By Rizk Haddad.

On January 31, 2019, at 6am, all Shock Middle East radio brands introduced a clutter-free experience to our listeners and clients with ‘only two ads in a row’.

We wanted to understand the consumer behavior around radio consumption and engagement better, and commissioned an independent research survey with IPSOS. This highlighted key insights and findings that support the disruptive radio strategy that we launched – a first in the UAE market.

The research insights and findings emphasized key conclusions that were gathered from a sample size of 700:

• 75 percent of radio listeners tune in frequently, at least five days per week, while 56 percent are daily listeners and loyal radio consumers.
• Single station loyalty is low and majority tune into more than two stations, with 52 percent listening to three or more.

We wanted to understand key reasons for switching from one radio station to another and found that 71 percent switch radio stations due to long commercial breaks and clutter. Other reasons include boring shows/presenters, frequency interruption, repeating songs and not enough songs.

Radio listening is highly consumed in the car, with 76 percent confirming the power of the medium, while streaming radio/music is secondary.

A large majority of the research respondents, 65 percent, prefer not to listen to more than two ads in a row, while 31 percent do not want to listen to more than five ads in a row. Hence, 96 percent of the respondents tend to switch a station if exposed to more than five consecutive ads in one break.

The research also tested campaign performance and the correlation between ad recall and ad clutter. The respondents were split into three groups:

1. Group A. 33 percent of the respondents exposed to 10 ads in a row, with an average ad recall of 28 percent.
2. Group B. 33 percent of the respondents exposed to five ads in a row, with an average ad recall of 34 percent.
3. Group C. 34 percent of the respondents exposed to two ads in a row, with an average ad recall of 65 percent.

The ‘only two ads in a row’ strategy amplified by data and insights will reinforce brand performance and improve ad recall – it’s an upgrade from an economy seat to first class! This strategy is also an upgrade to all radio listeners who can now enjoy more music and content with this new clock format.

Rizk is the General Manager – Commercial, Shock Middle East