1. The future for radio in cars
“Interactive Radio”
A promising future for radio
A joint project of Volkswagen, Hit-Radio Antenne and
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Petra Marsteller
Hit-Radio Antenne
Radiodays Europe 2012, Barcelona

2. Agenda
• Interactive radio – Project focus
• Interactive radio – The trial run
• Interactive radio – The accompanying research
• Interactive radio – The future
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

3. The good old days!
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

4. Today, anything is possible in a
networked multi-options society.
TV
Blogs Print
Anytime – Anywhere – Anyhow
Tablets Podcast
• Personal/individual
• Interactive
Chats Internet
• Mobile/portable
• Independent of time and place
Mobile
Radio
phone
Texts Cinema
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

5. What remains is the need for
emotionality, individuality and a
“social belonging”.
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

6. Radio is close to the listener
Radio is the No. 1 daily companion
Stimulating emotions
Anchored in the region
Available mobile anytime
Sources: ma 2011 Radio II, all radio (incl. programmes without advertising), TV, Mon–Fri, 5 am–midnight;
ZMG poll 2008; online: ARD/ZDF online study 2010; ARD/ZDF mass communication study 2010
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

7. Our focus: radio and mobility
• More than 40 million cars registered in Germany*
– share of German brands = 65.7%, market share of VW-cars 36.1% (2011)
• Some 82% of German car drivers listen to radio in the
car.
• Audio is the only communication channel that places
no demands on vision.
• Smartphones generate new usage models – in the
car, too.
Radio is still the No. 1 medium
in the car
*Source: KBA 2010;
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

8. The future – interactive radio
Our vision: radio that combines mobility and interactivity!
Our approach: interactive radio that expands the linear radio signals by offering...
• …products not dependent on time (anytime)
• …products not dependent on place (anywhere)
• …personalised products with reference to individual interests or places (anyhow)
And does that for a target group of about
30 million car drivers every day.
Source: ma 2010 Radio I; net coverage in %; daily coverage (Mon-Fri), in-car radio listening (radio in total); German-speaking pop. 10+
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

9. Interactive radio – in the car
On the road to the “Personal Radio Cloud”
Personalised Location-based Fee-paying On-demand
services subscriptions special interest
+
In-depth Background: Advice: Service:
Costa Concordia trips for kids allergies
Linear signal
Music News Music Traffic news Music Weather Music
Timeshift News Traffic news Weather
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

10. The future for radio in cars ̶ “Interactive Radio”
THE TRIAL RUN

11. The trial run
Test 29 August – 16 September (Mon–Fri)
Technology iPhone app in the car
Stations Hit-Radio Antenne and NDR
“Hotkey” content News, traffic news, weather, archive
Additional content Latest news, service, sport, events, TV & cinema,
comedy, celeb news
“Special interest” Regional content (Hit‐Radio Antenne)
VW employees radio (Hit-Radio Antenne )
Geo-based content (Hit-Radio Antenne)
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

12. Timeshift products + archive
Thematic image
Headline teaser
Text teaser
The latest news, traffic news
and weather reports available
anytime via a hotkey.
Archive of “additional
content” from the
previous 24 hours
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

13. Trial run participants
• Size of survey: N = 20 persons from VW’s pool of volunteers
• Features:
Age: 30–50 (approx. 50% are 41–45)
Gender: 50% male, 50% female
Station affinity: 50% NDR2, 50% Hit-Radio Antenne
Location: Braunschweig area, Wolfsburg
Level of education: 90% university graduates
Daily journey time: 20–45 min (each way)
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

14. The future for radio in cars ̶ “Interactive Radio”
THE ACCOMPANYING RESEARCH

15. The research programme
When? How? What?
Preliminary Standardised Areas of interest &
questionnaire commuting
behaviour of focus
Research goals: group
trend analysis! Trial run Daily logbook of Daily remarks
each user “likes & dislikes”
End of trial run Standardised Concluding poll
questionnaire
End of trial run Personal interview / In-depth
Group discussion concluding poll
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

16. The appeal of interactive radio
Rating
How do you rate the opportunity of very good
good
being able to access additional
information to supplement the
regular radio programme?
100% rated the
interactive radio service as
good to very good!
Source: VW Group research,
Nov 2011
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

17. The appeal of the archive function
Appeal
very good
good
How do you rate the availability of poor
all daily content in an archive? very poor
85% rated the
archive function
good to very good!
Source: VW Group research,
Nov 2011
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

18. The desire for a personal profile
Rating
Would you like a service yes
with content tailored to no
your personal range of
interests?
80% would like
personalised content.
Source: VW Group research,
Nov 2011
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

19. Concluding evaluation of acceptance
• Learning curve: 100% say that handling the service is quickly learned.
• Motivation: 95% of participants find the service interesting.
• Image: 95% would recommend the service to friends.
• Attitude to use: 95% could imagine using the service frequently.
• Future interest: 85% say they would like to have interactive radio.
• Fun: 85% say interactive radio is fun.
Source: VW Group research,
Nov 2011
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

20. User quotes from the concluding personal
interview
• “You quickly get used to it and miss it when it’s gone...!”
• “This is where you also find regional topics that are not offered by other
radio stations in such detail...!”
• “Regional information in IR helps me get through the day...!”
• “I don’t manage to read the paper, but I still get the news. It replaces a
daily paper...!”
• “IR gives me everything I miss in the normal news bulletins (background,
region, VW insider info...)...!”
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

21. Interactive radio – in the car
On the road to the “Personal Radio Cloud”
Personalised Location-based Fee-paying On-demand
services subscriptions special interest
+
In-depth Background: Advice: Service:
Costa Concordia trips for kids allergies
Linear signal
Music News Music Traffic news Music Weather Music
Timeshift News Traffic news Weather
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

22. Interactive radio – old strengths, new chances
On the road to the “Personal Radio Cloud”
Knowledge
Corporate radio Children
Trade & industry
Health
Stocks & shares Religion
Comedy Travel
My region
Cars Music
Animals Cinema
Events Wellness
The economy Audio books
Business news
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

23. Interactive radio is the radio of the future
Easy to customise
Interactivity parallel with other activities
Transferring Web usage models to radio
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne

24. “An idea is nothing more nor less than a
new combination of old elements.”
(James Webb Young, US advertising expert & visionary, 1965)
The future for radio in cars – Interactive Radio Petra Marsteller, Hit-Radio Antenne