'Tis the season to be jolly - and to appreciate the evergreen nature of AM/FM radio. Radio is live, bringing fresh, engaging, content to listeners every day. And it's a versatile "anywhere and everywhere" medium, available in and out-of-home on various devices. So, it should come as no surprise that it weathers seasonality like a champ. Katz analyzed three years of Nielsen audience data to highlight how radio maintains robust listening levels throughout the year.
WHATEVER THE TIME OF YEAR, RADIO IS ALWAYS ON
Looking at monthly cume averages in PPM and Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) markets, we can see that radio truly is a medium for all seasons. Radio reaches virtually the same number of weekly consumers every month of the year. PPM markets, the largest radio markets in the country, reach an average 118.4M listeners weekly, while CDM markets, mid-tier radio markets, deliver 31.2M weekly listeners on average. Such strong and stable listening is why radio is an ideal media choice for marketing campaigns throughout the year - be it winter holiday shopping, springtime home improvement, tax prep, summer blockbusters, or back-to-school. Radio is a reliable reach vehicle for brands whenever they need it to be.
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Radio successfully weathers seasonality, but that is not to say that radio listening is immune to all changes in consumer behavior, especially at the daily level. Radio tends to see atypical listening on days with atypical behavior, especially those days where people are off from work or school. These modest fluctuations are more noticeable in PPM markets. Looking at a month with more than one federal holiday, like January, listening levels dip 2%. And the popular vacation months of July and August deliver listening levels within 1% of the average. On the other hand, the ever-important shopping months of Q4 actually have higher than average listening levels. And the three months of Q2 deliver the highest listening of all.
No matter how you slice it, by month, by quarter, or by season - radio listening levels are robust throughout the year. And whether it is passively measured by a PPM device, or manually recorded as in CDM markets, radio's evergreen nature is undeniable. Unlike other media, like television, that have traditional "seasons" dependent on the release of new content - radio's live and local content is new every day!