When a Delaware Valley small business owner buys a 60-second commercial on a Philadelphia radio station, she is limited to about 160 words to persuade listeners to become customers.  To be successful, then, each word needs to be carefully selected to fulfill the advertiser's marketing objective. 

A telephone number comprises seven words. Ten when the area code is included.  If the number is repeated three times during the commercial, then it will consume 21-30 words or up to 18% of the total allotment.

So, should a Philadelphia area business owner sacrifice a significant portion of a radio commercial to insert a phone number? Except for certain circumstances, described below, the answer is no. 

Here are the facts.