iPods as prizes

Doug Erickson, who does everything from consulting major morning personality shows to an oldies network in France from his Englewood, Colorado, office (303.290.8839) hit the nail on the head and calls an important new study to our attention..

If you're considering doing an iPod promotion -- your timing is perfect as this research brief from the Center for Media Research shows.

Are iPods a threat to your station? Well, that's a long discussion for another time, perhaps. But your listeners are buying them, and using them, and ignoring them doesn't seem wise to me.

Why not ask each winner for a list of their 50 favorite songs, and pre-load them, along with a personal greeting from your Morning Show?The technology isn't our enemy; it's our own lack of creativity we need to fight.

Music Players Hit the Adult Market
A survey between January 13 and February 9 by the Pew Internet &American Life Project reports that more than 22 million American adults (age 18 and older) have iPods or MP3 players. And, though the study did not include teens, the review suggests that there are likely several million more MP3 players owned in the teen world.

iPods/MP3 player ownership demographics look like this:

*14% of men have the players, compared to 9% of women.
*19% of those under age 30 have iPods/MP3 players
*14% of those ages 30-39 have them
*14% of younger Baby Boomers (ages 40-48) own them
*iPods/MP3 players are found to be gadgets for the upscale. 24% of those who live in households earning more than $75,000 have them