FREE ESSAY ON RADIO STATION SURVEY

RADIO STATION SURVEY

Introduction
Music is a general love of almost every college student. Many develop their
personalities, profiles, and various other tastes based on their listening choices. In
general, many college students acquire the same spectrum of listening values. If a radio
station, one that wishes to target the college student population, can discover the
musical preferences of the general population of students, they will be able to grow
within the specific market.
Since the target market is of a personality of the student, generally a crowd that has
the same likes and dislikes as his/her peers, the target musical format should be fairly
easy to determine. Unlike the 25-33 crowd or 40 and up crowd, where their musical
preferences range far and wide, each college student has almost the same understanding of
their values. Possible reasons for this may be peer pressure or self morale gains, yet it
still exists among the college crowd. Thus, a common format may be simpler for a station
targeting the college format.
The station will be able to gain knowledge for its possible advertisers by analyzing its
target population's needs and wants. Plus, they will be able to acknowledge the possible
locations of the students, where they go and what they do. The ultimate goal is to find
out where the students are spending their money, so advertising can be solicited into
purchasing radio time. Advertisers wish to have some "concrete" data when analyzing which
station they wish to spend their money on through air-time. The purpose of this study is
to give the possible clients the facts placed in front of them as well as educate them as
to where our target is going and the possibilities of gathering our target audience to
their place of business.
Consumer behavior will come into play in the study, since part of the goal is to gather
information on the needs and wants of the consumer, or radio listener. Analysis of
behavior is more difficult to determine, because the data collected is based on values
and personal judgment. Little data collected will be concrete, since the student will be
revealing based on opinions, not facts. However, opinions sometimes hold strong enough to
reach a borderline to fact.
Scope of the Study
The study was a descriptive design with an emphasis on the listening preferences of
college students. Data was acquired as to which brand of music, or radio format, is most
appealing to college students, such as alternative, rock, country, R&B, etc. 
Also, data was collected regarding the basic needs of the students as well as the
distances they wished to travel to acquire their needs. Other gatherings included the
desired radio format, amount of interest in the radio, impact of personalities, and
several shopping tastes the student has. 
Analysis of the location of the target, how often they listen to the radio, what time
they listened to the radio, and traveling distance, both overall and for necessities,
were acquired to gain a general knowledge of the target market. 
Methods Used
The main source of the study was through conducting a survey. A survey was offered
randomly to college students on the campus of the University of Nevada-Reno. The sampling
was nonprobability-random, because of the nature of the issuance of the surveys. However,
coverage was broad, because the survey was issued to students ranging from freshman to
senior. After the survey was conducted, a total of 57 surveys was collected. The
information from the surveys included questions such as their listening preferences, time
of day they listen to the radio, amount of time spent listening to the radio, and where
they spend the most amount of time listening to the radio, such as in their car, at home,
at work, or at school. Next, students were asked several questions in regards to their
favorite radio formats. Such questions included were their favorite morning show, type of
morning show they most desire, and how much of an impact the radio personality, or disc
jockey, placed on the student. These questions were used to determine the students'
tastes in format as well as how much of an impact the format places on them. 
Also, demographics of the students, age, marital status, gender, and ethnicity, were
collected. The data collected will help determine a possible correlation between the
student and the other categorical questions. 
Another important factor placed on the survey was the location of the student. If one can
determine the general concentrated population area of most students, they will be able to
determine the possible advertising companies to target. Along with location, questions
were asked to determine how far a student travel when they purchase their everyday needs,
like groceries, food (dining), clothing, and gasoline. Another item collected was the
students' interests in participating in promotions and contests. Along with the students'
interests in promotions, they were asked to see how far students would travel to
participate in radio promotions. This information is mostly useful to persuade potential
advertisers, where the station will be able to determine the target locations of the
students. If there shows a concentration of student population in a certain area and they
travel to primarily the same areas, endorsements will be extremely beneficial in the
target locations. Another category used was to show how the students' spend their money.
Do they spend it mostly on electronics, clothing, technology, sporting goods, home
furnishings, entertainment, or some other goods. 
Secondary data was used as a "back up" to the survey. Since the survey was involving a
small portion of the population, some data may be skewed. The secondary data was used as
a form of a guide to the survey results. It was there to ensure that the student
population was represented, even with a small sample. Forms of secondary data used
included journals, magazines, newspapers, the internet, and other online databases.
Outcomes
Age
To ensure that the entire student population was covered, the average age was calculated.
The results show an average age of 23.5 with a standard deviation of 5.5. Thus, the range
of age was reached, with one deviation ranging from 18 to 29.
Gender
The results of the survey show that 66.7 percent of women versus 33.3 percent of men were
surveyed. The survey was slightly skewed in this manner, but the coverage was still
reached. Also, the majority of the survey was a single crowd. 77.2% of the poll was
single, compared to 22.8% being married. 
Musical format
From the survey, the data collected showed the students' preferences of format based on a
1-5 scale, with 5 being most favorite. After the data was analyzed, the following shows
the college students preferences based on their mean:
1. Alternative-3.0
2. R&B-3.0
3. Rock-2.81
4. Hip Hop-2.71
5. Pop-2.60
6. Classic Rock-2.40
7. Rap-2.39
The proper radio format would be to play a mix of alternative music with some rock. 
Time of Day
The survey for to acquire when the student listens to the radio was a very similar format
to the one in acquiring their favorite tastes. Four categories, morning, afternoon,
evening, and late night, were used. Students were to rate the categories from 1-4, with 1
being the time of day the person listened mostly. The following results appeared (based
on the mean of the students' ratings):
 Morning (5am-11am)- 2.28
 Afternoon (11am-5pm)- 2.60
 Evening (5pm-11pm)- 2.63
 Late Night (11pm-5am)- 2.56
A heavy dose of morning listeners was revealed from the survey. While afternoon, evening,
and late night were approximately the same, morning showed the most concentration. Thus,
the radio should concentrate on heavy advertising in the morning.
Also, the amount of time the student listens to the radio per day was viewed. The data
was separated into four categories, less than one hour, one to three hours, three to five
hours, and more the five hours. The results show:
 Less than one hour- 22.8%
 One to three hours- 54.4%
 Three to five hours- 15.8%
 More than five hours- 7.0%
Thus, 77.2% of the average students listen to the radio from zero to three hours a day.
Area of Listening
The students were also asked about the area that the listen to the radio the most. Their
choices were either in the car, at home, at work, or at school. They were to rank the
selections in order from 1-4, with 1 being most frequent. They showed the following
results (based on the mean of the students' ratings):
 In car- 1.75
 At home- 2.07
 At work- 2.67
 At school- 3.51
The data shows that the students listen to the radio mostly in their car or at home. From
the information, many students spend their time traveling when they are listening to the
radio. Thus, we analyzed the distance they drove per day. From the survey, the average
student travels showed an average driving distance of 
Student Preferences
From the results, students are influenced by the disc jockey on the radio. 56.9% stated
that they would listen to a radio station based on the disc jockey used. Also, a study of
morning formats was analyzed. The following categories, along with their results, are
revealed:
 Comedy talk- 19.0%
 News talk- 6.9%
 Sports talk- 3.4%
 Music with talk- 29.3%
 Music with no talk- 58.6%
The major preference of the average student wishes to have a music format with no talk.
However, comedy talk had a decent impact also, creating a 19.0% interest. Also, the
variety of music was analyzed. The survey asked whether the audience wished to have a
format with a wide variety of music or one with a specific playing pattern. Students
wished to have a wide variety, 68.4%, rather than a specific pattern, 31.6%.
Next, data based on students personal tastes was collected. They were asked what they
spent the majority of their money on and given the following categories to choose from:
electronics, clothing, technological, sporting goods, home furnishings, and
entertainment. The data showed:
 Electronics- 42.1%
 Clothing- 73.7%
 Technological 10.5%
 Sporting Goods 26.3%
 Home Furnishings 50.9%
 Entertainment 33.3%
The majority of tastes for students showed up in clothing, with home furnishings,
electronics, and entertainment receiving very capable results.
Distances
The distances students were willing to travel were taken next. They were asked their
usual driving distances to gather groceries, dining, clothing, and gasoline. Also, they
were asked how far they were willing to drive to attend a radio promotion. Categories
were divided into 0-1 miles, 1-3 miles, 3-5 miles, and over 5 miles. The statistics show
that:
 Groceries- 0-1mi: 24.6%, 1-3mi: 45.6%, 3-5mi: 15.8%, 5+mi: 14.0%
 Dining- 0-1mi: 5.3%, 1-3mi: 38.6%, 3-5mi: 24.6%, 5+mi: 31.6%
 Clothing- 0-1mi: 1.8%, 1-3mi: 22.8%, 3-5mi: 22.8%, 5+mi: 52.6%
 Gas- 0-1mi: 33.3%, 1-3mi: 36.8%, 3-5mi: 12.3%, 5+mi: 17.5%
 Radio Promotion 0-1mi: 21.1%, 1-3mi: 24.6%, 3-5mi: 22.8%, 5+mi: 31.6%
The average distances for the students was also calculated. Students averaged 3.25 miles
to get groceries, 4.33 miles to dine, 5.00 miles to purchase clothing, 3.11 miles to get
gas. Also, they were willing to travel 3.98 miles to attend a radio promotion.
Recommendations
Target Format
The music format of choice would be to do a variety of alternative and rock music. R&B
would be a good choice, too, but the variety would be too wide for the tastes of the
college students. Alternative music and rock is somewhat similar, yet it still has some
variety to it, which is something that the survey showed.
Also, the morning format must be focused upon more than the other times of the day. The
most drastic statistic revealed from the survey was the amount of listening college
students do in the morning hours, from 5 to 11am. Thus, the station should analyze this
part of the day more carefully than any other. From the survey, it was revealed that
students mostly preferred a morning format with either no talk and all music. Also,
several of them were influenced by the disc jockey used. This should be considered deeply
when drawing a conclusion to the format. In my opinion, I feel that the station should go
with a mostly music with little talk show format. The disc jockeys should have a comic
appeal, though. The ultimate goal is to please the majority, and there is a happy medium
between an all-comedy format and an all-music format. Yet, the station must be careful in
regards to its levels of talk and music.
Target Location
Many of the students reside near campus or in Northwest Reno. An emphasis should be
placed on this area, with a radius of approximately 4 miles, since students are willing
to travel this far for a promotion. 
Target Advertisements
The station should highly emphasize its advertising on the clothing industry. Many
students spend the majority of their money on clothing, and they are willing to drive
longer distances than usual to acquire it. 
Other areas they should target would be home furnishings, electronics, and entertainment.
These categories, although incomparable to clothing's demand, are still areas with a
great concentration of the students' funding.