Local businesses have been marketing their goods and services on Detroit radio since August 20, 1920. That's when the Detroit News, owner of radio station 8MK, (later known as WWJ) began broadcasting. The broadcast originated from the second floor of the newspaper's headquarters on Lafayette Boulevard.

The historic programming that night began with station operator Frank Edwards declaring, "this is 8MK calling." This was followed by the playing of 78 rpm records on a borrowed phonograph. The first selections played were two of the most popular songs of the World War One era,  "Roses of Picardy" and "Annie Laurie".

Who could have guessed that 103 years later, advertising on Detroit radio would still be the best advertising option for all types of retailers and business owners.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Detroit radio reaches 2,804,826 adult consumers. This reach is significantly higher than all other advertising options including local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, according to Nielsen, is the audience metric most responsible for driving the success of an advertising campaign. Only the message itself carries more sway.

Detroit radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 2,804,826 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Detroit TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 3.2 million Detroit area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

The combined weekly reach of Detroit's broadcast television stations has slipped to 73.2% of all adults, according to Nielsen. These stations include WJBK, WDIV, WXYZ, WWJ, and WTVS.  

The combined Detroit TV audience now falls just ahead of cable programming at 72.7% and streaming platforms at 62.3%. To put this into perspective, none of the three video media is a match for Detroit radio which reaches more than 79.4% of local adults every week.

But although the reach of broadcast TV, cable, and streaming are neck-and-neck, the share of time consumers spend with each of these media is dramatically different.

According to Nielsen research, 2.7 million people in the Southeast Michigan area will likely participate in the upcoming election on November 8th. To sway these voters, candidates and political action committees are expected to spend a record amount on advertising.

AdImpact, a company that measures advertising expenditures by political campaigns, says more than $3.6 billion have been spent to reach voters so far in 2022. This puts spending on a course to obliterate the record level of campaign dollars set during the 2020 presidential elections.

Despite crumbling ratings, through August 1st, 58% of all political spending has been dished out to local TV stations, according to AdImpact.

Nielsen reports that since 2017, the reach of broadcast TV stations like WJBK, WDIV, WXYZ, WWJ, and WTVS has decayed by 10%.

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.

Despite an abundance of media options, Detroit radio reaches the most consumers every week. 

According to Nielsen, every week 2.8 million adults tune in to their favorite Detroit stations. This is more than watch local TV stations, cable, or streaming video. It is more than browse social media. It is more than listen to streaming audio services or podcasts. It is more than read local newspapers.

Not all listening to Detroit radio happens on car radios, table-top radios, or boom boxes. Instead, local consumers also use their smartphones, computers, and tablets as a way to connect to their favorite local stations.

Neilsen finds that 23.3% of all consumers who listen to a Detroit radio station over the air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. As a matter of fact, during a typical hour, Nielsen data suggests that 7.7% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Every week, 3.3 million Southeast Michigan consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when a Detroit consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on WJBK, WDIV, WXYZ, WWJ, WTVS, or maybe, what was on a handful of cable channels.  That was then. This is now.

Today, according to Nielsen, each time a TV is turned on in a Detroit living room, the viewer has more than 817,000 options not only from broadcast stations and cable systems, but also from streaming video platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, YouTube, Amazon, Tubi, Crackle, and FreeVee.

Of course, Detroit consumers don't even need to sit down in front of their big-screen LCD, anymore. Most of the 817,000 available programs can also be viewed on their computers, tablets, gaming devices, and smartphones. But as far as viewers are concerned, though, it's all just television.

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?

Right now, at least one of the 163,433 businesses located in the Southeast Michigan area is thinking about using the phrase 'March Madness' as part of upcoming advertising and marketing plans. Why not? It's a great use of alliteration. It's a familiar term. And, it's that time of year.

A furniture store in Troy might think it would be clever to use 'March Madness' in its commercials on Detroit radio to promote a big spring sale. A non-profit in Dearborn feels it would be a good way to describe its charity fun run on social media and online advertising. A sports bar in Southfield believes it would be a no-brainer to use the term in streaming video and audio ads to bring in scores of basketball fans.

It is, indeed,  tempting for a Detroit small business owner to use this term for advertising or marketing purposes. But,  to avoid a costly legal battle, the use of this trademarked phrase should be a non-starter. Here's why.

Every week, 2.1 million Southeast Michigan adults watch video programs delivered via the internet. This content goes by several interchangeable names, including OTT (Over-The-Top Television), CTV (Connected TV), and Streaming Video. For this article, we will refer to this type of content as Streaming TV.

Unlike traditional TV, cable, and satellite where the viewer needs to be in a fixed location, Detroit consumers can access streaming TV anywhere using an internet-connected device. These include SmartTVs, Firesticks, Roku, smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles.

In all, according to Nielsen, 95.6% of Detroit households have one or more devices capable of connecting to streaming TV. Although this medium is still new, streaming TV now rivals legacy media in its ability to reach local consumers.

Every week, Detroit consumers are spending more-and-more time engaged with streaming TV.