Advertising on Philadelphia radio stations is the best way for small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market in the Delaware Valley. Here's why.

Local consumers will spend $93 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 583,416 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

Delaware Valley small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 32% more likely to get married
• 36% more likely to buy a major appliance
• 39% more likely to purchase carpet/flooring
• 45% more likely to buy a new mattress
• 52% more likely to buy a new vehicle
• 56% more likely to move
• 95% more likely to buy new furniture
• 97% more likely to buy a smartphone
• 101% more likely to refinance a mortgage

Every vote counts.  Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level.

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In the Delaware Valley, the most potent way to reach voters is on local radio.

Last week, for instance, 91.7% of all registered voters in the counties of Bucks, PA; Chester, PA; Delaware, PA; Montgomery, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Burlington, NJ; Camden, NJ;  and Gloucester, NJ. tuned-in to a Philadelphia radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, local newspaper, or the major social media site like Facebook and Instagram.

Delaware Valley small business owners have  depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since the first Philadelphia stations began broadcasting in 1922. 

As a matter of fact, the earliest area radio stations were owned by local retailers including Gimbel's, Wanamaker's, Lit Brothers, and Strawbridge & Clothier.

Today, thousands of small business owners still invest in radio advertising. Not only because it's the only local medium that can reach 3,830,493 consumers every week, but, most importantly, because it works.

Meet five of the of local business owners who advertise on Philadelphia radio to capture a significant share of the $93 billion Delaware Valley consumers will spend this year.

Next year, according to Nielsen, 154,702 people in the Delaware Valley will be getting married.  Assuming that those folks are hitching-up with each other, that means there will be 77,351 weddings. 

CostOfWedding.com reports that the average cost for these pending nuptials will be $30,684 including (but not limited to) rings, dresses, tuxedos, flowers, venues, photographers, invitations, limos, and rice (or birdseed for the ecologically inclined).

This means small business owners in the Philadelphia area who cater to the bridal market will be competing for a share of $2.4 billion.

Mark Twain has some script writing advice for Delaware Valley small business owners who depend on radio advertising to market their goods and services.

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning," advises Mr. Twain.

In other words, fill your commercials with lightning, not bugs!

Currently, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there are 171,476 words in the English language. A handful of these words, small business owners can't use in their commercials on Philadelphia radio. The Supreme Court of the United States says so.

Of all the words that can be used in broadcast advertising, however, there is one word that should be shunned: 'get' and all of its nasty derivative forms including 'got' and 'gotten'.  Here's why.

"I wish I had known about radio advertising when we opened up our first store in 1998," says the Dan DiZio the co-founder and CEO of Philly Pretzel Factory. "It would have allowed us to grow even faster than we did."

With permission of his Mom, an 11-year old Mr. DiZio began selling pretzels on the treacherous intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Rhawn Street in Northeast Philadelphia. His inventory was remnants from his neighbor, who owned the Kensington Soft Pretzel bakery.

"On the first day I sold 1000 pretzels", recalls Mr. Dizio. "After splitting the profits with my neighbor, I had $100 left in my pocket. A lot of money for an 11-year-old."

Shortly after that, Mr. DiZio began recruiting 40-50 classmates a day to hawk even more pretzels on street corners all over the neighborhood.  This early taste of franchising kept his pockets very full through middle school, high school, and into college.

This was the origin of what, today, is a $50,000,000 a year business with 175 stores in 17 states. Eighty-five of those locations are within 40 miles of Center City Philadelphia. Mr. DiZio has gone from selling 1000 pretzels per day to 175,000,000 per year.

Two things are remarkable about voting day in 1920.  It was the first time, ever, women could participate in the selection of the U.S. President. It was also the first time live election results were broadcast on the radio. Not to mention, it was also the first radio broadcast, ever.

The voters' choice that night was between Warren G. Harding  and James M. Cox.  Both men had derived their political power as successful newspaper publishers.  It is quite ironic, then, that one of these men would reach the highest office in the land on the same night that the nascent radio broadcasting business began its takedown of the newspaper industry.

Nowhere is this takedown more apparent than locally, where radio has become, by far, the advertising medium with the largest reach among Delaware Valley consumers.

Delaware Valley consumers spend $1.3 billion on fine jewelry every year.  Angelo Breaux, President of Family & Co. Jewelry, invests in advertising on Philadelphia radio stations every week to successfully claim a large share of those dollars.

Mr. Breaux is the third generation of jewelers in his family.  His Grandfather started the business in 1937 from a tiny store-front in South Philadelphia.  In 1971, his parents moved the store to a 1600 square foot store in the Plaza 70 Shopping Center in Marlton, New Jersey.

Fifteen years ago, Mr. Breaux expanded the original Marlton store to 3200 square feet. Today, Family & Co. remains a family-owned, single location business selling brand name jewelry. 

"The customers at my Grandfather's original store in South Philly pretty much came from the neighborhood. Today, with the help of our commercials on Philadelphia radio, we draw customers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware."

Mr. Breaux's decision to invest his marketing dollars in radio is supported by market research. According to Nielsen, Philadelphia radio reaches significantly more fine jewelry buyers than are reached by local TV, newspapers, or audio streaming sites like Pandora & Spotify.

If you were one of the 3,830,493 adults who tuned-in to a Philadelphia radio station last week, it is likely you heard a commercial for Indeed.  That's because, last week, Indeed, the world's largest online job site was also one of radio's biggest advertisers.

There is a good reason Indeed invested so heavily in radio advertising. The site has far more job openings posted than there are job-hunters to fill them. 

This is not unlike the predicament of Delaware Valley small business owners who are also having difficulty finding and hiring qualified candidates. These employee-strapped businesses can learn something from Indeed.

What Indeed has figured out is that there are not enough unemployed people or disgruntled white-collar workers searching for jobs. So, the company is looking to attract what human resource experts call the 'passive job seekers'.

It turns out that advertising on Philadelphia radio is the best way for any business owner to recruit, hire, and retain passive, white-collar job seekers.