Introducing Emodus Research and Sutton & Lee

A couple of business announcements as the RadioSutton blog returns from a few months off this summer.

1.  Introducing Emodus Research, a new company created by John Sutton to help public radio professionals identify and leverage the emotional connections that drive listening, brand loyalty, brand advocacy, and giving.  The initial service offerings from Emodus Research will be for public radio stations and program producers.  Subsequent services will be available to public television.

2.  John Sutton & Associates is now Sutton & Lee.  Sonja Lee is now running the on-air fundraising side of things.  John is still heavily involved in pledge drive planning and preparation. He also continues to help stations with strategic planning and Arbitron analysis.

Emodus Research

Question:  In a world with smart phone apps and digitally-equipped cars, why would someone choose to listen to an NPR report from a public radio station when they could hear the exact same report at the exact same time directly from NPR?

Answer:  Because he or she has a strong emotional connection to the station.

Question:  What does a strong emotional connection look like?

Answer:  We're finding that out now.

Emodus Research has already conducted several thousand on-line surveys with public radio, public television, online, and print news consumers across the country, with an emphasis on the public radio news listeners.  We've researched the emotional connection NPR News listeners have with NPR and we're researching the emotional connection NPR News listeners have with their stations.

The results will identify the key emotional drivers that lead to increased listening, brand loyalty, brand advocacy, and giving. 

Public radio stations will be able to identify specific actions they can take in programming, branding, marketing, social media, and fundraising to build emotional connections strong enough to keep listeners, advocates, and donors from leaving when NPR and other public radio alternatives are just as easy to hear.

You can learn more by visiting the Emodus Research website.

There's also an Emodus Research blog where you can follow our progress as we gain new insights about the relationship public radio has with its listeners and donors.