As you know, I’m a fan of the work that Quu has done into how radio stations are displayed in the infotainment systems of top-selling cars in the United States.
The company in April published its third annual report, drawing conclusions from what a Quu representative experienced when he actually sat in all of those car models this past winter.
Quu’s business is to sell technology that helps stations display ads and program messages, and this research is intended to support what it does.
But the findings go beyond Quu’s self-interest. Any responsible radio manager should be digging down to look at the photos of these dashboards to understand how drivers and passengers experience stations visually. And now our industry has three years of data sets and can identify trends.
A key finding is that screens are everywhere in the vehicle now. They’re not just in the center stack of the dashboard but directly in front of the driver and passenger and in the back seat. In fact 68% of the 100 top new models sold in America now display information on not one but multiple screens.
“The days of radio thinking we’re an audio medium? We’ve got to get over that,” said Quu CEO Steve Newberry, who owns stations himself.
“People are used to visual interactions, and now that screens are so prevalent in the automobile, we’re just kidding ourselves if we don’t recognize that radio must embrace the visual.”
Another finding is that infotainment systems have become more familiar and intuitive. Carmakers have learned from the success of devices like iPhones that they need to make it easier for people of all ages and tech knowledge to navigate.
That said, while AM and FM reception remains available in all of the 100 top-selling cars (a pleasant surprise in itself), radio increasingly is harder to find amid all the options and menu layers.
“The challenge isn’t availability,” said Newberry. “It’s discoverability.”
While this argues for good visuals, he continued: “Just my opinion but this is less a technical issue, it’s really a content issue. We’ve got to have content that makes people want to find us.”
The study also found that earning the “last touch” matters more than ever. This echoes a finding last year that stations should aim to be the source the driver is listening to when they turn the car off so it’s the one that pops up when they come back.
More findings: Almost three-quarters of the 100 top selling cars in America now have HD Radio, and about a quarter are equipped with DTS AutoStage.
“I still think there’s a real business case for stations to look to add HD Radio as well as DTS AutoStage,” Newberry said. “There’s money to be made with HD, whether it’s feeding translators, adding alternative channels or using it for visual ad displays.”
Meanwhile the percentage of cars with SiriusXM actually has dipped since last year. And while Android Auto and Apple CarPlay continue to be well supported, the number of models with streaming apps built right into the vehicle is now 53%, a dramatic jump from 20% just two years ago. The future lies in integrated functionality.
You can read the report here. Do take the time as well to open the “See the Data” button, choose a car model and drill down into the results, including the photos at the bottom. This report continues to be an eye-opener.
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