Nobody Listens To Las Vegas Radio Anymore

Written by Larry Julius | Sep 27, 2019 3:00:00 PM

OMG! Did you just call the 1.5 million adult consumers who tuned-in to a Las Vegas station last week a 'nobody'?

If you did make that mistake, then you wouldn't be the first Las Vegas small business owner or media professional to do so. Even, Doug Schoen used to share that opinion. He came clean, however, in a Forbes article.

"You wouldn't know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music," writes Mr. Schoen, "but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers. 93% of adults listen to the radio each week as compared to 87% who watch TV, a substantive difference."

This is true in Las Vegas, as well, where radio listeners far outnumber the people who watch local TV; read local newspapers; or stream audio sites like Pandora and Spotify; or log-on to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

The fact is, 89% of everybody in Las Vegas, on average, spends almost two hours per day listening to local radio. This includes consumers of all ages including Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z. Also Millennials and Baby Boomers. Everybody.

The medium's multi-demographic appeal is a primary reason Deloitte, the world's most trusted business consulting firm, recommends that radio "should be a big part of the mix for those buying advertising."

"One might think," says Deloitte, "since radio in North America is popularly perceived to be largely free and ad-supported, that it would appeal mainly to demographics that are of less interest to those who buy advertising. The exact opposite is true."

"An August 2018 Deloitte Global survey found that the percentage of Americans who report listening to live radio is higher for those who are working, those with more education, and those with higher incomes. Keep in mind, too, that, because radio listening in this survey was self-reported, the real numbers are likely 25 percentage points higher for older demographics and 40 percentage points higher for younger age groups."

So, then, who are these Las Vegas 'nobodies'? The 11% of the population that does not listen to local radio. From a businesses owner's standpoint, what does this small group of consumers look like?

According to Nielsen, compared to radio listeners in Las Vegas, non-radio listeners are

84% less likely to have a post-graduate degree
84% less likely to buy a boat over the next 12 months
82% less likely to get married over the next 12 months
66% less likely to be a small business owner
66% less likely to buy a motorcycle over the next 12 months
52% less likely to attend adult, continuing education
50% less likely to be a golfer
43% less likely to landscape their homes over next 12 months
41% less likely to buy a new home during next 12 months
40% less likely to sell a home during the next 12 months
40% less likely to have a white collar job
34% less likely to have a household income of $75,000 or more
21% less likely to buy furniture or mattress over next 12 months
15% less likely to have a fulltime job
7% less likely to do any home improvements over next 12 months

Based on information such as this, Mr. Schoen, who you met at the beginning of this article, recommends that radio is still a powerful way for all business owners to advertise.

"As a marketing professional with over 35 years of experience," says Mr. Schoen, "I found this data nothing short of fascinating. It’s quite clear that we should all be paying more attention to radio, its reach and potential to help our businesses. It’s doing the job with expert efficiency."

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