The Beave said:
IF someone was to actually do surveys on the streets of Phoenix (I hear corporate radio grumbling as we speak)
Most of the larger stations in Phoenix do surveys of their listeners (or of the market if looking for a new format) all the time. We don't do them on the streets (you must be a bit looped to suggest this on a day the tempreature hit 111), but in comfortable locations with air conditioning and snacks.
and actually find out first hand what they listen to and why.
We do this, as an industry, all the time.
.. Radio can't rely on phone participation,
If you mean "phone surveys" these are very useful as not all people want to go to an interview or music test location but are willing to take as much as 45 minutes for a phone survey.
Just about every advertiser in America accepts Arbitron and the diary ratings. Why do you think that a universally accepted method of measureing audience is wrong? By the way, diaries are used to measure listening only, not how people feel about programming, songs, DJs, formats, etc.
Although that's what we do, How many stations have you heard that have hired independent consulting firms that actually went out on the streets asking for opinions from listeners and prospective listeners?
Consultants do not do research. Consultants help stations, among other things, to interpret research done by professional research companies that use professional recruiters to find respndents.
Just remember those 12 year old girls that ask for Chris Brown 3 times an hour may be onto something, as well as those 59 year old men who want more news and traffic at 5 pm on their drive home than 8-15 minutes of network at the top of the hour.
Neither the 12 year olds nor the 59 year olds are of interest to radio. Advertisers are not asking for those demos, so radio does not ´rogram to them.
Leaving you something to think about...
Not really.
