Nielsen Makes Case for Radio as Way to Target Black, Hispanic Consumers

Marketers wanting to reach Black and Hispanic consumers should make sure they are focusing on radio, where the latest Nielsen audio study finds a record 71.7 million folks nationally were radio listeners in second quarter. That is almost 30 percent of the record total of 235 Americans who listened to radio on a weekly basis during that period. Within that 30 percent, Black and Hispanic consumers spend more time with radio than any other group, are younger, and have significant buying power. Hispanic radio listeners have an average age of 39, an average yearly household income of $58,600 and spend an average 18 hours and 45 minutes each week listening to radio. Black radio listeners have an average age of 44, an average yearly household income of $56,800 and spend an average 18 hours and 30 minutes each week listening to radio.

One interesting finding is that heavy black and Hispanic radio listeners are relatively light TV watchers. Black heavy radio Listeners watch 35 hours and 30 minutes of TV each week and Hispanic heavy radio listeners watch 26 hours of TV each week. At the same time, heavy TV watchers spend less time with radio than with other media. With so little overlap advertisers who buy only TV will miss a significant segment of consumers. As far as who’s listening within the black and Hispanic communities, radio reaches more than 90 percent of all age groups, ranging from teens 12-17 through persons 55-64.