​MRN sells the buying power of its listeners to media buyers

MRN delivers landmark research on Baby Boomer buying habits

Talk about radio to Macquarie Radio Network’s majority shareholder John Singleton for any length of time and he’ll bring up one of his favourite topics and biggest bugbears. He believes many young media buyers tend to buy the stations they listen to rather than the stations that actually attract the most buyers of their clients’ products.

In March 2009, while being interviewed on one of his own stations, 2GB, he told Alan Jones, “I just thought that being No. 1, No. 1, No.1, that ultimately the advertisers would come around to realising that we were No. 1. But it just didn’t happen.

“I’ve decided to come out of hiding because when you get stations like Triple M, Vega, WS and Nova with virtually no listeners – no grocery buyers at all, no housewives – and they’re still getting revenue. They were getting more revenue than us,” he said.

This weekend, Singo took a more conciliatory approach to getting his point across by taking a bunch of agency folk to a luxury resort in Wolgan Valley where he and his most senior staff could command their undivided attention.

As part of the entertainment, Singo interviewed special guest, Sir Michael Parkinson. Ian Moss and Michael Paynter performed their hit songs.

But the centrepiece of the weekend was: A major research study into the lifestyles, attitudes, behaviours, purchase habits and financial strength of middle-aged Australians, aged 45-69.

In its executive summary, the study, conducted by Woolcott Research states that, “On average, middle-aged Australians see themselves as 13 – 14 years younger than their actual age, and they behave accordingly. They are much fitter and healthier than previous generations with a much longer life expectancy.

“But it is their attitudes, perceptions and lifestyle which really set them apart from previous generations and in many ways make them more similar to younger age groups. They have been a rebellious generation for most of their lives and they are now rebelling against the very idea of getting old.”

To read the full report, click here.
 
 
 

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