Win the Moment

Radio's best listeners turn on the radio 31 times per week and listen 1+ hour per day, which represents just 5% to 10% of their time.

Meanwhile, consumers interact with their mobile devices 150 times per day and spend 40 hours per month using mobile aps, especially Facebook.

In dramatic fashion, this new form of consumer behavior has exploded over the past decade with the iPhone only making its debut in 2007. Even with the downturn of the Great Recession and its impact on consumer spending, market share of smartphones already exceeds 80%.

All of this is happening while people's attention spans continue to shrink. According to the latest reports, the average person only maintains focus for 8 seconds.

Fortunately, with platforms like iHeart Radio, NPR One and Next Radio, the shift to radio's future delivery and consumption models is already underway.

In this increasingly fragmented and mobile world, whether you are generating quarter hours for your station or downloads of your podcast, large victories are built by consistently Winning the Moment.

When a listener is deciding between turning on a radio station, Pandora/Spotify, or downloading a podcast, your brand must be top of mind. Otherwise, you've lost the Moment of Truth... that brief moment when someone is considering various options before making a decision.

It's as true for listening occasions as it is when you're standing in the beer aisle of your grocery store or deciding where to go to lunch.

Winning the Moment is important because Apple, Google, Pandora, Facebook and Amazon (the list goes on) aren't here to do radio's bidding. In fact, their mobile business models are often in direct competition with radio's interests.

Yet we know, the only thing harder than getting to the top of the mountain is staying there. Radio is the 800-pound gorilla of audio and while subscription and streaming services come and go, each one briefly wins a moment and contributes to the erosion of radio's top of mind awareness.

People can get music anywhere. Radio's best asset and enduring competitive advantage is the relationship with the audience. We must focus on those who matter most and Win the Moment, on-air, online and on mobile devices.