Connecting With Memorial Day Weekend Participants
FROM PREP TO PARADES, RADIO DELIVERS ACTIVE & ENGAGED LISTENERS OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Memorial Day Weekend is filled with events and activities in communities across the country to honor service members and usher in the official start to summer. A new post-Memorial Day survey from Katz Media shows just how engaged people were over the holiday weekend and how radio is the medium to reach these active consumers.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PREP
Katz surveyed over 1,000 people across the U.S. on the Tuesday after Memorial Day to ask questions about their holiday weekend activities. For many, preparation started before the weekend itself, with 63% making purchases specifically for the holiday. Items ranged from food and alcoholic beverages to personal care products and home improvement supplies - all categories with proven radio returns.
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KICKING OFF SUMMER ACTIVITIES DURING THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND
The study found that 8 in 10 respondents are excited for the start of the summer season, and based on the entertaining range of Memorial Day Weekend activities people engaged in, it's no surprise. The weather may have helped ramp up the excitement for respondents, as only 1 in 10 reported having to change their weekend plans due to inclement weather. Besides going to BBQs, memorials, parades, and the beach, people also reported taking part in consumer activities, including shopping, dining out, seeing a movie, or going to an amusement park. It wasn't all fun and games however, as 16% of people reported working over the holiday weekend. Regardless of the activities they were taking part in, the most common denominator for consumers was the automobile. 8 in 10 people reported using a car over the weekend, and nearly half (44%) sat in traffic. The car remains an ideal environment for marketers to connect with a captive audience during holiday weekends.
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AM/FM RADIO DELIVERS ENGAGED & LOYAL LISTENERS OVER MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
9 in 10 people listened to some sort of audio in the car over Memorial Day Weekend, and the radio was by far the leading audio choice. 7 in 10 listened to AM/FM radio (over-the-air, or via station streams/apps) in the car, ahead of streaming audio services, podcasts, SiriusXM, and owned music. AM/FM radio also delivered the largest audience that cannot be reached by any other audio platform in the car. 3 in 10 car users listened exclusively to AM/FM in the car over Memorial Day Weekend. Radio alone reaches 5x the audience that exclusively streamed audio in the car, 10x more than those listening exclusively to podcasts or owned music in the car, and 29x more than the in-car podcast loyalists. AM/FM radio marked advertisers' absolute best bet to engage with consumers over the holiday weekend.
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Car speakers were overwhelmingly the preferred method for listening to audio in the car over Memorial Day Weekend, but it was not universal. Every platform had a share of users who listen over car speakers, earbuds, or both ways - evidence that consumers are savvy and will listen via the best, most convenient method available to them in the car. Virtually all of AM/FM listeners tuned in to radio over the car speakers, while podcasts had the greatest share of earbud listening in the car. Radio offered brands the greatest opportunity for co-listening occasions over the holiday weekend, providing added reach and engagement in the car.
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