The “Uber-fixation” of society has made it possible to fulfill human desires with ease and convenience. It’s also enabled consumers to be more fickle and to brand-switch near-instantly when they have a poor user experience. The consumer now has an unprecedented amount of control.
What does this all mean for ad-supported radio? Interruptive advertising models are challenged to create great user experiences in an on-demand world. Consumers are doing their best to tune out ads and get just the content they want. The advent of the DVR made it easy to start skipping ads for TV viewers. Ad-blocking software has made it easy to block display ads online. While radio’s ads can’t be skipped (yet), the captive audience of years past, relegated to switching between six presets on the dashboard, can now switch to hundreds of choices with significantly less commercial interruption and more choices.