As we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, we turn our attention to the bond between moms and AM/FM radio. Let’s look at some insights from Nielsen’s Q3 2016 Total Audience Report, Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” study, and Alan Burns and Associates and Strategic Solutions Research’s study, “What Women Want.”

Here are our key findings:

1. Working moms are desirable consumers who personally connect with AM/FM radio. Working moms are an attractive target for brands. They have higher incomes, are college educated, and more likely to be homeowners. They have money to spend and, with children under the age of twelve, families to spend it on. Among women 18-49, moms are 39% of the demographic but represent 56% of spending.

2. Radio connects with women and resonates with them in a meaningful way. In “What Women Want,” EVP of Strategic Research Hal Rood states, “Amazingly, more women told us they felt understood by the radio station they listen to most (78%) than by their significant others!”

3. AM/FM radio is #1 in mom reach, beating all other media and device platforms. AM/FM radio is the #1 reach platform among moms 18-49, reaching 26.9 million weekly. That’s more than smartphones, television, tablets, and personal computers.

Among working and stay-at-home moms, AM/FM radio has 19% greater reach versus TV!

4. Moms 18-49 spend more time listening to AM/FM radio than any other audio source. According to Edison Research’s “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio has a 44% share of audio time spent. That’s 11 times bigger than Spotify and four and half times bigger than Pandora.

5. AM/FM radio reaches working moms on-the-go. During the day, working moms tend to listen to radio more than stay at home moms, especially during their morning and evening commute. Nearly 75% of moms 18-49 are employed. Just as AM/FM radio is the soundtrack of the American worker, it is also the soundtrack of working moms.

For working moms, the majority of radio listening (77%) takes place out of the home. Even among stay-at-home moms, over half of AM/FM radio listening takes place out of the home. AM/FM radio reaches moms while they’re running errands, picking up the kids, or commuting to and from work. It provides a last minute advertising touchpoint just before the cash register.

Brands that want to reach moms should advertise on radio:

• Working moms are desirable consumers who personally connect with AM/FM radio
• Radio connects with women and resonates with them in a meaningful way
• AM/FM radio is #1 in mom reach, beating all other media and device platforms
• Moms 18-49 spend more time listening to AM/FM radio than any other audio source
• AM/FM radio reaches working moms on-the-go

Brittany Faison is a Research Analyst at Cumulus | Westwood One.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.