In 1922, WDAE in signed on as the first radio station in Tampa Bay. Since then, local business owners have depended on radio advertising to successfully market their goods and services.

Using any advertising metric, despite the inundation of new media options, radio remains the most potent way to fulfill the marketing objectives of Tampa Bay business owners of every size.

In the age of all things digital, is advertising on Tampa radio still effective? Meet 5 local small business owners who say, YES!

"Radio advertising is a huge part of our success," says Trent Taucher. His family has owned Budget Heating and Air Conditioning since 1992. "The constant repetition of our unique message on Tampa radio stations drives new customers through a door every day."

"When my dad started the business, we were a traditional selling and installing heating and air conditioning in homes and businesses. That's how it was for the first eight years," says Mr. Taucher. "Then in about 2000, our business model changed. We eliminated installations and began selling equipment directly to both residential customers and contractors from our warehouse."

"The success of our new business model depended largely on word-of-mouth. We quickly generated plenty of it with radio advertising."

Hungry Howie's is the 12th largest chain of pizza restaurants in America based on sales volume. The company has 551 locations. Seventy-one of the stores are in the Tampa Bay area.

For the past 33 years, advertising on Tampa radio has helped Hungry Howie's grow from just 20 locations in the Tampa Bay area to 210 throughout the state.

"Our Florida locations outsell all of the other stores across the country," says Barry Devine, founder of Devine Advertising, a St. Petersburg based small business who has been responsible for Hungry Howie's marketing since 1986.

"The only thing we do differently here in Florida," says Mr. Devine, "is we use lots of radio advertising. Far more than the Hungry Howie's locations in other states."

Michael Hollander and his family own Weather Tite Windows in Tampa.  When he took over the company in 2006, it was deeply in debt and nearly out of business.

Since then, Mr. Hollander has built Weather Tite into the 24th largest home improvement company in America. Quite an amazing feat for a company that only sells replacement windows and doors.

"Advertising on Tampa Bay radio has been a huge part of the company's success," says Mr. Hollander. "Ninety-two percent of our leads say radio is the way they heard about us. The leads we generate from our radio ads cost us $4.00 each. That's almost half of what I pay for leads from other sources."

It is not a gimmick. Many Tampa Bay business owners qualify for free local advertising on Tampa radio. They pay nothing out-of-pocket.  Zero. Zilch. Zip. Bupkis. Free.

Henry Ford understood that the continual investment in advertising was necessary for a business to be successful. “Stopping advertising to save money," he said, "is like stopping your watch to save time.”

Sometimes, though, when daily expenses challenge their cash flow, Tampa area small business owners must prioritize spending. Many times, unfortunately, Mr. Ford’s advice is ignored and buying commercials on Tampa Bay radio will move down the list behind making payroll, maintaining delivery vehicles, and replenishing stock. A lot of times advertising doesn’t make a list at all.

Some Tampa Bay business owners have discovered that their radio advertising doesn’t have to be sacrificed at all when belts need to be tightened. It turns out there’s a deep pool of “free money” that can be dipped into for the singular purpose of advertising. These funds are called cooperative funds, or co-op for short.

Jon Polizzi has owned Electric Today, LLC in Tampa with his dad and brother since 2004. The company provides residential electrical and air conditioning repairs to customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Manatee counties.

In late 2017, Electric Today began advertising on Tampa Bay radio. The results have been spectacular.

"Last year," says Mr. Polizzi, "our business grew 67%.  The only thing we did differently was to add radio advertising into our marketing mix. I attribute most of our growth to what we have done on the radio."

If you were one of the 2,193,604 consumers who tuned-in to a Tampa Bay radio station this week, then you probably know real estate agents Andrew and Angela Duncan.  The "Duncan Duo", as they refer to themselves, have been advertising successfully on local radio since 2009.

"When we first started advertising on Tampa radio, our growth trajectory really took off," says Mr. Duncan.  "We had been selling 100 homes a year. But when we invested in radio advertising, our sales began growing by 50% every year."

"Remember," he continues, "this was during the downturn. Most other real estate agents were struggling.  Angela and I credit our advertising on Tampa Bay radio with 100% of our growth during that time."