Local business owners have depended on Boston radio to market their goods and services since WBZ, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1921. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 205,625 small business owners to create and maintain customers.
Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Boston radio in 2022.
1. Advertising on Boston radio reaches more consumers than all Other media options
Every week, according to Nielsen, 3.4 million adults tune-in to a Boston Radio station. This is more than watch local TV and cable. More than use social media. More than stream video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. More than listen to online audio options like Spotify, Pandora, and podcasts. And more than read local newspapers.
According to "Audio Today 2022: How America Listens", radio reaches 93% of all adults every month, a significantly higher percentage than all other electronic media.
2. Consumers are very loyal to their favorite Boston radio stations
During a seven-day period, Boston radio listeners tune-in to, on average, 2.75 local stations. Here are the top five radio formats among local adults ranked by reach.
- News/Talk/Information: 32.5% (example-WBZ-AM, News Radio 1030)
- Adult Contemporary: 30.7% (example-WMJZX-FM, Magic 106.7)
- Classic Hits: 23.6% (example-WROR, 105.7 80s & More)
- Classic Rock: 23.4% (example-WZLX, 100.7)
- All Sports: 22.6% (example, WBZ-FM-98.5 The Sports Hub)
3. Radio Listeners Stay Tuned During Commercial Breaks
A study published in the Journal of Advertising Research indicates that only 3% of listeners avoid commercials. In other words, 97% of consumers stay glued to the station they are listening to during a commercial break.
"This first independent academic study of radio-advertising avoidance based on portable people-meter data," say the study's authors, "has contributed a new (low) benchmark for radio mechanical advertising avoidance."
"These findings will help advertisers to abandon unfounded beliefs and may encourage more of them to consider using radio advertising. On the basis of these results, radio advertisers now are free to focus on those times when the greatest number of potential customers are reached."
4. Many local consumers choose to listen to their favorite Boston radio stations online
Not all listening to Boston 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 32% of all consumers who listen to a Boston 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 10.5% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.
Those consumers who listen online are slightly more likely to have higher household incomes, have full-time jobs, and be under 35 years old.
5. Listening to Boston radio dominates in-car listening
Nearly two-thirds of all Boston radio happens while driving.
Despite all the ad-supported audio options available while in the car, well over 80% of the listening time is spent with AM/FM radio, regardless of the driver's age.
The five metrics presented in this article indicate that advertising on Boston radio is, in fact, still the best marketing option for local business owners.
More Advertising Advice For Boston Business Owners
- Boston Radio Is The #1 Advertising-Supported Medium
- Advertise In Boston: Online Listening Boosts Audience For AM/FM
- Smart Speaker Usage in Boston: A Conversation With Alexa
- Advertising On Boston TV: Where Have The Viewers Gone?
- Advertising On Boston Radio Still #1 Way to Reach Consumers
