New research into the lifestyle and buying habits of commercial radio listeners will allow marketers to hit their target audiences more effectively, according to Commercial Radio Australia’s Joan Warner.

The research, resulting from a major revamp of the Radio Single Source Lifestyle Questionnaire conducted as part of the radio ratings surveys, “provides powerful insights into the 80 per cent of Australians who listen to commercial radio in an average week.”

For instance, the research from Survey 1 shows:

· 1.7 million commercial radio listeners intend to carry out major home renovations in the next 12 months, with most interested in painting or landscaping

· 84% of all people who regularly buy pre-mixed spirits or ready to drink alcohol listen to commercial radio, with time spent listening averaging 21 hours and 32 minutes per week

· 2.8 million listeners attended a major sporting event in the past 12 months

· 3 out of every 4 people who purchased an item from a book store, department store or newsagency in the past month listened to commercial radio.

“The research allows audiences to be analysed using more than 100 different demographic categories and provides a powerful tool to help advertisers reach their target audiences,” says Warner.

“For example, a computer manufacturer could use the single source category of ‘people who intend to buy a PC in the next 12 months’ rather than a simple age/sex target criteria.”

The Single Source Lifestyle research is conducted for Commercial Radio Australia by Nielsen Media Research. Single Source data is available to subscribers of the radio ratings data. There will be a total of eight radio surveys conducted in 2003 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.