Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
The disruption to businesses and the economy created by the pandemic throughout 2020 was unprecedented, impacting unemployment levels not seen in prior recessions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over twice the number of jobs were lost between March 2020 through April 2020 than those lost from 2007-2009.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
In just a few weeks, people across the country will be celebrating Father’s Day. For some, it may continue to be virtual, and for others, it may be a long awaited in-person celebration. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 75% of adults plan on celebrating Father’s Day in 2021.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
The role that vehicles play in the lives of consumers has shifted, and while they were once considered solely as a means of transportation, they quickly became a place to escape or for “me” time.
Supply chain issues for the auto industry – from vehicles to microchip shortages – are impacting the industry. However, while these issues might be considered a hinderance to sales, the opposite is true. According to a Kelly Blue Book (KBB) survey, 87% of consumers are aware that these issues are impacting both domestic and imported vehicles.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Throughout 2020, Americans across the country developed new pastimes. Some became DIYers, chefs, linguists, hikers and more. Others added to their household and became pet parents.
As people found themselves having to shelter in place, many decided to take the opportunity to add to their household by bringing in furry, feathered or aquatic companions. According to VitusVet data published by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the average new pets and pet owners per practice per week spiked by July 2020 – the highest since July 2018.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Over the past year, shifts in consumer behaviors have impacted every industry, and some have created seismic changes, as noted in healthcare and retail. What is more interesting, is that consumers also found new methods of entertainment and recreation. Namely, many discovered the great outdoors.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
While there have been many shifts in consumer behaviors, many consumer preferences remain unchanged. If there is one thing that the pandemic has proven, it is that personal connections matter.
Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB
Forecasts reveal that digital is driving the advertising rebound in 2021 and, according to Tony Hereau, VP of cross platform insights at Nielsen, “Radio is the soundtrack of America’s recovery.”
Radio, across all of its digital platforms, has and continues to experience exponential growth, earning significant share of media consumption throughout 2020 and the post-pandemic. While over the air AM/FM radio accounts for 76 percent of the daily audio time spent with any ad-supported platform, understanding consumer behavior as they move across platforms and what motivates listeners is critically important for marketers who are poised to succeed in the rebound.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
If you are reading this, chances are either you, or someone you know, learned a new skill or used a new tool in 2020. According to a CRAFTSMAN Built@Home Survey, 78% of adults sharpened their home improvement skills. They also learned how to use various power tools, like drills, sanders and even table saws. Meet the new DIYer.
Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB
IAB published survey results at the end of 2020 indicating that 64% of media buyers said they will focus on digital performance marketing in 2021 with the ability to evaluate plans and results more frequently.
With significant advancements in the attribution space, radio has been able to prove unequivocally that it is one of the most effective media in driving online behavior among all target audience groups.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Like many other tasks, events and obligations impacted by the pandemic, many consumers delayed their healthcare visits throughout 2020. According to the NRC Health 2021 Healthcare Consumer Trends Report, people delaying their healthcare was approaching a five-year low. In Q1 2020, 22.4% of healthcare patients had deferred. That figure increased significantly to 40.4% by Q2 2020. Forty percent of patients who delayed their care, state COVID-19 as the reason.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, nonessential workers limited their vehicle use – other than for trips to the supermarket or leisurely drives. As lockdowns lifted, drivers hit the road again as businesses reopened and companies developed hybrid work-from-home and office schedules. In a report issued by INRIX, a location-based data and analytics firm that tracks traffic and parking, the vehicle-miles traveled may have had dropped initially but speeds increased. Based on this same report, collision rates began to climb back up to pre-COVID-19 levels between August and October.
Recognizing the shift in consumer behavior, the insurance industry responded by offering their customers discounts or rebates. However, those consumers who had once not owned or leased a vehicle, were now beginning to view vehicle ownership as a form of personal protective equipment. All these shifts created another behavior – search for auto insurance.
While radio reaches 88% adults who use any auto insurance provider, radio’s reach is even higher among adults, Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics who are planning to switch their auto insurance provider – 90%, 94% and 93%, respectively.*
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is here. It has been a very unusual year for everyone, and the pandemic has prompted many of us to stop and appreciate some of the things that we may have taken for granted in the past.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Without a doubt, 2020 has been a most unusual year, and the need for good tidings and holiday cheer have never been apparent than now. Shopping this season will be a way that consumers will turn their focus from current events and concerns to celebrating the holidays and a hopeful return to the routines that they all miss.
According to the National Retail Federation’s Annual 2020 Holiday Survey, this year, consumers will spend $650 in gifts, $230 in nonholiday items, such as decorations, and $117 in other nongift purchases – each nearly flat to 2019 amounts.
Continue reading “Listeners Will Make Registers Ring This Holiday Season”
Contributor: Rick Kestenbaum, General Manager, AnalyticOwl
As the old saying goes, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” This is especially true in radio selling and buying, where a reliance on expensive ratings data and audience demos leads to buys made on the description of an audience rather than the actions of an audience. Contrast this with digital selling, where plans are made based on historical response and ROI. It’s clear which gets an advertiser off to a better start and which leads to greater satisfaction. Now, thanks to the rise of response data, radio can be sold and bought on the same game-changing premise.
Continue reading “Response Data is Rewriting the Way Radio is Sold and Bought”
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Engagement. Local. Heart. Soul. Creativity. Partnerships. Those were words that resonated across the various sessions and events that took place during Radio Week.
From Oct. 5 – 9, CEOs, managers, sellers, radio personalities and some the brightest creative directors participated in two of radio’s biggest events – Radio Show and the Radio Mercury Awards.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Inclusiveness and diversity are words that we are hearing a lot lately. Sometimes they are used interchangeably, when in fact, they are different. According to the Cambridge dictionary, inclusiveness is “the quality of including many different types of people and treating them all fairly and equally.” Diversity is “the condition or fact of being different or varied; the mixture of races and religions that make up a group of people.”
Continue reading “Inclusive, Diverse and Community”
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
As one of radio’s top-spending categories, the role that radio plays in the car, as well as car sales, remains a dominant force. Radio reaches consumers (or auto-buying intenders) while they are in their car – on their way to work or just running errands.
As the events of this past March progressed and many people found themselves homebound, things changed. However, the role that radio plays in driving traffic to auto dealer websites did not. Radio was effective at driving search for dealerships pre-COVID-19 and continues to do so today.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Radio. According to Merriam-Webster, radio is “the wireless transmission and reception of electric impulses or signals by means of electromagnetic waves.” At the Radio Advertising Bureau, these are just some of the words we use to define and describe radio: mass, personal, engaging, live, local, interactive, informative, entertaining. And yes, there are many more that can be used as we celebrate radio.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
As states are in various phases of reopening, consumers find themselves in various stages of their own phases. These phases continue to shift and change the behaviors that had once been routine to so many. In order to meet the challenges, needs and concerns of their customers, businesses will need to be nimble to best address and meet their customers’ expectations.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Coming off a holiday weekend, it is a reminder of the way things used to be. Very little about this year has been usual so far. Everything is different and continuously changing. This is now the new normal – constant change, shifts and analysis into what consumers are thinking, doing and plan on doing.