Connected Independent ARN

5 Sept

The main focus of the session was to promote regional radio as a key and growing media channel deserving the increased attention (and spend) from agencies and our respective clients. I have summated the information and reasonings from the session into six concise points to clearly communicate the fundamental factors that are shaping regional radios transformation into the exciting and successful media channel emerging today.

Booming Audience

Regional Australia currently makes up 36% of the current Australian population, which equates to an audience of over 10 million Aussies. Furthermore, 15 of the 20 major urban cities (population of 100k plus) in Australia are found in regional Australia, housing an economically thriving and increasingly expanding audience.

Migration to Regional

Following on from the last point, regional Australia is seeing a rapid growth in population, driven mainly by internal migration of Australians moving out of metro cities and into regional areas. Specifically, 36% more people are moving from capital cities to regional locations (compared to vice versa), with 40% of metro Aussies considering a move to the country within the next 5 years. Survey results reveal that this dramatic exodus is propelled by the following key factors;

Affordable housing (41% of respondents)
Lower Cost-of-living (39% of respondents)
Proximity to nature (35% of respondents)
Larger homes and/or living spaces (31% of respondents)
Stronger sense of community (29% of respondents)

These factors are largely derived from the current economical and social influences increasingly affecting Australians, and thus regional Australia's population is likely to continue to expand in the coming years, directly resulting in increased audience sizes and commercial opportunity for brands.

Opportunity for Brand Cut-Through

Whilst regional Australia is evidently a booming audience making up 36% of the nation, the market receives minimal attention from brands, commanding only 15% of national media spend. This means consumers are less likely to be overwhelmed by a bombardment of messages from brands competing for their attention, and thus less media clutter ensures greater impact for every dollar spent.

4. Buying Behaviour

Purchasing power in regional areas is also far greater than often perceived, with 1/3 of households earning over $100k. Less cost-of-living pressure also results in higher disposable incomes as well as lifestyle choices encouraging increased recreational spends (e.g. Caravans for camping, boats for fishing, etc). Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic fostered a significant shift towards online retail spend, which saw a far greater increase from 2019 when compared with metro areas. This shift in buying behaviour provides substantial opportunities for brands to broaden their horizons and reach consumers that may have previously been ignored due to logistical and supply issues.

5. Importance of Radio-Lifestyle

Radio also plays a substantially greater role in the lives of regional audiences. For one, radio is inherently a bigger part of people's lives given the geographical conditions of country Australia, whereby 31% of the population travel more than one hour to get to work and 79% of trips around Wollongong are done in the car. Alongside this, 83% of audio sources in the car are live radio, which combined with an increase in In-Car Radio Streaming, significantly increases the total radio listening hours of the average person. The role of radio in the community is also elevated from being more than just a media channel but rather a crucial component trusted by locals. This point was particularly emphasised by the guest speakers from Wave FM, who provided numerous examples demonstrating the very real connection their radio hosts have with their networking area, as well as the sometimes-pivotal role that radio adopted during periods of crisis - including the 2019 summer fires. By utilising this platform to communicate with "true fans, not listeners", brands are given the opportunity to make a more lasting impact on their target audiences.

6. Additional Reach to Metro Campaigns

Finally, ARN demonsyrated the value of regional markets in providing additonal reach for metro campaigns. This is demonstrated clearly by the following statistics: