…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey
The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats, including Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, and All-Teaching stations/programs, and Music stations.
There’s much discussion about focusing our radio stations and programs on people beyond the nuclear family. In 2022, there are way more folks listening with different marital statuses than those who have married for the first time. Here are the Top Five Marital Statuses ranked in the recent nationwide survey:
Top Marital Statuses among Teaching and Hybrid Listeners
| Hybrid | Teaching | ||
| 1. Married First Time | 46% | 1. Married First Time | 44% |
| 2. Re-married | 17% | 2. Re-married | 21% |
| 3. Divorced | 15% | 3. Divorced | 12% |
| 4. Single/Never Married | 12% | 4. Single/Never Married | 11% |
| 5. Widowed | 9% | 5. Widowed | 10% |
What do I do with this data?
Here’s a way to think about this: If you’re talking to your listener as if he or she is married for the first time, you’re talking to only half of your listeners. And if you assume they are married – for the first time or re-married – you’re still talking to only about two-thirds of the listeners. Over 30% of the Hybrid and Teaching listeners in the Why Listen® survey are not currently married.
We’re coming up on Valentine’s Day. It’s a happy day for many people. Not so much for others. And if you’re going to be empathetic with all of your listeners, it’s crucial that you’re sensitive to this. Some of your listeners are happily married, some are single and wish they were married, some are divorced, some are unhappily married, and some are happily single.
It’s complicated. A good time to carefully choose our words.
