is how radio’s traditional listening locations – the home, the car, and the workplace – are undergoing change. From content consumed to new distribution outlets to emerging gadgetry, the traditional pattern of media usage and radio listening are changing – in some cases, rapidly.

The media habits of 14 format core audiences, along with five generations, are examined in this mega-survey of radio listeners. From Boomers to Millennials, different patterns of consumption are emerging, providing radio broadcasters with information from which they can map out game plans and strategies.

TS13 was conducted from January 16 – February 27 of this year. Stakeholder stations participated in a webinar earlier this week, and the results of the study will be released over the next few months.

As Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs points out, “We’ve been focused on the car for several years in Techsurvey – and for good reason. But as time goes on, radios are disappearing from the home front, and being replaced in many cases by smart TVs, wireless audio systems, and ‘smart speakers’ like Amazon Echo and Google Home. The ‘Alexa Factor’ is a big finding in this year’s study of radio listeners.”

Techsurvey13 provides two different “pyramids” for stakeholder stations. The “Media Pyramid” contains broad categories, including smartphone and tablet ownership, audio and video streaming, and this year, devices like the Amazon Echo. The “Brand Platform Pyramid” unveiled in 2015 continues to provide fascinating usage information about big brands that include Snapchat, Netflix, TuneIn, and Shazam.

Jacobs continues, “Devices like the Echo and Google Home are in 11% of our respondents’ homes. While smartwatch ownership has doubled from 2016, these devices are still trying to discover their true value proposition. In the meantime, most other categories are showing growth, including podcasting, mobile devices, and audio and video streaming.”

Download Slide Deck