There were a lot of 'firsts' in Southeast Michigan on voting day of 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 day of 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 Detroit radio has become, by far, the advertising medium with the largest reach among local consumers.
Last week, for instance, 2,985,400 adult consumers tuned to their favorite Detroit radio stations. This significantly eclipses all other local media, including newspaper and television.
Every year since 1970, AM/FM radio's reach has remained stable among adult consumers. During that same period, though, newspaper readership has plummeted.
Look at the combined circulation of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, for example. Since the first quarter of 2018, the circulation of the newspapers' daily editions have declined by 28.2%. The Sunday papers dropped by 26% during the same period.
Although local newspaper's remaining appeal is among older readers, Detroit radio is now the primary medium of choice among every demographic. This includes Generation X, Y, & Z. Millennials. Boomers. Everybody.
The most important metric, though, for small business owners to consider is not the sheer size of an audience, but the quality of the audience. In the socio-economic categories which most advertisers covet, local radio dominates over Detroit newspapers.
For small business owners who advertise on radio, there is little need to also put ads in the newspaper. Each week, according to Nielsen, 92.1% of local consumers who read a Detroit newspaper are also reached by local radio stations while only 47% of the radio audience can be reached in print.
By any measurement, then, advertising on Detroit radio is superior to newspaper for helping Southeast Michigan small business owners claim a share of the $78.3 billion local consumers will spend this year.
More Advice For Detroit Small Business Owners
- Metro Detroit Retail Boom: How Your Small Business Can Benefit
- Employment Advertising: Find 94% Of Qualified Candidates In Detroit
- Political Advertising In Detroit: How To Reach Likely Voters
- Advertise In Detroit: Options For Small Business Owners
- Small Business Owners Can Advertise For Free on Detroit Radio
- What Is The Best Way To Advertise In Detroit?
- Do Millennials Listen To Detroit Radio?
- Advertising In Detroit: Reach Mother's Day Shoppers
- Advertising On Detroit Television vs. Local Radio
