Online Engagement:the Savior

of Public Radio?

Ann Phi-WendtMarketing Communications Manager

Public Radio International (PRI)

Bridge Ratings Study

Younger audiences are going online and tuning out radio.*

The 2006 study of multitasking found that Internet use is generally increasing at the expense of radio for 15-to-24-year-olds.

For 33% of 15-to-24-year-olds, radio consumption decreased to accommodate more Internet use.

* eMarketer, Young Consumers Multitask at the Expense of Radio, March 1, 2007

Public Radio International (PRI) exploring options for online engagement.

PRI wants to be more strategic in online efforts.

PRI wants to know what its listeners are doing online

PRI wants to know whether it can leverage online engagement to increase listening.

PRI wants to “fish where the fish are” for younger audiences.

Public Radio International

*eMarketer, August 2006

Emails/E-Newsletters

We all send and receive lots of emails.

90% of internet users use email.

Over 57.8% of all Americans use email.*

Could e-mails/e-newsletters encourage listening to public radio?

Public radio networks and stations hope so.

*eMarketer, December 2006

Podcasts

Audio and video files which people download onto their computers and/or MP3 players.

Forrester Research says:

Over 17 million people have downloaded.*

By 2010, listening to podcasts will grow to 12.3 million households.

Can podcasts of public radio programs increase radio listening?

*Pew Internet and American Life Project, January 2006

Blogs

Online postings by people like you and me of our thoughts on certain topics.

Pew Internet and American Life Study* says:

There are more than 850,000 blogs in 2,500 categories.

1 in 4 Internet users have read a blog.

Can blogs about public radio programs encourage listening?

Public radio networks and stations hope so.

*New Scientist, 2006

Social Networking Sites

Sites on the web where people can connect with others who have similar interests.

Sites like MySpace and Facebook have exploded in the past two years, especially with younger audiences.

MySpace has one million registered users.*

If we build social networking sites about public radio, will they encourage listening?

Research Question

Can these online engagement techniques increase listening to public radio?

Sample Size and Instrumentation

Population Current public radio listeners Sample size: 900 Total number of responses: 253 28% response rate

Instrumentation Web survey 42 questions

Public Radio Listeners are Older

Percentage of Respondents by Age Group

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

24 oryounger

25 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 55 56 - 65 66 or older

Age Groups

Perc

en

tag

e o

f R

esp

on

den

ts

Online Usage by Age Group

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

24 or younger 25 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 55 56 - 65 66 or older

Age Group

Perc

enta

ge U

se b

y A

ge G

roup

Emails

Podcasts

Blogs

Social Networking

Online Usage High with Younger Listeners

Online Usage by Age Group

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

24 or younger 25 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 55 56 - 65 66 or older

Age Group

Perc

enta

ge U

se b

y A

ge G

roup

Emails

Podcasts

Blogs

Social Networking

Good Potential for Audiences 36 - 55

Many Use More Than One Device to Listen

51% of respondents said they would listen to a particular program after receiving an email about it.

Of respondents who do currently receive emails and e-newsletters with public radio content, 74% of them would like email alerts about upcoming shows.

E-mails/E-newsletters Have Potential to Increase Listening

38% of respondents currently subscribe to podcasts; of these, 30% subscribe to more than five public radio podcasts.

30% of respondents say podcasts have increased their listening to programs on the radio

46% say that podcasts have not affected their listening to programs on the radio.

Podcasts Increase Listening without Hurting Radio Listening

22% do participate in blogs; of these, 16% currently have their own blog.

29% of respondents say they would like to blog in the future.

Potential exists for outreach to these bloggers to test impact of blogging on listening.

Blogs Have Potential to Drive New Audience to Public Radio

30% of respondents do participate in social networks; of these, half participate in public radio-related groups.

38% of respondents are interested in participating in a social network in the near future, and 30% say they would like to form a network with other listeners.

Opportunity exists for outreach through these respondents to test impact on listening.

Potential for Public Radio Social Network

Back to the Question

Can these online engagement techniques increase listening to public radio?

Yes - E-mails/e-newsletters and podcasts can be used to increase listening to public radio; there is good potential for outreach through blogs and social networks to test impact on listening.

Conclusions

PRI has a better understanding of how listeners are currently interacting with forms of online engagement.

PRI has a better understanding of whether listeners are open to participating in newer forms of engagement.

PRI has information to be more strategic about its use of online engagement methods.

Recommendations

Based on the findings:

PRI should provide listeners with emails about programming.

PRI should increase its current offerings of podcasts -- more variety and more program segments.

PRI should cultivate listener-bloggers who could blog about topics discussed on programs.

PRI should move forward with implementing public radio social networks to test whether they can increase listening.

End

Questions