For Immediate Release
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Monday August 2, 2010

Media Proclivity by Lifestyle

The Value of Lifestyle Clusters with Today's Media Options

This study underscores the importance of lifestyle cluster analysis

Key Findings

Bridge Ratings President & CEO Dave Van Dyke: "Why is this analysis so important? The better media companies understand the relationship between lifestyle and media consumption, the more efficient and effective will be their marketing efforts and the more profound their ability to compete in a world where media consumers are in constant motion."

It is a wide-held belief that people living in the same neighborhoods tend to have similar lifestyles, proving the old adage that "birds of a feather flock together" still holds true. To a large extent, you are where you live!

Nielsen's lifestyle segmentation systems define every neighborhood in the U.S. in terms of 67 distinct lifestyle types using ground-breaking segmentation techniques.

Bridge Ratings recently completed a national year-long, 7000 person study analyzing these lifestyle clusters for media proclivity or the predisposition or natural inclination for preference the following media options:

The analysis led to this first finding:

Lifestyle cluster analysis confirms that of all media alternatives today traditional radio is the most-widely preferred medium.

As an example, of the following random ten lifestyle clusters as defined by Nielsen's PRIZM analysis, traditional radio indexes above the national average (index=100) in seven. Of the seven media alternatives tested, traditional radio had a 70% compatibility score.

This may appear to be somewhat obvious given that terrestrial radio has the greatest penetration (93%) of U.S. population.

Yet, what this does highlight for each lifestyle cluster is the various strengths of each medium studied. In the above chart, traditional radio over-indexes most significantly among "Blue Blood Estates", "Movers & Shakers" and "Upward Bound" lifestyles. This high-preference for traditional radio is generally identified in these clusters no matter where they are found.

Internet Radio

Comparatively, Internet radio's strengths are different from traditional radio:

Internet radio's truest strength is among only two of these lifestyle clusters: "Bohemian Mix" and "Young Influentials". Internet radio's broad national acceptance is fueled by the lifestyle clusters where it excels. However, across all current defined lifestyle clusters, Internet radio over-indexes in 20 clusters (29%).

Internet radio is 40-80% more likely to have a usage preference in these 20 clusters. Marketers for Internet radio stations should leverage the power of these clusters.

MP3 Players

Unlike Internet radio, proclivity for MP3 player use over-indexes in six of these ten random lifestyle clusters. Market penetration would seem to confirm this broader usage preference. The advantage here is that we can now identify specific lifestyle clusters that have a propensity for MP3 player use. Not only that, cluster identification shows over-consumption/use among these lifestyles and where marketers should concentrate their efforts.

Note the incompatibility of traditional radio with MP3 players. At 20%, among all digital media tested, MP3 players rank lowest. These two media are diametrically opposites in terms of usage. Additional analysis of use show MP3 players siphoning time-spent-listening from radio more than all others tested. Podcasting ranks second.

Satellite Radio

One of the more interesting cluster analyses of this study is the lifestyle attributes of satellite radio, also known as pay-radio.

In this chart of satellite radio's cluster proclivities, six of the ten sample lifestyle clusters over-indexes the average which is where "Kids & Cul-de-sacs" sits - right at 100 on the index scale. "Upward Bounds" score highest here with an index of 143. "Blue Blood Estates" at 74 ranks the lowest of these ten.

This is how the PRIZM segmentation system defines the "Kids & Cul-de-sacs" cluster:

Upper-middle class, suburban, married couples with children--that's the skinny on Kids & Cul-de-Sacs, an enviable lifestyle of large families in recently built subdivisions. With a high rate of Hispanic and Asian Americans, this segment is a refuge for college-educated, white-collar professionals with administrative jobs and upper-middle-class incomes. Their nexus of education, affluence, and children translates into large outlays for child-centered products and services.

These folks are at the core of satellite radio's marketing and are one reason why subscriptions are growing.

Podcasting

30% of these lifestyle clusters over-index for podcasting. Over the entire lifestyle cluster group of 67 this number is slightly lower at 25%. This is aligned with research findings from a Bridge Ratings study earlier this year which determined that while time spent listening to podcasts is increasing, the percentage of Americans who listen to a podcast on a weekly basis remains fairly consistent at 15%; those who have ever listened to a podcast remains at 25%.

When the proclivity analysis for traditional radio and social networking are placed side-by-side, one can see how compatible these two media are with each other. Of all the media studied in this project, traditional radio and social media have the highest compatibility.

What does this mean for traditional radio? This data underscores previous Bridge Ratings analyses which confirmed that social media marketing can have significant impact on the number of listening occasions.

Smartphones

As use of mobile media becomes more pervasive among Americans, its use as a marketing solution becomes increasingly valid.

Smartphones (a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality) are becoming more pervasive - especially in recent months - but the over-indexing clusters in this chart indicate where America's early adopters for this technology live.

How compatible are smartphones with traditional radio based on this lifestyle cluster analysis?

Not as well as others we tested. Along with MP3 players, mobile phones in general and smart phones specifically divert significant time-spent-listening from traditional radio as well as other traditional media.

Satellite radio and Traditional radio have much in common as might be expected...

As does traditional radio with Internet radio.

Epilogue

With deepening competition, traditional radio is rapidly learning that its identity and consumer appeal are tied to multiple media associations. The advantage of traditional radio - among other things - is its vast mass audience which it has accumulated over years of use. It's comfortable and free and it's "ease-of-use" ranks among the highest of all media.

But its future is more closely tied to its competitive alternatives than it may suspect.

The data collected in this study conducted over a period of year with 7000 persons ages 15 and older sheds important luminance to just how important those alternative media are. The study highlights:

As current media alternatives continue to attract usage among consumers of traditional radio, learning to leverage the appropriate media distribution will be key to maintaining radio's mass usage.

Rather than thinking of these alternatives as competitors, it is important to view them as valuable tools that will enable traditional radio operators to reach today's migratory media consumer.

A restless mobile society and its short attention spans are creating a challenging competitive environment. Closer examination of lifestyle clusters can help.

Sample:
Survey dates: April 10, 2009 - April 1, 2010
7000 persons 15+ error +/- 2.1%
Further data related to this Bridge Ratings study is not currently available due to its proprietary protection for the commissioning client. The full study may be available for public purchase at a future date.