There are 1.5 million adults in the Delaware Valley who have earned a four-year college or postgraduate degree, according to research from Nielsen. A study from the Federal Reserve indicates that these educated consumers have been least affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic.

"While the labor market disruptions have affected workers in a wide set of industries and occupations, those without a college degree have experienced the most severe impact," say Mary C. Daly, Shelby R. Buckman, and Lily M. Seitelman authors of The Unequal Impact of COVID-19 in the Economic Letter published by the Federal Reserve of San Francisco.

Although the unemployment rate increased among consumers of every education level in late March when the Governor of Pennsylvania lockdown the state to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, the smallest increase was among those with bachelor or postgraduate degrees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seven months later, job recovery among those with college degrees is closer to pre-pandemic levels than consumers with lower levels of educational attainment.

Many small business owners have seen the correlation between advertising and survival during the economic crisis inflicted by the pandemic.  With precious few dollars to invest, it is crucial that every advertisement reaches consumers who have disposable income to buy. Right now, the most likely spenders are customers with college degrees.

By key advertising metrics, the best way to reach consumers with higher education is on Philadelphia radio.

There are more than 3,500,000 car radios in the Philadelphia area. On March 24, though, many of these devices became quarantined along with their owners. That was the day when the Governor of Pennsylvania shut down the state to slow the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Apple Mobility Index, the Governor's public-safety order caused traffic on Philadelphia roadways to plummet to 40% of pre-pandemic levels.

By the beginning of July, however,  the AMI indicates that traffic in Philadelphia began to exceed pre-Covid levels. The surge in mobility is due, in part, to work-from-home, furloughed, and laid-off employees returning to their workplaces.

According to Nielsen, during the week of April 30, only 39% of adults with jobs were working outside-the-home.  During the week of October 1, though, that number had expanded to 61%.

Before COVID-19, most listening to Philadelphia radio happened outside the home. Delaware Valley consumers were tuning-in to their favorite stations from the car on the way to their job. Then, they tuned-in when they arrived at work. They listened again during the commute back home.

Nielsen recently surveyed consumers who worked from home before and during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The results show, as of June, 66% of respondents now work from home full-time as a consequence of the pandemic.

As consumers are compelled to work from their houses and curtail their commutes, the share of at-home listening to Philadelphia radio has grown 35%, according to Nielsen.

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.

You've done the research. You now know that by every measure, radio advertising is the most effective way for your Delaware Valley small business to market its goods and services.

You have learned, for instance, 3,830,493 consumers regularly tune-in to their favorite Philadelphia radio stations.  That's more than 90% of all adults.

You've also learned that, on average, adults spend almost two hours per day listening to Philadelphia radio.

If you dug deep enough, then you know radio advertising delivers, on average, a $10 lift in sales for every $1 invested. This would be a remarkable return-on-investment for any Delaware Valley small business owner.

What you may not have figured out, however, is what is the best time of day to advertise on Philadelphia radio?

Of all the advertising options available to Delaware Valley business owners, streaming audio services like Pandora and Spotify are the least effective.  Here's why.

According to Nielsen, after the content of a commercial is considered, the element of an advertising campaign that drives sales the most is reach. In other words, making sure the most people possible are exposed to the advertiser's message is crucial.

When it comes to achieving reach among consumers, Pandora and Spotify rank dead last.  Advertising on Philadelphia radio stations can reach 266% more consumers than these two streaming-audio platforms combined.

If you don't have time to read this entire article, then I will tell you right now. The best way to advertise in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley is on Philadelphia radio.

A vital function of advertising is to build mental availability, which nudges a consumer toward the purchase of a product or service. It also serves to provide public notice that a product or service exists and is available for purchase.

Consumers in the Delaware Valley area are expected to spend at least $98 billion at retail this year. To claim a greater share of this giant pool of cash requires local business owners of every size to advertise their goods and services. As Professor Jef Richards at Michigan State University points out, “Advertising is totally unnecessary…unless you want to make money."

It's time to set some misguided Delaware Valley small business owners straight.  When we say everybody listens to Philadelphia radio stations, we mean everybody.  Generations X, Y, and Z. Baby boomers, and, yes, the millennial generation.

You know...millennials. Those are the "kids" who came of age at the turn of the millennium (which is, debatably, either 2000 or 2001).  This means 18-34 year olds. 

In the Delaware Valley, 1,245,444 millennials make-up 29.4% of the adult population and will deliver $32.3 billion to local cash registers.

But here's the thing about millennials that many small business owners get wrong: millennials listen to the radio.  Almost all of them. 89.8% of them to be exact.