Local businesses have been marketing their goods and services on Philadelphia radio since February 8, 1922. That's when The Bureau of Navigation, Radio Services Division, of the United States Department of Commerce granted a license to station WGL. This station was the 42nd to be licensed in the country.

Who could have guessed that 101 years later, advertising on Philadelphia radio would still be the best advertising option for all types of retailers and business owners.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Philadelphia radio reaches 3,740,743 adult consumers. This reach is significantly higher than all other advertising options including local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, according to Nielsen, is the audience metric most responsible for driving the success of an advertising campaign. Only the message itself carries more sway.

Delaware Valley business owners have depended on Philadelphia radio to market their goods and services since WGL, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1922. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 230,328 small business owners to create and maintain customers.

Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Philadelphia radio in 2022.

To ensure success, every Delaware Valley business owner needs to advertise.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the US Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”

The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Philadelphia radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Philadelphia radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.

Since 1922 when WGL-AM signed on, Delaware Valley small business owners have been advertising on Philadelphia radio to market the goods and services they sell.

Lately, some of these advertisers are voicing concerns, though, that the accelerating use of smart speakers could erode the effectiveness of commercials on local stations. Current research, however, reveals that these devices actually extend the reach of the medium and its ad content.

More than 1.3 million consumers in Philadelphia have a smart speaker in their homes, according to Nielsen. This is 29.9% of the local adult population.

Smart speakers are internet-enabled devices controlled by spoken commands and capable of streaming audio content, relaying information, and communicating with other devices. 

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data, Amazon Echo (aka Alexa) accounts for 69% of all smart speakers in use. Google's smart speaker makes up another 20% of the market. The remaining 11% of the market comprises Apple Home (aka Siri), Sonos, and Bose.

Philadelphia consumers can use their smart speakers to accomplish a diverse range of tasks, including accessing news, weather, and sports information; turning on lights in the house; shopping; and food delivery.

The most common use of a smart speaker, though, is streaming audio, including Philadelphia radio stations, according to eMarketer. Edison Research's Share of Ear Study indicates that consumers devote 13% of their total time using a smart speaker listening to AM/FM radio stations. This is second only to the time spent listening to Amazon Music at 19%.

Every week, according to Nielsen, 88% of adult consumers tune in to a Philadelphia radio station. This is significantly more people than watch broadcast TV, local cable, or video streaming services. It's more than use social media sites like Facebook or Instagram.  And, it's more than read local newspapers.

Philadelphia radio is also the medium with the greatest reach among millennials, a generation that not only has embraced an abundance of online media options but also accounts for nearly a third of all local consumer spending.

This reach advantage is a crucial reason why local small business owners depend on Philadelphia radio to market their goods and services.

A study released this week by Edison Research and NPR discovered that their six distinct types of radio listeners. The study also examines how each group of listeners engages with both programming and advertising.  These distinctions are important for Philadelphia small business owners to understand.

The six listener categories as described in the study are:

In 1922, when WGL-AM became the first radio station in Philadelphia, many considered the medium a fad.  Even in 1937, a hit song written by George Gershwin, Our Love Is Here To Stay, proclaimed radio to be a "passing fancy and in time may go".

Philadelphia radio, however, has survived the advent of talking-movies, television, eight tracks, and cassettes in stereo.  More recently, radio has withstood a tsunami of digital options including, YouTube, SiriusXM, Pandora, and Spotify.

As the Coronavirus pandemic rolls over into a second year, Philadelphia radio has hung tough and not ceded its ground despite listener's shifting lifestyles.  This is crucial news for small business owners who depend on local stations to market their goods and services.

Each week, according to Nielsen, more than 3.6 million adult consumers tune-in to a Philadelphia radio station. This is significantly more than watch local TV or cable. More than stream video channels like Netflix or Hulu. More than read local newspapers. More than use Facebook or Instagram. More than listen to online audio services like Pandora and Spotify.

But almost everyone knows (including many who advertise on Philadelphia radio) that consumers only listen to local radio stations during the day. Right? Wrong!

According to Nielsen, 45% of local consumers listen to Philadelphia radio stations each week between 7:00pm and 12:00am. This is a larger audience than Pandora, Spotify, and Instagram combined reach during an entire week.

For Philadelphia small business owners, radio's immense nighttime audience offers a unique value proposition.

Since 1922, advertising on Philadelphia radio has helped small business owners survive and thrive during times of peril. This includes world wars, natural disasters, depressions, and recessions.

Even during a pandemic, by almost every key marketing metric, radio advertising remains the best way for a Delaware Valley business to market its goods and services.

To prove the point, here are five statistics that vividly demonstrate the value of advertising on Philadelphia radio.

There are 38 radio stations serving listeners in the Delaware Valley. Each provides a unique format of news, sports, music, entertainment, and inspiration. Some stations broadcast in English. Others serve Spanish speakers. Some stations cater to millennials. Others appeal to Baby Boomers.  No doubt, there is a local radio station that fulfills the preferences of every listener.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 3.6 million adults tune-in to their favorite Philadelphia radio stations. This is more people than watch local TV, cable, or streaming channels. This is more than use Facebook and Instagram. This is more than read newspapers or connect to Pandora and Spotify. 

Despite the abundance of Philadelphia radio stations to choose between, Nielsen reports that, on average, adult consumers only listen to 2.8 each week.  So, which stations do local consumers choose?

Radio came to Philadelphia on February 8, 1922, when The Bureau of Navigation, Radio Services Division, of the United States Department of Commerce granted a license to station WGL. This station was the 42nd to be licensed in the county. 

Little is known about WGL except it was owned by Thomas Howlett who broadcast from home at 2303 North Broad Street near Temple University.

From that day, many predicted radio's success would succumb to advances from new technologies. In 1927, the challenge came from talking movies. In the 1940s, the predators were 13-inch TV sets. In the 1970s, it was 8-track and cassette tapes. In the past 20 years, there was a multi-flank attack from iPods, Zunes, YouTube, Sirius, XM, Pandora, Spotify,

So far, all of these challengers have failed. Not even a pandemic has been able to remove radio as a vital force in the life of Delaware Valley consumers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, more adults tune-in to Philadelphia radio than watch TV or cable. Use social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Read newspapers. Or, stream music from Pandora or Spotify.