Finding that country music listeners do things like check email and social media first thing in the morning, Larry Rosin and Megan Lazovick of Edison Research shared programming advice with attendees of the Country Radio Seminar this week. The 1,500 respondents chose from a list of 60 activities they do from 5–10 a.m.
“The pattern of behavior ‘getting off to work and school’ definitely runs at a different pace today,” according to CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne.
Rosin suggested morning programs should “provide hints and ideas for making mornings simpler and more efficient. One way is to stop providing information your listeners don’t care about or use radio for any more, like traffic.”
Respondent data indicated the peak hour for respondents in the car to be between 7–8 a.m.
Rosin suggested programmers might consider adjusting the morning clock. “People are in their cars, yet we do these staccato breaks. We are talking to people at the one place they have the most access to the station-changing button and we create radio that is designed for tune outs. Then they get to work and go into at-work modality where they are less likely to tune out and we create ‘no tune out’ clocks.”
Broadcasters have always asked their morning talent to focus on the “typical” listener’s lifestyle. This study gives them more information than ever with which to do that, according to Rosin.
