Marketing to Commuters

Oct 27, 2009•Blog Posts•General Marketing•Traditional Media• by author

Scott M.

How long is your commute to work every day? 1 hour? 2 hours? By the looks of the interstate during rush hour, you may very well be in your personal car during your commute. A 2009 study by Arbitron research found that the average commuter spends nearly 3 hours in their cars every day with a total of almost 19 hours every week. This is up from 15 hours a week reported from this same study back in 2003.

Nineteen hours a week is a significant portion of your valuable time being trapped in one place. So what do you usually do to pass the time? 93 percent of the participants researched in this Arbitron study listen to the AM or FM radio at least 5 minutes or more during an average week, and more than 81 percent of them will continue to listen to the AM/FM radio just as much as they do now despite growing technologies like satellite radio and mp3 players.

With 89 percent of people in the United States aged 18 or older driving in some kind of private vehicle in the past month, it’s clear that vehicles are a huge part of American’s lives. Another trend amongst Americans is stopping at a store on the way home from work in the evening. 82 percent of Americans have reported stopping at a grocery store on the way home from work in the past month, and 58 percent report stopping at a convenience store. Also, 63 percent reported going to a large retail store, like Target or Best Buy. Sometimes these trips are planned, of course, but sometimes they are “impulse stops”. This gives advertisers the perfect opportunity to utilize out-of-home advertising like billboards and radio. When these customers stop on the way home, the radio or a billboard is likely to be the last thing they see or hear before entering the store.

Travelers are, in fact, noticing billboards. 71 percent of people studied noticed advertising messages on roadside billboards sometimes, most of the time, or each time they pass one. 58 percent of respondents learned about a restaurant from a billboard that they later visited. Not only are travelers taking notice of roadside billboards, they are also being influenced by them; great news for advertisers. This medium is still extremely effective.

So what does this all mean? Americans are spending more and more time sitting in their cars commuting a long distance to work or just sitting in traffic. Despite growing in-car technologies, the AM/FM radio is still a popular entertainment source for the majority of Americans. Combine this information with the confirmation that billboards are still doing their job, and you have a promising opportunity to expand on your marketing efforts.