Every week, according to new Nielsen data, 3,667,169 adults tune in to a Philadelphia radio station. This is more consumers than use social media, access local cable, watch broadcast TV, stream video channels, listen to streaming audio, read a newspaper, or download a podcast.

Based on per capita estimates from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Philadelphia consumers are expected to spend between $83.2 and $84.8 billion at retail in 2022, a six to eight percent growth over the previous year. Utilizing radio's enormous advertising reach, local business owners can compel shoppers to spend this large pool of cash in their stores and on their websites.

The number of consumers reached is critical to the success of an advertising campaign.

According to a Nielsen study, after the actual content of the commercial message itself, reach is the most potent advertising element that can drive sales. Reach is more important than brand, recency, or even context. Philadelphia radio provides local business owners with the most significant reach among consumers.

Father's Day this year is on Sunday, June 19. Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Delaware Valley shoppers are expected to spend $333.1 million on the dads in their life. This is on par with the record-breaking $334.7 million spent in 2021.

“Despite growing concerns about inflation, consumers plan to spend approximately the same amount as last year in celebration of Father’s Day,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Spending patterns also reflect the sentimental nature of the holiday as consumers are prioritizing unique and meaningful gifts.”

The NRF projects that nearly 60%, of all Father's Day purchases in Philadelphia, will be for special outings, clothing, gift cards, and electronics. Although most category spending will be down slightly from last year, the amount of money spent on special outings such as dinner is expected to increase by over 8%.

Here is how this large pool of Father's Day cash in Philadelphia is expected to be distributed in all retail categories.

Each week according to Nielsen, 3.6 million consumers tune in to a Philadelphia radio station. This is significantly more adults than watch local TV stations, cable, or streaming video. It is more than browse social media. It is more than listen to streaming audio services or podcasts. It is more than read local newspapers.

There are two traits Philadelphia radio listeners have in common. First, they are very loyal to their favorites, tuning-in to, on average, only 2.9 different stations each week.

Second, and of particular importance to Philadelphia small business owners, radio listeners are returning to 'normal' at a faster rate than the general population after more than two years of pandemic.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Nielsen has been measuring consumer sentiment in regard to normal behaviors. In a survey conducted in March of this year, 83% of adults say they are "ready to go and feel life is becoming more normal". This is up dramatically from the same time last year.

There are about 3,500,000 registered passenger vehicles in the Philadelphia area. Some are cars. Some are trucks. Some are Hondas. Some are Fords. Some are Teslas. Some have four doors. Some have two. Some go fast. Some go slow. Some guzzle gas. Some sip. Some are red. Some are blue.

The one thing that almost every car and truck in the Philadelphia area have in common, though, is the AM/FM radio smack-dab in the middle of the dashboard.

The first car radio went on sale in 1930. It was an invention of the Galvin Manufacturing Company. The company named the radio 'Motorola,' and its cost was $130, around $2000 in today's dollars. By 1935, more than three million car radios had been installed.

Today, AM/FM radio is part of every car and truck on Philadelphia area roads. In addition to the radio, many of these vehicles also provide drivers with other audio options, including a CD player, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, podcasts, and easy access to personal MP3 collections.

It is fair, then, for small business owners who depend on Philadelphia radio to advertise their goods and services to ask: with all the audio options on today's dashboards, is anyone listening to local AM/FM radio in the car anymore?

If you're anything like the 3.6 million Delaware Valley consumers who, according to Nielsen, listen to or download a podcast every month, you probably already see the value in podcasting as a relatively new audio medium that entertains, enlightens, motivates, or informs listeners.

But if you're part of the 72% of local adults who are not regular podcast listeners, you're probably wondering why on earth would anyone want to listen to a podcast, let alone create one for their Philadelphia business.

Launching a podcast might seem like a daunting test for small business owners without much technical background or an understanding of how to structure a compelling conversation that will engage prospective customers.

In reality, local small business owners can easily reach new customers with podcasts and complement their traditional advertising in Philadelphia with a longer-form, conversational medium that showcases the company's knowledge in an authoritative manner.

Construction companies in the Delaware Valley will need to recruit 10,827 blue-collar workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2022 to meet the demands of the current building market. These statistics are based on forecasts from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC), an association comprised primarily of U.S. firms that work in industrial and commercial construction sectors.

"The construction industry desperately needs qualified, skilled craft professionals to build America," said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. "The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November and stimulus from COVID-19 relief will pump billions in new spending into our nation's most critical infrastructure, and qualified craft professionals are essential to efficiently modernize roads, bridges, energy production, and other projects across the country. More regulations and less worker freedom make it harder to fill these jobs."

The construction industry's appetite for new hires in the Philadelphia area will continue into 2023, according to ABC. It is expected that during that year,  an additional 9,827 blue-collar workers in addition to the normal pace of hiring.

The current high rate of inflation is tempering how much Delaware Valley business owners can spend on advertising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 230,00 small businesses in the Philadelphia area. There is one thing each of the owners of these companies has in common, whether they own a hardware store in Bucks County, a furniture store in Cherry Hill, or a restaurant in Bryn Mawr. They are all experiencing the negative consequences of inflation.

In a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), inflation now ranks second as the single most important problem companies face. A year ago, inflation was barely an issue.

Inflation has not hampered the enthusiasm to spend among Philadelphia area consumers keeping retail sales hovering above pre-Covid levels. But, inflation is taking a dramatic toll on the amount of revenue business owners can keep.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small business owners see inflation-fueled price increases in almost every cost of operation, including inventory, utilities, rent, and wages.

Because of these rising operational costs, Philadelphia business owners are looking to cut expenses where they can, including advertising expenditures. But, because there is still robust consumer demand for goods and services, these companies need to make sure that the amount they do invest in advertising has the best return possible.

By almost any marketing metric, advertising on Philadelphia radio provides the greatest return-on-investment (ROI) of any medium available to local business owners.

When WGL-AM became Philadelphia's first radio station in 1922, there was no Facebook, no Xfinity, no Sirius/XM, no Netflix, and no podcasts. It would be 19 years before there was even a local TV station.  Consequently, it was pretty easy for radio to become the number one reach medium among local consumers.

Over the past 99 years, Philadelphia business owners have come to depend on the mammoth reach of radio among local shoppers to successfully market the goods and services they sell. Advertising on Philadelphia radio has helped Delaware Valley companies to survive and thrive during world wars, natural disasters, recessions, depressions, and even a pandemic.

Heading into 2022, local consumers have more media choices than ever before. But, despite the overabundance of social media, video streaming, audio streaming, cable, and other technological marvels, Philadelphia radio is still the most used advertising medium.

Every week, according to Nielsen, 4.1 million adult consumers in the Delaware Valley watch something on television. But, of course, the definition of what it means to watch TV has changed since the time when the number of available viewing options could be counted on the fingers of a single hand.

Today, Philadelphia consumers have a gargantuan number of viewing choices. This includes programs from stations like KYW, WPVI, WCAU, WHYY, and WTFX. Or maybe cable and satellite systems like Xfinity, DISH, DirecTV, and Comcast. There's also content delivered over the internet from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.

No longer are Philadelphia consumers tied to the 21-inch Zenith in their living rooms. Instead, TV can be watched on giant LCDs, smartphones, and tablets from any room in the house, in the backseat of their cars, or practically anywhere else.

The best way to think about TV watching in Philadelphia is in terms of three buckets:

1. Over-the-air...including all broadcast channels
2. Cable...including all premium and non-premium programming
3. Internet...including all streaming services. This is also known as OTT or CTV

Here's how many Philadelphia adult viewers fall into each bucket. Remember, viewers are not limited to a single bucket.

In 2020, there were 232,088 new cars and trucks registered in the Philadelphia metro area. This number is based on projections from the National Auto Dealers Associaton (NADA) and the U.S. Census bureau.

In all, says NADA, there are 863 new-car dealerships in Pennsylvania. Despite the pandemic, these dealers, including those in the Philadelphia area, sold $38 billion worth of new vehicles.

Through June of this year, these same dealers have already rung up $23.9 billion in new car sales.

When it comes to buying new vehicles, Philadelphia consumers have a broad range of preferences. Some buyers want Fords while others want Chevrolets, Toyotas, or Teslas.  Some buyers want pick-up trucks, while others want sub-compacts, SUVs, or sports cars. Of course, some want blue vehicles, while others want pearl white, orchard green, or redolent red.

There is one purchase criterion, however, that most Philadelphia car buyers can agree on. They want an AM/FM radio smack-dab, in the middle of their dash.