Sound Answers

Recently released Nielsen data gives a look beyond the 48 PPM markets to show how listening has fared in the rest of the country during COVID-19 impacted weeks.

On average, CDM markets retained 98% of its March audience during the April survey, which included six weeks of COVID-impacted data. Market size, along with the timing of each state issuing their stay-at-home restrictions, all helped the CDM markets have a strong showing in April for every demographic and daypart.

Click chart to launch interactivity and toggle between demographics and dayparts.

OUT-OF-HOME REMAINS STRONG

Similar to the PPM markets, out-of-home listening in CDM markets did see some impact from regional stay-at-home orders. The majority of listening still occurred out-of-home in the April survey (57%), but fewer opportunities to listen in-car or at work, and more options for at-home consumption, helped feed a 6 point shift in listening location. 

Click here for Inside Radio's coverage

Radio station app engagement has increased during the pandemic, according to data from Futuri, a leading provider of mobile apps for broadcasters. 

Station-specific apps across a variety of formats and markets are seeing a +25% increase in sessions since early April. Not surprisingly, there's an even greater increase among those stations that actively promote their app on-air and on social. 

The most popular feature of a station-specific app is the on-air stream. But other in-app features are also adding to consumers' high engagement, including voice messaging communication with stations, contesting, and breaking news. 

Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig points out, “As consumer habits continue to change due to COVID-19 disruptions, audiences want new and different ways to engage with their favorite radio station brands." Station-specific apps, with their on-air streams and other robust features, are an additional way listeners can stay connected to their favorite stations, through disrupted times, and beyond.  

For more information from Futuri

After months of stay-at-home orders, Americans are getting back on the road in force.

According to recent data from out-of-home measurement company Geopath, 72% of Americans traveled 1+ miles from home during the week of May 18th. This marks five consecutive weeks of growth, and an +18% increase since the lowest point, during the week of April 13th (61%). 

Following six weeks of consecutive growth, Americans' average total miles traveled per day reached 14 miles during the week of May 18th - a 44% increase over the lowest level reached during the week of April 6th (9.7 mi.).

Every state is seeing increases in travel over the last month, however states are recovering at their own pace. Among the earliest states to lock down, New York and California have experienced over +100% growth in travel since April 6th. 

Chart is interactive; click on map to view state data. 

For more information from Geopath

In the wake of the death of George Floyd last Monday, the country has been spurred into protests against police brutality, and renewed, urgent calls for racial equality. 

In response to Floyd's death, and the death of other Black Americans at the hands of police,  Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, two Black female executives in the music industry, declared #TheShowMustBePaused, launching a disruptive initiative designed to denounce racism, inequality and injustice. 

The concept grew into Blackout Tuesday, gaining momentum with music labels, artists, audio platforms, and radio personalities committing to disconnect from work and social media, and reconnect with their communities on Tuesday, June 2nd. The initiative spread beyond the music industry to everyday Americans, who took to Instagram with symbolic black squares. 

Beyond station and personality participation in the #TheShowMustBePaused social media campaign, here are some highlights of how radio stations have responded on-air and online:

• “106.1 Kiss FM” KHKS Dallas went silent for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on Tuesday, June 2nd.
• “88Nine Radio Milwaukee” WYMS played only Black artists through Tuesday, June 2nd.
• WEQX "The Real Alternative" in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY aired a 1:02.7 moment of silence every hour on Tuesday, June 2nd.
• Townsquare Media added messages of support onto the websites of all of their digital outlets, including XXL, Loudwire, Taste of Country, Ultimate Classic Rock, PopCrush and TheBoot. 
• Urban One will be hosting a virtual town hall “We Are One: More Than A Hashtag” on Thursday, June 4th at 8pm to discuss the current political and racial climate impacting the Black American community. The one-hour virtual town hall will stream live on digital platforms across the Urban One brands including Radio One, Reach Media, TV One and iOne Digital.

For more information on the music industry's response, from Billboard

For more information on the radio industry's response, from Inside Radio

For more information on how brands are responding, from AdAge

For more information on #TheShowMustBePaused

June 4th - GfK - A Roundtable on Consumers and COVID-19. Using the latest insights from MRI-Simmons, GfK’s Consumer Pulse, and other up-to-the-minute insight sources, this webinar will explore how consumers have adapted to a locked-down lifestyle, what brands can do to adapt to new consumer behaviors, and whether those behaviors will shift back. Register here.

June 11th - ANA - Navigating Changing Consumer Behavior during COVID-19. 
In this webinar, data, insights and consulting leader Kantar examines how consumers and brands have been transformed by COVID-19 and provides guidance for how brands can emerge stronger in the years ahead.

Register here.

Every state has now taken steps to lift stay-at-home regulations and ease business restrictions to varying degrees. Marketers need to carry on reassessing and adapting their actions in response to local regulations. Keep updated on state-by-state and category-specific actions with the links below. 

For more information on reopening and regulations by state, from the New York Times

For more information on state-by-state re-entry planning and timelines, from CNN

For more information on updated marketer actions, from AdAge

For more information on updated grocer actions, from Grocery Dive

For more information on updated retailer actions, from Retail Dive

For more information on tracking Network TV ad counts by category, from Kantar

Click here for previous releases of Katz's Sound Answers.

For more insights from Katz Radio Group, visit our Insights Hub.