There are 158,041  small businesses in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $88.4 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Detroit small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"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, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Detroit may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

According to Nielsen, 2,804,826 adults tune in to their favorite Detroit radio stations every week. This is significantly more consumers than are reached by all other advertising-supported media, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and local newspapers.

Detroit radio's unchallenged reach is why many local business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $88.4 billion dollars consumers are expected to spend at retail this year.

Other local small business owners, however, may be surprised to learn that by most marketing metrics, radio remains the best way to advertise in Detroit.

Here are four more facts about AM/FM radio that may surprise many local marketers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Detroit radio reaches 2,804,826 adults. This is more consumers than use any other medium, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, though, is only one component used to calculate ratings.  The other metric that contributes to the rating formula is the time spent using each medium. So, although for the past 10 years, AM/FM radio's reach has been significantly higher than the reach of local TV, consumers spent considerably more time watching TV. As a result of the math, TV has enjoyed higher ratings than radio.

For the first time, however, AM/FM radio ratings have exceeded local TV ratings by three percent among the key advertising demographic of 18-49-year-olds, according to Nielsen's Total Audience Data for the third quarter of 2023.

In the Detroit area, there are 1,741,591 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

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%.

During the past seven days. according to Nielsen, only 74.7% of local consumers tuned in to Detroit television stations like WJBK, WDIV, WXYZ, WWJ, and WTVS.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Detroit radio. Furthermore, streaming video services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Disney+ are quickly reaching parity with over-the-air options.

The erosion of local TV station audiences is stunning when comparing prime-time ratings from the past.  In 1980, the highest-ranked TV show was Cheers with a 21.3 rating. The 30th-ranked show was The Wonder Years with a 14.2 rating.

Twenty years later, Survivor was the number one show with a 17.4 rating and Family Law was the 30th ranked show with an 8.8 rating.

Finally, in 2019, Sunday Night Football was the number one ranked show with a 10.9 rating. Survivor tied with Dancing With The Stars in 30th place with a 5.5 rating.

It is stunning to think that the number one TV show in 2019 had a 24% lower rating than the 30th-ranked show in 1980.

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.

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.

No matter which Detroit television station or cable channel adults tune to in 2022, they can expect to be assaulted by a deluge of political advertising. Often entire commercial breaks are stuffed with back-to-back pleas and promises to secure viewers' votes.

But is advertising on WJBK, WDIV, WXYZ, WWJ, and WTVS the most effective way to reach likely voters in the Detroit area? Or is advertising on cable channels provided by Xfinity, AT&T, DirecTV, and Spectrum the way to go?

The answer is neither. According to research from Nielsen, the best way to reach local adults who are most likely to vote is by advertising on Detroit radio.

Every week, 2.1 million likely voters will listen to Detroit radio stations. This is significantly more than watch local TV, cable, and streaming video. More that use social media and streaming audio. More than will read newspapers.