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Drivers Hit The Road Taking Detroit Radio Along For The Ride

Jul 21, 2020 9:58:43 AM / by Larry Julius

Advertise On Detroit Radio In-CarCar radios came to Detroit in June of 1930. For just $120, about $1200 in present dollars, local drivers could install these early mobile devices into their Fords, Studebakers, Packards, and DeSotos, 

The first car radios were built by the Galvin Manufacturing Company of Chicago. They named their invention, and eventually their company, Motorola.

Today, more than 2.9 million car radios fill ears of area drivers with music, news, sports, and information. As a result, local radio reaches more consumers than all other media.

In a typical pre-COVID-19 week, according to Nielsen, 89% of adult consumers would tune-in to a Detroit radio station. This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, cable, social media, newspaper, or streaming media sites Pandora and Spotify.Advertising In Detroit Media Reach 2020

On March 23, however, the Governor of Michigan shut down the state to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Overnight, traffic on Metro Detroit area roads plummeted to 50% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Apple Mobility index.

Advertising On Detroit Radio In-Car Listening

Although the shutdown kept cars off the road for several weeks, Nielsen reports that radio listening did not go away. It just shifted indoors. As mobility has begun to exceed pre-pandemic levels, though, out-of-home listening is surging back to typical levels.

Advertising On Detroit Radio Listening Location

In 1930, Motorolas were the only option for in-car entertainment. Today, though, the dashboards of Southeast Michigan drivers are dense with choices. Local radio, according to a 2020 study by Edison Research, remains, by far, the most used of these options.

Advertising On Detroit Radio In-Car Listening

Radio's return to the roads is great news for Metro Detroit small business owners who depend on the medium for advertising its goods and services. Advertise In Detroit: Success Guide

According to an article published by WARC, a company that collaborates with more than 50 respected marketing organizations, including the Advertising Research Foundation and the Association of National Advertisers, reaching consumers in car has a powerful effect on buying behavior.

"Radio ads heard in the car on the way to the store have a significant effect on purchasing intentions according to new research on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) advertising," says WARC.

The study, conducted by Touchpoint indicate that these radio commercials heard in the car increased purchased intent among loyal customers by 38%. 

Purchase intent among non-loyal brand-customers rose 39%  among those exposed to in-car radio commercials. 

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Topics: small business, small business owner, radio advertising, best way to advertise, advertise on radio, in-car audio, vehicle traffic, small business marketing, small business advertising, radio commercials

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