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| Fred Jacobs Presentation (image courtesy PRPD) |
Fred Jacobs from Jacobs
Media provided an excellent list of takeaways on his blog [link] from last
week’s PRPD Public Radio Content Conference. Jacobs collaborated with PRPD and 15
stations on The Millennial Research
Project. The results were presented at the Content Conference.
The Millennial Research Project was based on a series of 12 interviews of
Millennial-age public radio listeners in Charlotte, Chicago, Michigan, and Los
Angeles late last year and early this year. The researchers spent an entire day
with each of the respondents observing their use of media.
The interviews were
videotaped, reviewed and coded to learn about the respondent’s media choices
and perceptions. I hope PRPD and Jacobs will make the full interviews available to
folks in the biz (like me) who were not at the conference.
Here are Jacob's 10 Lessons We Learned From “The
Millennial Research Project. This an abridged version of Jacobs' original post. I have
noted my comments.
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| (image courtesy PRPD) |
1. Don’t stereotype them
While they don’t generally
mind the term “Millennials,” they don’t appreciate being lumped together and
categorized as being slackers, privileged, or any of the other stereotypes that
have proliferated. They reminded us of the various segments under the
Millennial umbrella – college kids, twentysomethings entering the workforce,
and those in their early 30s who are venturing out into the family experience.
And we also heard about
the impact of the recession, student loans, and other road blocks many have
faced at a very young age. By and large, they came across as hard- nosed,
practical survivors who are smart, informed, and engaged.
KEN SAYS: This
is also good advice for life itself. People want to be addressed as
individuals, not as members of a demographic cohort.
2. Radios at home were scarce...
We saw signs of this in
The Bedroom Project exactly a decade ago. And it was more pronounced in this
study. Most don’t have a working radio where they live, so they listen to
“radio” on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
3. And they wake up with their smartphones
The day starts with
their smartphones,
often
checking Facebook, emails,
and alerts that came in
overnight. Many use
numerous apps that connect them with preferred news and information outlets.
4. They aren’t necessarily techies...
They use gadgets and
platforms that practically make their lives better and access the content they
care about. Unlike Baby Boomers, they don’t get real excited or caught up by
tech – it’s always been there and they use it when they need it.
5. ...and they use “old school” media
Most had vinyl records and
turntables. Several read books, and some even use journals. While digital is
omnipresent in their lives, many of our Millennial Research Project respondents
own media and
devices that more associated with Boomers.
KEN SAYS:
This is an important takeaway. Beware of all-or-nothing conclusions like No one listens to radio any more.
6. They aren’t working at cool places like Facebook
or Google
7. They discover news through social media and push
notifications
Many have developed a
certain level of distrust and skepticism about social media during the past
year or so in the advent of so-called “fake news.” And the best line of the
Millennial Research Project came from a respondent who described Facebook as
“the suburbs of social media.”
8. They are cord cutters – or never subscribed to
pay TV to begin with
Netflix is common, but few
pay that big monthly bill for cable or satellite TV. And their preference is to
control their TV viewing, rather than wait around for shows to air in real
time.
9. They sure like podcasts
10. The election has been a game-changer
The election and the
frenzy before and after has stimulated even more interest and engagement in the
world around them.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: They appreciate public radio
for the same reasons everyone else does
What public radio refers
to as their “core values” – objectivity, balance, lifelong learning, and
civility – are all attributes they mention with frequency, especially during
the media scrum that plays out every day on talk radio or cable news channels.
In this way, they’re very much like older generations that appreciate public
radio.
KEN SAYS:
What an excellent summary – concise, clear and truthful. Now, please let us see
the video interviews.
PUBLIC RADIO PRODUCERS CONTINUE TO RULE THE PODCAST CHART
By my count, publishers
in, or associated with, public radio dominate the July podcast rankings as
determined by Podtrac. Only six of the
top 20 podcasts are published by companies without NPR DNA. Nine of the top 20 podcasts are published by NPR.
In general, I like what
Podtrac is doing but I am amazed by their lack of transparency with this
chart. Just above the list, Podtrac says
the performance of individual podcasts is determined by their US UNIQUE MONTHLY
AUDIENCE. This statement leads a person to believe the rankings are based on
actual data. So why won’t they show the data?
I know the folks at Podtrac
sometimes read SPARK! By not providing stats, they give the impression the rankings
were determined on an ouija board.
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