Source: www.insideradio.com, April 2020
The analysis, conducted by Geopath, the not-for-profit organization that provides measurement for the out-of-home ad industry, and Intermx, a data enablement and processing company, suggests that as the desire for the economy to reopen grows, so do opportunities for OOH and radio advertisers to reach consumers who are on the road.
Looking further into the data, Geopath found that 15 states increased their travel week-over-week. Mississippi topped the list with an 18% week-over-week increase in average miles travelled, from 16.8 miles the week of April 6 to 19.8 the week of April 13. It is followed by Alabama, up 18% (from 15.9 miles to 18.6 miles), and California with a 16.3% uptick (from 5.8 miles to 6.7 miles).
A total of nine states had double-digit week-over-week increases during the week of April 13, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, South Carolina and Nevada.
Even before the 5.7% increase in travel time, a large number of radio listeners were already on the road. A survey of 1,154 listeners conducted by Westwood One from March 31 – April 8 found nearly half of radio listeners who normally work outside the home (47%) are still commuting to work. And that number jumped to 60% among heavy radio listeners who usually work out of home.
