Local business owners have been advertising on Detroit radio since WWJ first signed-on in 1920.  But, back then, there were only two options for reaching a mass audience: newspapers and radio.

Today, though, advertisers have an over-abundance of marketing options both over-the-air and online. But every week, according to Nielsen, 2.8 million adults listen to a Detroit radio station, giving the 101-year-old medium, by far, the biggest reach amongst local consumers.

A new report released last week by Nielsen underscores AM/FM radio's durable reach among all media.

There are about 2,900,000 registered passenger vehicles in the Detroit area. Some are cars. Some are trucks. Some are Hondas. Some are Fords. Some are Teslas. Some have four doors. Some have two. Some go fast. Some go slow. Some guzzle gas. Some sip. Some are red. Some are blue.

The one thing that almost every car and truck in the Detroit area have in common, though, is the AM/FM radio smack-dab in the middle of the dashboard.

The first car radio went on sale in 1930. It was an invention of the Galvin Manufacturing Company. The company named the radio 'Motorola,' and its cost was $130, around $2000 in today's dollars. By 1935, more than three million car radios had been installed.

Today, AM/FM radio is part of every car and truck on Detroit area roads. In addition to the radio, many of these vehicles also provide drivers with other audio options, including a CD player, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, podcasts, and easy access to personal MP3 collections.

It is fair, then, for small business owners who depend on Detroit radio to advertise their goods and services to ask: with all the audio options on today's dashboards, is anyone listening to local AM/FM radio in the car anymore?

When WWJ-AM became Detroit's first radio station in 1921, there was no Facebook, no Xfinity, no Sirius/XM, no Netflix, and no podcasts. It would be 26 years before there was even a local TV station.  Consequently, it was pretty easy for radio to become the number one reach medium among local consumers.

Over the past 100 years, Detroit business owners have come to depend on the mammoth reach of radio among local shoppers to successfully market the goods and services they sell. Advertising on Detroit radio has helped Southeast Michigan companies to survive and thrive during world wars, natural disasters, recessions, depressions, and even a pandemic.

Heading into 2022, local consumers have more media choices than ever before. But, despite the overabundance of social media, video streaming, audio streaming, cable, and other technological marvels, Detroit radio is still the most used advertising medium.

Detroit consumers are expected to spend nearly 7% more at retail in 2021 than in 2020. This forecast is based on recently released data from the National Retail Federation.

To lay claim to a significant share of growing consumer spending, Southeast Michigan retailers will need to advertise.

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

“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."

Scientifically speaking, the fastest way a marketing message can reach the areas of a Detroit consumer's brain responsible for purchase decisions is through the ear.  That's why audio advertising can be far more potent than visual messaging.

During July, 1.6 million adult listeners spent 1.75 hours per day listening to their favorite Detroit radio stations, according to Nielsen. Despite an avalanche of pandemic induced disruptions, the daily time spent with radio is down by only by one-quarter-hour from a year ago.

Some advertising experts had predicted that as consumers spent more time at home because of COVID-19 concerns, the hours devoted to radio listening would dramatically decrease. That, however, was not the case.

In July of 2019, according to Nielsen, 26.3% of radio listening occurred at home. During July of this year, in-home listening jumped to 34.5%. Despite the reduction in out-of-home activities, though, consumers still spent nearly the same amount of time listening to Detroit radio.

Every week, 2,985,400 adult consumers tune-in to a Detroit radio station. That is way more than are reached by other media, including local television, newspaper, social media, or streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.

A more significant number for thousands of Southeast Michigan small business owners who advertise on Detroit radio is how many of these listeners stick around when their commercials come on.

A 2011 Nielsen study discovered that, on average, 93% of listeners stayed with the radio station they are tuned-to when the commercials come on. That number amazed many advertisers at the time who believed that audiences were far more likely to defect when the music stopped.

A lot has changed since 2011. Metro Detroit consumers have many more media options and can instantly connect to each  with a button-push, mouse-click, screen-tap, or voice command. With all of these choices, do radio audiences still stay tuned during commercial breaks?

How quickly the millennials have grown up.

According to Nielsen, 61% of all Detroit area parents with children under the age of 18 are millennials.  

From the time their kids are born until they reach they are 17, these young parents will spend, on average, $233,000 per child. This does not include the cost of college.

Currently, there are 993,688 children under the age of 18 living in Metro Detroit. That makes the local millennial-parenting economy worth upwards of $231 billion. These dollars are being spent, among other things, on diapers, daycare, transportation, toys, education, electronics, clothing, and health care.

For Southeast Michigan small business owners interested in competing for a substantial portion of this multi-billion dollar pool of parental cash, they must advertise to millennial moms and dads. By almost any measurement, advertising on Detroit radio is the best way to reach this audience.

Retailers in Southeast Michigan rang-up $78,314,821,000 in retail sales last year, according to Nielsen. But wait. It's about to get better.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that in 2020, sales will increase by as much as 4.1%. This will create another $3.2 billion for local small business owners.  

“The economy is growing at a more modest pace, but the underlying economic fundamentals remain in place and are positive,” stated NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Consumers remain upbeat and have the confidence to spend, and the steady wage growth that has come with the strong job market is fueling their spending. The state of the consumer is very healthy.

To claim a fair share of this enlarged pool of spending will require Metro Detroit small business owners to advertise.

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

Advertising is critical to the success of every Southeast Michigan small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Detroit radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

The type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services a company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

It's time to set some misguided Southeast Michigan small business owners straight: When we say everybody listens to Detroit radio stations, we mean everybody.  Generations X, Y, and Z. Also, 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 Metro Detroit, 970,000 millennials make-up 29% of the adult population and will deliver $24.4 billion to local cash registers.

But here's the thing about millennials that many Michigan small business owners get wrong: millennials listen to the radio.  Almost all of them. 91.6% of them, to be exact.