Traditional radio remains important to Baby Boomers, who nevertheless display a remarkable ability to adopt new media into their lives.

This is according to a recently released Bridge Ratings study of the media habits of Baby Boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 - writes MarketingCharts.

Previously considered a fairly cohesive psychographic group, Boomers should actually be analyzed as two distinct "cohorts," according to the study:

• Baby Boomer cohort #1 (born from 1946 to 1954):
  • Memorable events: assassination of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, political unrest, walk on the moon, Vietnam War, anti-war protests, social experimentation, sexual freedom, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, protests and riots, experimentation with various intoxicating recreational substances
  • Key characteristics: experimental, individualistic, free-spirited, social-cause oriented
• Baby Boomer cohort #2 (born from 1955 to 1964):
  • Memorable events: Watergate, Nixon resigns, the cold war, the oil embargo, raging inflation, gasoline shortages
  • Key characteristics: less optimistic, distrust of government, general cynicism

According to the most recent US Census data, by 2010 there will be 84 million 43-61 year olds in the US. Two-thirds of the Boomer generation belongs to cohort #2 - a significant number of media consumers for both broadcasters and advertisers to focus on.

The following are among the findings of the Bridge Ratings study:

Overall Media Use

When asked about various media they consume in a typical week, Baby Boomers said:

• They are spending less time reading books, watching movies and reading newspapers than they were six months ago.
• They have somewhat increased their use of computers and cell phones.
• Listening to music, reading magazines, using the internet, TV and traditional radio have remained fairly stable.

Radio Loyalty Scores

Media loyalty among Baby Boomers varies widely depending on the medium - traditional, internet, satellite, mp3 (respondents were asked "Which of the following media do you consider most important to you on a typical day," and rated media on a scale of 1-100, where 100 equals "can't do without" and 1 equals "would never miss it"):

Traditional radio had the widest spread of responses, with an average of 47. The highest loyalty scores tended to come from Boomer Cohort #2 (Younger Boomers); Cohort #1 has less loyalty to traditional media.

Satellite radio consumers tend to have both the highest loyalty score and the second-narrowest range, after MP3 players, indicating higher passion.

Expectations of Use in Six Months

The panel members were asked about intent to listen - "More, The Same, or Less" - to a variety of media, three of which (AM/FM, internet radio, digital player) are plotted on the following chart:

Among Baby Boomers, all three of those media have consistent use expectations, with traditional radio leading the pack: 73 percent of the panel expect to be listening to AM/FM radio the same in the next six months. That compares with only 30 percent of 8-12 year olds.

HD, Satellite, Internet, Podcasts?

Baby Boomers have little interest in HD radio for now, especially compared with other digital media: Preference in internet Radio, for example, has increased to 33 percent in this report while preference for HD radio has fallen to 1 percent of the sample.

About the study: The survey of 2,588 adults age 43-61 was conducted via random digit dialing on a national footprint between June 8 and July 30, 2007.