The car is no longer a vehicle that purely
allows us to travel from A to B- it presents
the perfect environment to bond with
family, friends and kids, particularly when
the radio is on and up!
Having a fun and happy atmosphere creates the perfect
opportunity for brands to penetrate and capitalise off
this positive mood.
This presentation will explore when kids are in the car,
what kids love about radio and the atmosphere created
by radio.
&
Key insights around in car listenership with kids
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20
30
40
R A D I O is a BONDING tool In car radio listenership provides
the perfect environment for
parents to bond with their
children. They share their love of
music with each other, whether its
kids showing the parents what’s
hot or parents making the kids
listen to songs they grew up with.
Parents are highly engaged
with radio content and are
always on to make sure
content, music and ads are
appropriate for little ears.
H I G H LY E N G A G E D
The car is a happy and fun
atmosphere when the kids are in
the car making it the perfect
advertising environment- when
people are in a good mood they
may be more likely to be
receptive to advertising
messages.
H A P P Y F U N
V.S K I D S PA R E N T S
Triple M listeners own the radio
dial and want to share their love
of rock music.
Today listeners have less of a
battle with their kids as they both
love top 40 music.
1
RADIO IS A
Listening to radio in the car is the perfect bonding
session between parents and their children. Parents of both networks mention how by listening to the radio in the car they
get to share their favourite music, sing along with their kids and have a groove in
their seats. Music is the way they connect with their children.
Whether it be singing and dancing or sharing their favourite songs with each other, radio
in the car creates a happy and fun atmosphere which encourages bonding
“My 4 year old loves singing and
dancing along to the songs that come
on over the radio. With every song
that comes on she always says "Is this
your favourite song Mummy?" She
says if you sing along it means it's
your favourite song :)”
With the music turned up and the kids
in the back, the radio provides
entertainment for the drive and allows
both the kids and parents to have a
sing a long. They also poke fun at their
parents singing ability.
“The music. We've taught them to love
'our rock music'. Great way for them to
hear new songs (to them) and for them
to talk to me about current music on
the radio.”
This is particularly the case with Triple
M- they love sharing their favourite
songs with their kids as it allows them
to both rock out to it. By also singing
the same songs, it does create a
bonding atmosphere through
commonality.
Our listeners are having fun together
with their kids in a happy and positive
atmosphere. And radio is the main
source of this positivity because it
gives them something to laugh about.
“Singing together and laughing about
not knowing the words making your
own up or just how damn good they
sound singing along lol”
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “How does having kids in the car influence what you listen to and why?”/” Can you please describe the atmosphere when you are in the car with your kids?” N= 978
HIGHLY
Parents are highly engaged with radio content and
are always on to make sure content, music and ads
are appropriate for little ears. Whilst the attention level when listening to the radio in the car is already high,
parents are even more in-tune with the radio when the kids are in the car. This
means they may be more likely to recall ads as they are highly engaged.
2
The car is an important advertising environment as listeners are highly engaged
Source: Commercial Radio Australia, 2011
IN CAR LISTENING =
17
47
36
LOW
MEDIUM
HIGH
%
%
% Attention level in car
83% are paying high or
medium attention to
radio whilst they are
in the car!
Radio is a foreground media as
people are listening not only for
entertainment, but also to hear
important information and keep them
on their toes.
This foreground listening environment makes ad
impacts higher as people are tuned in and engaged
with the content. Therefore, they are paying
attention while they are tuned in.
Listen carefully to what is being discussed to ensure its suitable
I try to avoid bag language or afternoon shows where the content is inappropriate.
The talking needs to be kids friendly. Not like listening to K Sandilands. No smut or filth
How does having kids in the car influence what you listen to and why?
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “How does having kids in the car influence what you listen to and why?” N= 978
1 in 7
1 in 14
Are always listening into
the radio for inappropriate
music, content and ads
when the kids are in the
car. Meaning they are…
with radio content! This
highly tuned ear means
that parents are more likely
to notice – and therefore
recall – ads that they hear
on the radio.
& HAPPY FUN
The car is a happy and fun atmosphere when the
kids are in the car making it the perfect advertising
environment. When people are in a good mood they may be more likely to be receptive to
advertising messages. But did you know?- It’s radio that creates this positive
atmosphere. It provides the opportunity for parents to bond with their children
over a shared love of music in a positive environment.
This positive atmosphere combined with the nag ability of children after school,
creates the perfect advertising environment for brands looking to target parents.
3
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “Now we want to know whether you agree or disagree with the following statements in regards to those little ones whispering in your ear...” N= 978
71 %
OF PARENTS SAY THAT
WHEN THEY ARE IN THE CAR WITH THE KIDS Being a happy and fun environment, radio listening in the car creates the perfect
bonding session between parents and kids. This positive atmosphere as a result
of radio creates the perfect advertising environment for brands to capitalise off.
Source: RAB UK (2011) Radio: The Emotional Multiplier.
The car provides the perfect advertising environment for brands looking to target parents or
kids- it is happy and fun, parents are enjoying spending time with their kids
Q- Can you please describe the atmosphere when you are in the car with your kids?
T R I P L E M T O D A Y
For both Triple M and Today parents, the atmosphere when the
kids are in the car is ‘happy’ and ‘fun’. In fact for Today parents,
1 in 3 describe it as being ‘happy’. It provides the opportunity for
parents to bond with their children over a shared love of music
in a positive environment.
“Crazy and fun. The love music and I love them listening to them
sing and dance in their car seats. they love Foo fighters and
ACDC and Rage Against the Machine. My 4 yr old daughter
listens in on ads and asks questions which is fine. Sometimes
they talk tome too much when I want to listen lol.”
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “Can you please describe the atmosphere when you are in the car with your kids?” N= 978
Kids play a huge role in the purchasing habits of parents, particularly after school.
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “Now we want to know whether you agree or disagree with the following statements in regards to those little ones whispering in your ear...” N= 978
“I find myself purchasing
food in the afternoon for
the kids to enjoy”
“The kids will nag me to
buy them food when I
pick them up from school”
“The kids will nag me for
products they have heard
advertised on the radio”
Kids have considerable purchasing
power with their parents- they will nag
to hopefully get what they want.
After school proves to be the perfect time to
target parents and kids with radio- they have the
radio on to create a happy and fun atmosphere
and it’s when kids are most likely to nag for food
and products.
By advertising in this time period, you will not only
have the purchaser listening but also the
influencer.
1 in 3
1 in 4
1 in 7
K I D S V E R S U S
It’s kids versus parents in the car when it comes
to the radio with the parents usually winning! For Triple M listeners, there is no coming between them and their rock music.
They listen to what they want and want to share it with their kids.
Being younger and female, Today listeners have less of a battle with their kids
as they both love top 40 music. The battle comes to content, the kids want
music all the time but parents want to be kept up to date with news, traffic and
have a laugh.
4
27 %
O f T r i p l e M p a r e n t s s a y w h e n t h e k i d s a r e i n t h e c a r …
Triple M listeners own the radio dial and it’s
staying on Triple M! They want to share
their love of rock music with their kids.
However, they agree that kids only want music and
want to channel surf to find it. 26% say having kids in
the car influences the music they listen to.
They are also engaged with content to determine the
level of appropriateness for when the kids are there.
“It doesn't!! I listen to what I want to listen to, simple.
All triple m plays ROCKS and keeps my son vibrant
and HAPPY!!!! You bring a great "feel good" vibe to
the airwaves. The way i see it is, I was here first and
they have to go with my flow!!”
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “How does having kids in the car influence what you listen to and why?” N= 978
30 %
O f To d a y p a r e n t s s a y t h e k i d s i n f l u e n c e t h e …
Being younger and female, Today listeners
have less of a battle with their kids as they
both love top 40 music. Whilst 16% say
they only listen to what they want, 30% are
influenced by their kids music tastes.
The battle comes to content, the kids want music all
the time but parents want to be kept up to date with
news, traffic and have a laugh.
They are also HIGHLY engaged with content to
determine the level of appropriateness for little ears.
“We listen to B105 as it has all the
great new songs that they love and
we all sing along and laugh”
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “How does having kids in the car influence what you listen to and why?” N= 978
Research shows that when activity
related advertisements are positioned
during a relevant activity, overall recall is
on average 52% higher and brand recall
65% higher.
Advertisers can consider what types of activities
parents are doing when they’re in the car – and
capitalise off the positive atmosphere and
receptiveness created.
And radio advertising does get through to both kids and
adults. As one SCA listener told us, “I was driving with
my 5 year old and she said ‘it’s great that it’s Summer
now mum, it means we can get frozen cokes from
Hungry Jacks for just $1. I couldn’t believe she’d
remembered an ad that had been on the radio the day
before!’.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
I am by myself I have the kids in the car I am with another adult/s
During the WEEKDAY, the kids are in the car on the way to and from school but they
are also in the car well into the evening.
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “in car with who?” N= 978
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
I have the kids in the car I am with another adult/s I am by myself
Aside from early mornings, WEEKENDS have more than one person in the car.
Source: SCA Research In Car Study Sept 14. “in car with who?” N= 978
The results of this survey are “INDICATIVE” ONLY.
The survey was conducted by Southern Cross Austereo using its
online panel nationally.
The panel is obtained from our radio networks database under the
labels of ‘VIP’ on the TODAY Network and ‘Music Jury’ on the
MMM Network. All members of these databases would be
considered listeners to these stations.
The database contains about 260,000 members.
The is split between the Today VIP database and the Triple M
database. Members of both databases were invited to take the
survey, and almost 1000 did. This was filtered by people with kids
0-17 years.
Further filters have been placed over the data at various times.
Certain questions asked for an ‘essay’ or ‘verbatim’ type of response OR
brands/words that first came to mind.
A keyword search was used to sort and rank the responses to these
questions.
The results are an un-weighted sample, but are reflective of the
Southern Cross Austereo Austereo audience. SCA brands reach
approximately 40% of the 10+ population and approximately 46% of the
25-54 population in the five metropolitan markets in Australia, suggesting
it would be reasonable to consider these results to be a fair if not fully
balanced representation of the opinions in these marketplaces.
Furthermore, as it is an online survey, the respondents would also be
skewed towards being ‘early adopters’ for technology, ‘trend setters’ in
general and likely to be a good early indication of brand leaders, trend
setters and early adopters in general.
These research surveys conducted by Austereo are done so to provide a
general understanding of the opinions, interests and attitudes of the
metropolitan marketplaces only.
How the research was conducted
Jasmine Beech Sales Insights Analyst [email protected] Ph: 07 3837 1265 Ext. 7265