We know there’s not a huge difference in the current music
that airs on Active Rock and Alternative stations. But what
about the lives the listeners live? Are there significant
lifestyle and attitude differences between the two formats?
On a mission to find out, Jacobs Media surveyed
listeners at both formats via web polls posted on client station
websites. Twenty-five stations participated -- 12 Active, 13
Modern – each posting identical polls. To prevent any one
station or market from swaying the results, no single station
delivered more than seven percent of the sample. Polling was
conducted May 21-30. Response was so overwhelming that some
stations reached their response quota within two-to-three days (Arbitron
should have such problems!) Total in-tab sample was 8,353
respondents, of which 48 percent hailed from Active Rock sites
and 52 from Alternative. The Active sample was 65 percent male,
35 percent female; Alternative came in at 55 percent male, 45
percent female.
While Tower Of Power once asked "what is hip?" the
Jacobs pollsters wanted to know "what is cool?" So
they offered respondents a list of 53 different topics, ranging
from downloading porn to President Bush, from piercings to pot.
Participants rated each on a cool scale, where 1= not cool and
5= very cool. From those results, JM extrapolated a
"Cool-O-Meter" for each format, a list of the Top 10
coolest topics. Just as important, they broke out the Bottom 10
-- topics deemed decidedly uncool by format partisans. Results
were presented (often dramatically by Dave
"Oprah" Beasing) June 19 at the Jacobs Media
Rock Summit, in Los Angeles. Select results follow, including
how each format rates specific TV shows and videogames, and
which political party (if any) they feel closest to.
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