Jamaican radio executives say the medium’s accessibility, affordability and deeply rooted connection to everyday listeners have made it remarkably resilient compared to other legacy media in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Despite listenership falling, according to the 2023 All Media Survey, radio has maintained a more stable audience than fellow traditional platforms television and print.

While the other legacy forms have been affected by a sharp shift in consumer behavior, that hasn’t been the case as much with radio.

Brian Schmidt, the acting managing director of Irie FM, suggests that radio is “interwoven” in Jamaica’s culture, which he said is a major factor why the fallout has not been as steep as other mediums.

“We have an oral society and an oral tradition, and because of that, radio is interwoven into our society in a way that no other media has been, and that’s very, very important,” Schmidt said.

He made the point during a panel discussion under the headline, ‘Why Radio still Wins’, on Thursday at the IMPACT x Mystique marketing conference at the AC Hotel, Kingston.

D’Adra Williams, general manager of Zip 103 FM, shared a similar sentiment.

“[Radio] is a thing that’s [always] in the background, it’s a thing that people rely on, and it’s not so much something that we think of,” Williams said. “We’re interwoven into what we do in our daily space. And we may not be the new girl in town, but we are still very much there.”

The relative lack of cost barriers has also allowed radio to maintain stability, according to the experts. For instance, most cars are pre-equipped with access to AM and FM radio at no additional cost, and one doesn’t need data or Wi-Fi to access the platform.

According to Schmidt, this relative ease of access was evident following Hurricane Melissa which destroyed sections of western Jamaica.

“The only thing that was serving the west was [radio] because everything else went,” Schmidt said.

Radio is also bolstered by the trust factor, the Irie FM boss added, pointing to research that shows that radio is the most trusted media at 87 per cent while social media is the least trusted medium at below 50 per cent.

“That’s a big part of the resilience,” Schmidt said.

Dahlia Harris, head of radio business with RJR Communications Group, shared a similar sentiment.

“Radio is not so much about reach and frequency as it is about trust and influence,” Harris said. “When people tune into radio, they believe what they hear, they trust what we tell them, and we impact the decisions they make more than anything else.”

Still, like other legacy media, radio has seen digital platforms eat into its market share. However, radio companies such as Nationwide News Network (NNN) have positioned themselves to benefit from the podcast and streaming boom.

“We are streaming live visually on Youtube, our audio is on our website and also on our app; so, when you come to Nationwide, you’re just not getting airplay, you’re getting multi-platform reach,” said Jheanelle Hughes-Headley, sales and marketing manager at NNN, adding that reach is amplified by on-demand streaming.

“Unlike just radio, where you have to be listening to catch it, when it streams, you can go back on, rewatch it, share it, and so the reach expands,” she said.

Regarding how marketers can leverage radio to boost their products, Schmidt suggested brand building campaigns.

“Brand awareness is very critical, and I see that a lot of marketers are not doing brand awareness campaigns anymore and you see it reflected in the results of their companies,” the Irie FM boss said.

“One of the important things you always want to get is top of mind … no matter what category of business,” he continued. “Marketing is competing for people’s head space… It’s something you should do perpetually.”