For Immediate Release:

Wednesday August 22, 2007

A just-released Bridge Ratings study of the media habits of Baby Boomers - or those consumers born between 1946 and 1964 - reveals how important traditional radio remains with this group and their remarkable ability to adopt new media into their busy lives.

The new study of 2588 adults between the ages of 43 and 61 conducted during June and July 2007 indicates the rapid adoption rate by this demographic of Internet radio and podcasting since 2004.

Previously considered to be a fairly cohesive psychographic group, this study reveals that the "Baby Boomer" group should be analyzed as two distinct cohorts:

As part of the screening process of this study the sample was asked "What world events over the past 50 years were especially important to you?" Results were as follows:

• Baby Boomer cohort #1 (born from 1946 to 1954)

  • Memorable events: assassination of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, political unrest, walk on the moon, Vietnam War, anti-war protests, social experimentation, sexual freedom, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, protests and riots, experimentation with various intoxicating recreational substances
  • Key characteristics: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented
• Baby Boomer cohort #2 (born from 1955 to 1964)

  • Memorable events: Watergate, Nixon resigns, the cold war, the oil embargo, raging inflation, gasoline shortages
  • Key characteristics: less optimistic, distrust of government, general cynicism

In fact, according to the most recent Census data, by 2010 there will be 84 million 43-61 year olds in the U.S.

Two-thirds of the Boomer generation belongs to Cohort #2 - a significant number of media consumers for both broadcasters and advertisers to focus on.

Much of their media consumption behavior seems to correlate to this cohort breakout with members of Cohort #1 likely to be more willing to try new technologies and media. Some of the data published in this report compare media consumption of the two cohorts.

Baby Boomer Loyalty Scores

Media loyalty among Baby Boomers varies widely depending on the media in question. The following chart represents responses to the question: "Which of the following media do you consider most important to you on a typical day." (rated on a scale of 1-100, where 100 equals "can't do without" and 1 equals "would never miss it".

Traditional radio had the widest spread of responses with an average of 47. The highest loyalty scores tended to come from Boomer Cohort #1. Younger Boomers (Cohort #2 have less loyalty to traditional media).

As with other studies Bridge Ratings has released, Satellite radio consumers tend to have the highest loyalty rate. In this report it not only scored the highest average loyalty score, but also the most narrow range other than MP3 player loyalty indicating higher passion.

Much has been written about how traditional radio has forgotten its younger listeners and that their experience with new media options will have a dramatic impact on radio's future.

The two cohorts that make up the Baby Boom generation have experienced some attrition but far less than with 13-21 year olds. In fact, the younger the Boomer, the more attrition.

In general, Cohort #1 Baby Boomers (ages 53-61) have fairly consistent traditional radio listening behavior. Cohort #1 Boomers are generally less likely to be "innovators" or "early adopters". Around 2.5% of the total population are "innovators"; less than 2% of Cohort #1 Boomers are.

13.5% of the general population are "Early Adopters", opinion leaders who try out new ideas, but in a careful way. Cohort #1 Boomers comprise about 9%.

However, their younger counterparts in Cohort #2 (ages 43-52) are more progressive and active. Approximately 3% of Cohort #2 Boomers are "Innovators" who are part of the population pulling change and communicate to their friends and relatives about change.

15% of Cohort #2 Boomers are "Early Adopters" - over-indexing the general population. They are also following the lead of younger generations and spending less time each week listening to traditional radio:

The panel was asked about their intent to listen "More, The Same, or Less" to a variety of media. Three are plotted on this chart:

Among Baby Boomers in this study, all three of these media have consistent use expectations with traditional radio leading the pack; 73% of the panel expect to be listening to AM/FM radio the same in the next six months. This compares to only 30% of 8-12 year olds responding to the same question.

HD or Satellite Radio?

As with our 12+ samples in previous studies, Baby Boomers have little interest in HD radio at this time. This lack of interest is emphasized when other digital media are thrown into the mix: Preference in Internet Radio, for example, has increased to 33% in this report while preference for HD radio has fallen to 1% of the sample.

Overall Media Use

When asked about various media they consume in a typical week, Baby Boomers in this study are spending less time reading books, watching movies and reading newspapers than they were six months ago.

Meanwhile, this group of Boomers has increased with any significance their use of their computers and their cell phones.

Listening to music, reading magazines, using the Internet, TV and traditional radio has remained fairly stable.

Final Thoughts

Boomers, in general, remain an important component to media audiences and this report has discovered that not all Baby Boomers are alike. At one time, the attitudes and preferences of this large consumer group were consistent throughout. However, as technology has been introduced into the mainstream its adoption by this group is clearly affected by an age split.

Cohort #2 Boomers (those born between 1955 and 1964) were exposed to vastly different media and technology in their formative years - around the age of 18. And because they were exposed to these new technologies and ideas in those years (1974-1982), they have been more open minded about adoption of these ideas and more willing to try them. This report shows that younger boomers are not all that different than their younger consumer counterparts who adopt these technologies easily.

Cohort #1 Boomers (born between 1946 and 1954) are generally holding on to the traditional in their lives and more closely reflect the attitudes and tastes of the Boomer generation prior to massive technology change (the Sixties).

Members of the media business, particularly portable media such as traditional radio, MP3 players, should appreciate the significant differences between these cohorts and how to best market and deliver content to them.

The Boomer constituency - once considered a very cohesive marketing group - are splintering primarily due to technology. Marketing and programming content to these cohorts will require varying strategies and tactics targeted to the two distinct groups.

Traditional radio, for example, continues to hold interest from the Boomer generation in general, but each cohort has a different view and value of it. Younger Boomers use traditional radio very differently than their older counterparts, yet marketed properly and, more importantly, programmed smartly, younger Boomers will continue to use traditional radio for years to come.

Bridge Ratings not only provides statistical data you read here, but we also offer our clients strategic advisement, i.e. not only analysis of the data we collect for them, but also interpretation of that data to position our clients to better Navigate the Future.

If you are interested in such advisory services, please contact us at 818.291.6420.

Sample = 2588 Adults 43-61 years of age. Sample error = +/- 2.0%

Study conducted via random digit dialing on a national footprint between June 8 and July 30, 2007.

For questions or further information contact Dave Van Dyke at 818.291.6420 or dvd@bridgeratings.com.