Jacobs Media has released another installment of its Techsurvey9, a series of audience analyses within formats.
This particular set focused on the media technology interests as reported by 28,700 professed fans of classic rock/hits, active/mainstream, alternative and triple A.
“Each of the rock-oriented formats has its distinct digital footprint,” said Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs. “Programmers and managers need to understand that while they all enjoy rock music of one type of another, that’s often where their media similarities end.”
Alternative fans, the youngest of the bunch, listen to less radio and place high values on music discovery. Not surprisingly, they are very social and mobile in their content consumption. They like apps, ranging from Pandora and Spotify to radio-centric mobile apps. These listeners are Facebook users, but many are migrating to Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram as platforms to share the content they love.
Mainstream rockers say that DJs are now more important than music in their consumption and enjoyment of broadcast radio. This population segment is most likely to be male, and like alternative fans, are into mobile, social consumption. They also like Pandora and satellite radio. Programmers can also connect with them via email database programs as well as through station websites. Facebook and Twitter are important ways to connect this segment with the station.
Triple A fans focus on music discovery, but are less likely to turn to broadcast radio. Those in this segment who listen to Pandora are especially critical of that service’s lack of music discovery. They are also closely associated with Apple and are more likely than most to own smartphones and tablets, although they are the least social of the rock fans.
Classic Rockers are still the least tech-oriented, but they are moving toward increasing usage of smartphones, tablets, texting and even Facebook. However, the email database remains the best bet for connecting to this bunch digitally. While Pandora is becoming a more popular option, they are the most likely to subscribe to SiriusXM.
