Abstract:

The paper describes the issues associated with researching the market potential for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a concept that was, at the time, largely unknown to most of the public. The work was sponsored by organisations with a wide range of objectives and posed a number of challenges, not least of which was how to communicate the concept to respondents. The approach that was adopted was to use a carefully structured questionnaire that introduced the various features of DAB in stages, identifying their importance to the respondent, interest in acquiring a DAB radio for the car or home and the perceived price premium. The survey provides a rich source of data that identifies: the demographic groups that are most interested in DAB; the key features that are likely to be of most importance (the key ‘drivers’ for DAB); and the extent to which a common marketing strategy can be applied across Europe and where between-country differences require distinct Marketing approaches.