Small business owners have been advertising on Tampa radio since the first station, WDAE, went on the air in 1922. By almost every metric, the medium remains the best way to successfully market goods and services to local consumers.
Before Tampa Bay businesses finalize their marketing plans for this year, here are five facts they should know about radio advertising.
Last week, 2,193,604 adults tuned-in to a Tampa radio station. That is significantly more than watched local TV, read a newspaper, engaged with social media, or used a streaming audio site like Pandora and Spotify.
Radio reaches the most Tampa Bay consumers of all ages. This is even true among millennials, a generation who grew up with an abundance of media options.
Adult consumers spend, on average, 1 hour and 45 minutes per day listening to local radio stations. This number has stayed remarkably consistent for many years despite the deluge of new media options.
How can this be? The chart below indicates that, nationally, consumers have made more time in their day for all media, including local radio.
Black and Hispanic consumers represent a sizable portion of Tampa Bay. According to Nielsen, these two populations comprise 28% of the adult population and will contribute $22.9 billion in spending to the local economy.
To claim a share of this very lucrative market requires Tampa Bay small business owners to advertise. By any metric, local radio is the best way to reach Black and Hispanic consumers.
For instance, last week, 91.7% of Black and Hispanic consumers tuned-in to a Tampa radio station. This is considerably more than watched local TV, read a newspaper, used social media, or logged-in to a streaming audio site.
Reaching Tampa Bay consumers with money to spend is critical to the success of most advertising campaigns.
Regardless of the product or service a local small business sells, radio has the greatest reach among people who can afford to make a purchase.
These 5 facts, affirm why Deloitte, the world's largest business consulting firm, recommends that "radio advertising should be a big part of the mix for those buying advertising."
"Radio’s weekly reach, the percentage of people who listen to radio at least once per week, has been remarkably stable in the United States," says Deloitte. "Not only has reach hovered around 94% for the last few years, but that number is essentially unchanged from the 94.9% percent figure in spring 2001 when Apple introduced the iPod."