Abstract

This research sought to understand the reasons that lead a person to privilege a given radio broadcaster among competitors and other media. As a general objective, we had to analyze the factors that motivate a listener to be loyal to a certain radio station. The present investigation is exploratory and of a descriptive nature with a qualitative approach, sampling by intentionality before the analysis criteria of this study. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with listeners considered loyal by the broadcasters through a semi-structured script with open questions. As an analysis technique, content analysis was used. The factors that motivated the loyalty of the research radio listener were programming, radio announcer, bond, interactivity, and habit.

Keywords:
Radio; Audience; Fidelity; Loyalty; Brand equity

Resumo

Esta pesquisa buscou entender os motivos que levam uma pessoa a privilegiar determinada emissora de rádio em meio às concorrentes e outros veículos de comunicação. Como objetivo geral, analisa os fatores que motivam um ouvinte a ser leal a uma determinada emissora de rádio. A presente investigação é exploratória e de caráter descritivo com uma abordagem qualitativa, sendo a amostragem por intencionalidade perante os critérios de seleção. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas em profundidade com ouvintes considerados leais pelas emissoras, por meio de roteiro semiestruturado com perguntas abertas. Como técnica de análise, foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo. Os fatores que motivam a lealdade do ouvinte de rádio da pesquisa foram: programação, locutor, vínculo, interatividade e hábito.

Palavras-chave:
Rádio; Audiência; Fidelidade; Lealdade; Valor de marca

Resumen

Esta investigación buscó comprender las razones que llevan a una persona a favorecer una determinada estación de radio entre los competidores y otros vehículos de comunicación. Como objetivo general, teníamos que analizar los factores que motivan a un oyente a ser fiel a una determinada emisora. La presente investigación es de carácter exploratorio y descriptivo con enfoque cualitativo, muestreo por intencionalidad según el criterio de análisis de este estudio. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas en profundidad con oyentes considerados fieles por las emisoras, utilizando un guión semiestructurado con preguntas abiertas. Como técnica de análisis se utilizó el análisis de contenido. Los factores que motivan la fidelización del radioescucha en la investigación fueron: programación, locutor, vínculo, interactividad y hábito.

Palabras clave:
Radio; Audiencia; Fidelidad; Lealtad; Equidad de marca

Introduction

Even in times of new media possibilities, radio has been present in the lives of millions of people, reaching a large audience of different age groups. According to data from Grupo de Mídia de São Paulo (2023)GRUPO DE MÍDIA DE SÃO PAULO. Mídia Dados Brasil 2023. São Paulo: Grupo de Mídia de São Paulo, 2023. Disponível em: https://midiadados.gm.org.br/?category=radio. Acesso em: 27 out. 2023.
https://midiadados.gm.org.br/?category=r... , this medium has a penetration of 55% of the total population of Brazil and, in 13 metropolitan regions surveyed by Kantar Ibope Media (2023)KANTAR IBOPE MEDIA. Inside Audio 2023. Brasil: Kantar IBOPE Media, 2023. Disponível em: https://kantaribopemedia.com/conteudo/estudo/inside-audio-2023. Acesso em: 27 set. 2023.
https://kantaribopemedia.com/conteudo/es... , radio is listened to by 80% of the inhabitants with an average of 3 hours and 55 minutes per day per listener.

With the development of digital technologies, radio has also been innovating and following market trends, adapting to social media, and further increasing consumption by listeners. For Lopez (2010)LOPEZ, D. C. Radiojornalismo hipermidiático: tendências e perspectivas do jornalismo de rádio all news brasileiro em um contexto de convergência tecnológica. Covilhã: LabCom, 2010. Disponível em: https://bit.ly/3o91zeA. Acesso em: 04 out. 2020.
https://bit.ly/3o91zeA... , radio is not being abandoned. On the contrary, it is undergoing a metamorphosis. It is a new radio with new possibilities and potential, but above all, it remains radio. Thus, with the support offered by technology, vehicles see new possibilities to win over and retain their audience. In his doctoral thesis, Leite (2017LEITE, R. C. Antecedentes da lealdade no setor da radiodifusão. Tese (Doutorado em gestão), ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, 2017. Disponível em: https://www.repository.utl.pt/handle/10400.5/13660. Acesso em: 17 ago. 2020.
https://www.repository.utl.pt/handle/104... , p. 201) concluded that “listeners become more attached to a station if they perceive that it has something specific, whether in the field of information or the field of entertainment”. In Prata’s view (2002, p. 1), “each vehicle desires and works to have followers who follow their transmissions or publications faithfully. Radio also seeks these listeners, people who follow the same programming every day, years on end.”

Given this scenario, we ask: what factors would lead a person to continually listen to the same radio station, even in the face of great competition, amidst so many other forms of media consumption? To answer the question of this investigation, we defined and analyzed the factors that motivate a listener to be loyal to a particular radio station.

Brand equity

Loyalty or fidelity, for some authors, is one of the main categories of brand equity assets, the so-called brand value. According to Kotler and Keller (2013KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013., p. 260), “it is the added value attributed to goods and services”. For them, this value can be expressed in the way customers feel about the brand, as well as in the market share, price, and profit that the brand generates. As Aaker (2007AAKER, D. A. Construindo Marcas Fortes. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2007., p. 18) conceptualizes, brand equity “is a set of assets (and obligations) inherent to a registered trademark and a symbol that is added to (or subtracted from) the value provided by a product or service for the benefit of the company or its customers”. According to the author, the main asset categories of the term are brand awareness, brand associations, and brand loyalty (AAKER, 2012AAKER, D. A. Administração Estratégica de Mercado. 9. ed. E-book. Porto Alegre: Livroman, 2012.). He highlights that brand awareness offers a perception of familiarity, helping to inform the purchasing decision. Brand association is the perception that the customer has in relation to it, involving its benefits. Through certain attributes, the customer is able to glimpse the reason for consuming a certain product or service, which elevates it to the loyalty stage. For the author, brand loyalty provides a great advantage over the competition because, even with competitors improving their products or services, it is still necessary to make customers give up the brand they already consume. Regarding the construction of a brand’s value, Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013. explain the Resonance Pyramid (Figure 1), presenting the values in a sequence of levels.

According to the authors, firstly, brand identification among customers and its association in their minds must be guaranteed. Next, establish the meaning of the brand with strong associations. Thirdly, obtain adequate answers about the sensations and judgments regarding the brand and, finally, adapt the answers with the aim of establishing an active and intense loyalty relationship between brand and customer.

The rational and emotional links between a brand and its consumers are also the object of study of BrandZ, a quantitative study carried out with consumers since 1998 by the consulting company Millward Brown, belonging to the Kantar Group (VESELINOVA and SAMONIKOV, 2018VESELINOVA, E.; SAMONIKOV, M. G. Building brand equity and consumer trust through radical transparency practices. E-Book. Pensilvânia: IGI Global, 2018.). According to the model, brand building involves a series of steps in which each interviewee is assigned a level of the pyramid, depending on their answers to a set of questions. The results generate what the company calls the Brand Dynamics pyramid, which Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013. also refer to (Figure 2).

According to Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013., Presence is familiarity based on experience or knowledge of the brand; Relevance, the customer’s needs in relation to price or a set considered by the customer; Performance, when the brand/product is already a pre-selection by the customer; Advantage, when it is believed that there is an emotional or rational advantage over other brands in the same segment; and Bonding, when the brand stands out among others, having rational and emotional connections.

Fidelity and Loyalty

Tavares (2008)TAVARES, M. C. Gestão de Marcas: construindo marcas de valor. São Paulo: Harbra, 2008. points out that marketing professionals use psychological resources related to consumer behavior to seek to understand the components used in building brands. The Cognitive component is related to brand knowledge; the Conative component relates to the frequency and cost of changes; and Brand Preference, obtained through an evaluation process between real and ideal products. This last characteristic can also come from familiarity, identification with the group, and other aspects, such as emotional or rational attributes. With the Preference established, Tavares (2008)TAVARES, M. C. Gestão de Marcas: construindo marcas de valor. São Paulo: Harbra, 2008. maintains that affection begins to emerge in relation to this brand that arouses the consumer’s feelings and emotions.

Solomon (2016)SOLOMON, M. R. O comportamento do consumidor: comprando, possuindo e sendo. 11. ed. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2016. also studies these consumer psychological resources by dividing them into three decision-making categories: Cognitive, Habitual, and Affective. According to the author, a cognitive purchasing decision is the result of a series of stages in choosing a product among other competing options. He describes the other categories as Habitual, relating to what permeates our environment to make us make everyday decisions, and Affective, related to our emotional side and not to the process that results in rational choice. The author brings involvement with the product as a demonstration of loyalty, bringing a positive position to the brand, and the purchase is not just out of habit. In short, in addition to demonstrating a positive attitude, the consumer is generally passionate about the product.

Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013. relate loyalty to a strong and close connection with customers and mention three types of activities used by companies to increase their loyalty: interaction with them, the development of loyalty programs, and the creation of structural links. Although the terms fidelity and loyalty seem similar, some authors claim that there is a difference between them. For Bogmann (2000)BOGMANN, I. M. Marketing de relacionamento: estratégias de fidelização e suas implicações financeiras. São Paulo: Nobel, 2000. and Giuliani (2006)GIULIANI, A. C. (Org.). Marketing contemporâneo: novas práticas de gestão com estudo de casos brasileiros. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2006., fidelity is related to convenience; that is, consumers act that way because they believe that it is a good option at a given time.

Loyalty involves a certain conviction and presupposes a more in-depth relationship. Farias, Duschitz, and Carvalho (2015)FARIAS, C.; DUSCHITZ, C.; CARVALHO, G. M. Marketing aplicado. 1. ed. Porto Alegre. Bookman/Tekne, 2015. also make this differentiation of terms, with fidelity, for them, being someone’s desire to continue supporting the brand and being able, from time to time, to go to the competition, but end up returning, since the brand would generate more satisfaction among the others. Loyalty would be defined when the customer spontaneously defends the brand, regardless of whether the competition offers a higher price or offer. He does not change it because there is added value to the brand. According to these concepts, it is clear that loyalty is at a higher level than fidelity because, with loyalty, the customer is a defender of the brand and becomes emotionally involved with it.

Aaker (1998)AAKER, D. A. Marca: Brand Equity. Gerenciando o valor da marca. 10. ed. São Paulo: Negócio Editora, 1998. classifies loyalty into five levels (Figure 3). At the lowest level, some customers are not loyal to the brand; up to the maximum level, some customers defend the brand and even promote it to other people.

The lower level refers to consumers who are indifferent to the brand. Next are satisfied consumers, including regular buyers. According to Aaker (1998AAKER, D. A. Marca: Brand Equity. Gerenciando o valor da marca. 10. ed. São Paulo: Negócio Editora, 1998., p. 41), “They can be called habitual buyers, a segment that may be vulnerable to competitors capable of creating a visible benefit from the change - although it may be difficult to convince them to change, as they are not looking for alternatives.” At the third level are satisfied consumers, but who are resistant to change for fear of not being satisfied with the competition or because they are already involved in some system associated with another brand, such as a loyalty program, but are susceptible to stimulus competition (Kotler and Keller, 2013KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013.). At level four, there is a strong link between the product or service and customers who really like the brand and do not think about changing. Moreover, finally, at level five, some consumers defend the brand and promote it to other people. These are 100% loyal customers who, for Aaker (1998AAKER, D. A. Marca: Brand Equity. Gerenciando o valor da marca. 10. ed. São Paulo: Negócio Editora, 1998., p. 42), “are proud to be discoverers or users of the brand. The brand is very important to them functionally or as an expression of who they are. Their trust is such that they will recommend the brand to other people.” This consumer is considered the most relevant, as he passes on the brand’s values, placing it on another level.

Radio and its new possibilities for the listener

Radio, in a scenario of convergence, had the need to interact with new media to continue acting with strength. According to Kischinhevsky (2016KISCHINHEVSKY, M. Rádio e Mídias Sociais. Mediações e interações radiofônicas em plataformas digitais de comunicação. Rio de Janeiro: Mauad X, 2016., p. 4), it was redesigned, “it was forced to reinvent itself once again and, surprisingly, it showed greater capacity for reaction than other media”. For Lopez (2010LOPEZ, D. C. Radiojornalismo hipermidiático: tendências e perspectivas do jornalismo de rádio all news brasileiro em um contexto de convergência tecnológica. Covilhã: LabCom, 2010. Disponível em: https://bit.ly/3o91zeA. Acesso em: 04 out. 2020.
https://bit.ly/3o91zeA... , p. 115), the medium “does not abandon its characteristics, it does not stop being radio, but it adapts its routines and narrative to the possibilities generated by new spaces for disseminating information”. Kischinhevsky (2016)KISCHINHEVSKY, M. Rádio e Mídias Sociais. Mediações e interações radiofônicas em plataformas digitais de comunicação. Rio de Janeiro: Mauad X, 2016. uses the term “expanded radio” to characterize this transition that goes beyond radio waves and reaches social media, cell phones, pay TV, newspaper websites, and music applications. Based on these new possibilities, Lopez (2010)LOPEZ, D. C. Radiojornalismo hipermidiático: tendências e perspectivas do jornalismo de rádio all news brasileiro em um contexto de convergência tecnológica. Covilhã: LabCom, 2010. Disponível em: https://bit.ly/3o91zeA. Acesso em: 04 out. 2020.
https://bit.ly/3o91zeA... reports that this scenario gives the listener the opportunity to obtain a more personalized service, in which they choose the content and at what time to consume it, for example, through podcasts and other technological tools. Today, listeners can consume the content of their interest at any time, place, and as often as they feel necessary.

With this expansion in different media, radio has been bringing multiple forms of interaction and connectivity with the listener. Rosa (2017)ROSA, A. L. da. As mudanças na rádio com a chegada do aplicativo WhatsApp: Estudo de caso da rádio difusora de Laguna. Riuni Unisul Repositório Institucional, Tubarão, 2017. Disponível em: http://www.riuni.unisul.br/handle/12345/709. Acesso em: 25 set. 2020.
http://www.riuni.unisul.br/handle/12345/... argues that much of this interaction is due to the presence of social media on broadcasters. It is this interactivity that allows, for example, the public to choose the songs to be played. In journalism, the participation of listeners allows debate and reporting of problems. Broadcasters also often use the pages to hold sweepstakes or broadcast live while presenting the program.

Radio now requires a professional who no longer uses just his voice. A multifaceted professional is necessary when “being multimedia and multiplatform become almost a requirement for communications professionals. On radio, you need to start thinking about visual information, start reading events from a broader - technically and technologically - perspective” (LOPEZ, 2010LOPEZ, D. C. Radiojornalismo hipermidiático: tendências e perspectivas do jornalismo de rádio all news brasileiro em um contexto de convergência tecnológica. Covilhã: LabCom, 2010. Disponível em: https://bit.ly/3o91zeA. Acesso em: 04 out. 2020.
https://bit.ly/3o91zeA... , p. 116). Galarça (2016)GALARÇA, S. L. Interatividade no rádio: o novo ouvinte exige um novo locutor. Revista Rádio-Leituras, v. 7, n. 1, p. 126-152, 2016. also highlights the communicator’s care in relation to image and the need to stay updated in relation to facts, tools, pronunciations, and different interpretations.

The role of the speaker is relevant, as he makes the connection between the medium and the receiver. In Campos’ view (2010, p. 378), “the speaker is a body amidst the technical apparatus. This body is the one who makes the connection between the technical environment and the listener, as the listener is not just looking for music, but also looking for interaction and company”. In addition to this relationship with the announcers, there are brand activations that encourage listeners to participate in promotions that distribute gifts or allow them to meet artists, for example. According to Campos (2010)CAMPOS, R. T. Jingle: Narrativa Sonora. In: FERRARETTO, Luiz Artur; KLOCKNER, Luciano (Orgs.). E o rádio? Novos horizontes midiáticos. Porto Alegre: Edipucrs, 2010, p. 372-388., these participations bring a feeling of belonging to the listener, increasing their engagement.

Kischinhevsky (2016)KISCHINHEVSKY, M. Rádio e Mídias Sociais. Mediações e interações radiofônicas em plataformas digitais de comunicação. Rio de Janeiro: Mauad X, 2016. highlights the importance of retaining the audience in this new scenario since the listener is more susceptible to switching stations due to the ease and greater chance of migrating to other platforms. According to the author, now the listener can also interact with others, commenting on the programming, offering praise and criticism, suggesting promotions, and, of course, creating emotional bonds with the audience.

Methodological procedures

This research is exploratory because, according to Gil (2008)GIL, A. C. Como elaborar projetos de pesquisa. 4. ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2008., it seeks to gain familiarity with the problem in order to make it clearer. Listeners represented the study population considered regulars in the programming, with contact being mediated by professionals in the area.

Sampling is considered non-probabilistic, selected based on the criterion of intentionality, in which “individuals are selected based on certain characteristics considered relevant by researchers and participants” (GIL, 2008GIL, A. C. Como elaborar projetos de pesquisa. 4. ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2008., p. 145). The data collection method consisted of in-depth interviews using a semi-structured script with open questions, using primary and secondary data, leading to a qualitative approach. According to Creswell (2010CRESWELL, J. W. Projeto de pesquisa: métodos qualitativo, quantitativo e misto. 3. ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2010., p. 206), this type of approach is based “on text and image data, with unique steps in data analysis.” Considering that we aim to understand the determining factors of loyalty in radio stations, the research is also descriptive in nature; as for Gil (2008GIL, A. C. Como elaborar projetos de pesquisa. 4. ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2008., p. 42), “their primary objective is to describe the characteristics of a given population or phenomenon [...]”. The analysis technique was Content Analysis (BARDIN, 1977BARDIN, L. Análise de conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70, 1977.), more precisely, an analytical description involving the treatment of the content of the interviews.

Four radio stations were searched among the 252¹ 1 Number of stations obtained through Radios.com website. Available at: https://www.radios.com.br/radio/regiao/vale-do-itajai/117. Accessed on: Dec. 02, 2020. in the Vale do Itajaí region, Santa Catarina, chosen based on the criteria of relevance and proximity, as well as the region of the state, as it is the researchers’ market. Of the stations surveyed, two are from the youth segment, and two are from the popular segment. Ferraretto (2001FERRARETTO, L. A. Rádio: o veículo, a história e a técnica. Porto Alegre: Editora Sagra Luzzatto, 2001., p. 54) defines the segmentation of types of broadcasters.

Ferraretto (2014)FERRARETTO, L. A. Da segmentação à convergência: apontamentos a respeito do papel do comunicador de rádio. C&S - São Bernardo do Campo, v. 36, n. 1, p. 59-84, 2014. still conceptualizes the segments as a) young: audiences up to 25 years old, from classes A and B, with secondary or university education, taking on the role of a friend or older brother when guiding tastes and behaviors, and b) popular: aimed at to listeners from classes C, D and E, over 25 years of age and with education levels often lower than completing primary education. Its programming is based on colloquiality, with easy-hit songs, the provision of services, and the exploration of police news. According to Prata et al. (2019)PRATA, N.; LOPEZ, D. C.; FREIRE, M.; AVELAR, K.; DIEHL, D. Posicionamento de rádios jovens brasileiras em redes sociais: compreendendo estratégias e ações de interatividade. Media & Jornalismo, v. 19, n. 34, p. 47-63, 2019. Disponível em: https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/mj/article/view/2183-5462_34_4. Acesso em: 27 out. 2023.
https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/mj/artic... ,

To preserve the identity of the stations and listeners, names such as Stations 1 and 2 were assigned to young radio stations and Stations 3 and 4 to popular radio stations. Station 1, located in Blumenau, was founded in 1981 and is an affiliate of a large communication network. It is the largest generator of young content in the South region, covering 35 municipalities. Station 2, based in Itajaí, is an affiliate of a national radio network. It was founded in 1986, and its signal covers 36 municipalities. Station 3, headquartered in Navegantes and with more than 765 thousand inhabitants affected, reaches 14 municipalities in the state. Finally, Station 4 is located in Blumenau and is one of the group’s 42 stations spread across Brazil, covering 73% of the State of Santa Catarina. Its signal covers 23 cities and is the audience leader in all time slots.

First, contact was sought with the four radio stations, requesting a list of listeners who had an active relationship with the stations. After the consent of these listeners, the stations sent the contact details to the researchers, who scheduled interviews via messaging application with two listeners from each segment. The listeners were identified as Listeners 1 and 2 for Station 1; 3 and 4 for Station 2; 5 and 6 for Station 3; and 7 and 8 for Station 4. For a better understanding, Table 1 presents the identification of broadcasters and listeners:

The interviews were carried out between 2020/10/14 and 2020/10/27 through a video call via a messaging application with audio recording for later transcription. The interviews were transcribed and documented in a field diary. Then, the data was classified and categorized. Finally, the responses were described and presented, identifying the main loyalty factors of the interviewed listeners.

Analysis and discussion

To meet the objectives of this research, questions were formulated that related to brand equity, that is, the brand value that uses attributes that foster listener loyalty based on the theories of Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013. and Aaker (1998AAKER, D. A. Marca: Brand Equity. Gerenciando o valor da marca. 10. ed. São Paulo: Negócio Editora, 1998., 2007AAKER, D. A. Construindo Marcas Fortes. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2007., 2012AAKER, D. A. Administração Estratégica de Mercado. 9. ed. E-book. Porto Alegre: Livroman, 2012.). Listeners were also asked about situations to ascertain their level of fidelity/loyalty towards their favorite broadcaster.

Questions were also asked based on previous research into the background of radio loyalty and questions related to programming and other characteristics of the medium. Listeners were asked about how often they listen to the station, its performance, brand image and listeners’ evaluations, emotional factors in relation to the station, and the psychological bond between listener and broadcaster, which assesses the level of activity generated by this loyalty, according to Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013.. Table 2 presents extracts from the interviews and the categories generated from the listeners’ statements.

It was identified that one of the listeners, even with signal reception problems, insisted on listening to the station. This factor, at the performance step of the Brand Dynamics pyramid, is customer pre-selection. It was found that listeners consider the image that the station conveys to be important, and, in fact, some identify the speaker as the image of the station. The image perceived by the consumer is a relevant factor of brand equity because, according to Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013., it seeks to meet the client’s psychological and social needs.

Aaker (2012)AAKER, D. A. Administração Estratégica de Mercado. 9. ed. E-book. Porto Alegre: Livroman, 2012. and Farias, Duschitz, and Carvalho (2015)FARIAS, C.; DUSCHITZ, C.; CARVALHO, G. M. Marketing aplicado. 1. ed. Porto Alegre. Bookman/Tekne, 2015., in relation to brand loyalty, state that an established relationship is more difficult for the competition to try to win over customers due to all the attributes considered important and of value in the customer’s mind. Kotler and Keller (2013)KOTLER, P.; KELLER, K. L. Administração de Marketing. 14. ed. São Paulo: Pearson Education, 2013. also refer to loyalty as a strong connection, as does Solomon (2016)SOLOMON, M. R. O comportamento do consumidor: comprando, possuindo e sendo. 11. ed. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2016., who defines consumer behavior as something affective related to the emotional side. This is present in the listeners’ statements when justifying why they would not change the station, defending the announcers, and bringing up the entire relationship between the parties, as shown in the transcriptions in Table 2.

Aaker’s loyalty pyramid (1998), in which consumers are 100% loyal to a brand and defend it as much as they are proud and feel comfortable disseminating it, two questions were asked: the first, if someone has already made unfavorable comments about the station to the listener. According to the majority of those interviewed, this fact had never occurred; quite the opposite. The people around him support the radio station. The excerpt from Listener 8 stands out: “No. Ever since I’ve listened to the radio. But I wouldn’t let it either. Because I listen to the radio and I like it, right?” The listener is then observed acting as a brand defender, which takes us back to Aaker (1998)AAKER, D. A. Marca: Brand Equity. Gerenciando o valor da marca. 10. ed. São Paulo: Negócio Editora, 1998., when he lists loyalty as the last level of the pyramid. The second question asked whether the listener had already recommended the station to someone and two interviewees reported affirmatively. According to the author, this is a question of trust, in which the consumer considers the brand very important and is proud of it. Next, the predominant categories from the interview extracts are described in relation to the factors that underlie loyalty to the stations researched.

Programming

It was noticed that listeners of young stations value the musical style. It was noted that many programs, according to those interviewed, are unique in relation to their musical style and that, according to them, there is nothing that compares and that only there will they find what they are looking for. Listeners also value local programs over those broadcast nationally.

Listener 7, when asked what would make her give up on the station, responded that one factor would be the programming, if it did not have a good musical selection or if the songs were performed repetitively. One factor that caught our attention was each listener’s favorite program when the two interviewees from each station chose the same programs, represented by productions that had been on the schedule for a long time. According to Prata (2002PRATA, N. A fidelidade do ouvinte de rádio. In: INTERCOM - Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos Interdisciplinares da Comunicação, XXV Congresso Brasileiro de Ciências da Comunicação, Salvador, Bahia, 1 a 5 set. 2002. Disponível em: https://bit.ly/2HT1NHe. Acesso em: 17 ago. 2020.
https://bit.ly/2HT1NHe... , p. 5-6), “programs that air for a long time tend to create loyalty among the public that listens to the broadcaster. People get used to the schedule, the format, the communicator, the attractions, and they know that they can count on that program in the way they are used to, without major changes”. Some listeners reported having tried to change stations as a test, but due to the programming being unattractive, they went back to listening to the previous one.

Announcer

The announcer was one of the factors that stood out most in generating this loyalty between the station and the listener. For Campos (2010)CAMPOS, R. T. Jingle: Narrativa Sonora. In: FERRARETTO, Luiz Artur; KLOCKNER, Luciano (Orgs.). E o rádio? Novos horizontes midiáticos. Porto Alegre: Edipucrs, 2010, p. 372-388., the announcer makes this connection between the medium and the client and, often, becomes the station’s walking image, circulating through the streets paying attention to the public at events. Also, in the station promotions, it was noticed that listeners take the issue of the prize draw into personal account: “I’ve already won a lot of things from [the announcer], she’s the only one who gives me things [...]” (Listener 6). It was also noticed that many listeners replaced the name of the program with the name of the announcer.

When asked about reasons that would make them stop listening to their favorite radio station, half of those interviewed responded that if the announcer left the station, it would no longer be the same. The announcer is also important in differentiating the brand. When asked about the difference between the listener’s favorite station and the others, the figure of the announcer stood out. When asked what they consider a form of relationship with the broadcaster, the speaker predominantly appears, which is related to affection. This is a factor that is reflected in loyalty attitudes, according to Tavares (2008)TAVARES, M. C. Gestão de Marcas: construindo marcas de valor. São Paulo: Harbra, 2008.. Furthermore, the attention that listeners have towards the announcers was highlighted in the interviews, for example: “When [the announcer] does that [station program] with the [announcer] I have a lot of fun with both of them. [Announcer] is replacing her, she and [announcer] make really cool videos.” (Listener 7). In Campos’ (2010) view, the listener is not just there listening to music and news, the listener is also looking for company.

Bonding

Bonding, one of the factors that form the emotional and rational connection between customer and brand used in the Brand Dynamics model, stood out in listeners’ responses. An example is Listener 8, who, when asked if she misses it when she does not send messages to the station, replied: “Yes. [...] Whether you like it or not, you become a member of the family, right? Because it’s with me there every day, I stay there all day at home alone, my husband works away, so I always talk to them, send messages.” The radio, then, ends up being a companion for the listener when he interacts with the speakers.

A similar situation occurs with Listener 1, who states that she really likes the station due to her bond with the announcers, going so far as to visit them at the station. This connection illustrates a two-way street: “I think it’s something like them with us and us with them, it’s a way of helping, right? The radio helps us by distracting us, and we help them with the audience. Which is what you have to have for radio to be successful” (Listener 7).

Bonding is very present in this interactivity, in the relationship between the listener, announcer, and the station. “They send a little something saying thank you for something, sometimes they even don’t listen to our audio on the radio, so we still win a prize, and that means they listened, right?” (Listener 8). It was noticed that small attitudes end up building a great foundation of value between the brand and the consumer.

Interactivity

The interactivity between listener and announcer was one of the factors that gained prominence in the issue of loyalty when the listener participates in the programs, gives his opinion, requests music, suggests music for the program, sends news helping the station’s journalism, in addition to all the promotions that allow listeners to interact with digital content.

The success of a program from Station 1 stands out, being the favorite of the two surveyed listeners. In it, listeners request music, send messages, and interact. According to Listener 1, there is so much connection that listeners end up reaching a consensus about the musical style played during the time. Furthermore, the radio provides listeners with the opportunity to request their favorite songs, send messages to family and friends, and participate in polls and testimonials, in addition to all the recognition that the speaker transmits, bringing listeners closer to them as if they were friends for decades. In these interviews, statements that reflect this interactivity relationship stood out: “we have a lot of interactivity with her [...], I really like it, on YouTube I make comments to her, [...] she is very sweet, she pays attention to the public like that, she’s really good people.” (Listener 3). Or even: “[...] it’s really cool, sharing our names live, our voices live, it’s really cool” (Listener 5).

Sweepstakes are also of great significance for this interactivity. Many listeners send messages to stations, including images and audio via applications, sharing posts on social media. All this interactivity brings to the listener, according to Tavares (2008)TAVARES, M. C. Gestão de Marcas: construindo marcas de valor. São Paulo: Harbra, 2008., the feeling of belonging, of being seen and remembered by someone, in addition to the pleasure of people hearing their name on the station, thus increasing preference, attitudes towards the station and the affection, factors that influence and determine consumer choice.

Habit

The habit of listening to the radio with their parents in childhood or being influenced by someone also led the interviewees to continue this practice. Habit is found in the second container of Solomon’s (2016) consumer behavior when one acts unconsciously and then moves on to the third container: the emotional one. Firstly, in the speech of the listeners, a rational choice was perceived and, subsequently, an evolution of their relationship until reaching loyalty. We can observe this evolution in the following statement: “I started from nothing, I turned on the sound here, I put it on in 2016, then I met the [announcer] who had just come in there, then I turned on the radio and I haven’t stopped, it’s daytime and night, non-stop” (Listener 6). This particular listener, at first, opted for a rational choice linked to the quality of the station’s signal, but it evolved into resonance by creating this emotional bond with the station.

Final considerations

In accordance with the proposed objective of identifying the factors that lead a listener always to be tuned to the same station, even with so much competition and media, relevant aspects were highlighted that motivate a listener to remain regularly in the programming of their favorite radio station. Thus, the predominant conditions of loyalty to the stations that were the subject of this study were arrived at programming, speaker, bond, interactivity, and habit.

It is interesting to highlight, when analyzing the results that this is a set of factors and not an isolated factor. It was noted that, in the young stations in the research, the issue of programming predominates, a non-determining factor in the lack of an announcer engaged with listeners who do not honor their musical suggestions and who do not air their appearances. It was found that listeners consider and make more use of traditional radio than other platforms, except in times of signal reception problems. There is also a consumption habit that comes from your family, usually from childhood.

As a suggestion for future works, investigations are recommended regarding each attribute of brand value, seeking, in a more developed way, the understanding of this radio-listening consumer, who demonstrates so much potential for engagement. Fidelity and loyalty in the radio universe are themes that can still be explored as a phenomenon of resistance, revealing the deep connection that listeners establish with their favorite radio stations, transcending the barriers of time and technology.

Data availability

The authors confirm that data supporting the research are available upon request from the authors.

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