Wilmington, Delaware area small business owners have an abundance of options for advertising their goods and services. Choices include local TV, local cable, social media, streaming video, streaming audio, podcasts, and newspapers.

The best way to advertise in Wilmington, however, is local radio.

Every week, according to Neilsen, 501,249 adults tune-in to their favorite Wilmington radio stations. This is significantly more than any other advertising medium.

In addition to the adults who listen to Wilmington radio over-the-air, an incremental 9,106 adults connect to their favorite stations online as well using their phones, computers, and tablets. In all, according to Nielsen, 24.9% of all Wilmington radio listeners listen both online and offline.

According to Nielsen research, 464,000 people in the Wilmington, Delaware 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 WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, and WHYY, has decayed by 10%.

Local consumers may have a gloomy feeling about economic conditions, but their spending has not tapered. This is good news for the 581,000 small business owners in the Wilmington, Delaware area.

According to the latest University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers, sentiment about current economic conditions remains near the all-time low. Concerns about volatile gas prices, rampant inflation, and a looming recession have driven the survey's index down 37% versus a year ago.

Despite these dim consumer sentiments, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's July report shows that real personal consumption expenditures are pacing well above pre-Covid levels. According to Morgan Stanley research, consumers' ability to spend is being driven, in part, by a massive amount of excess savings accumulated over the course of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, based on per capita spending data from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Wilmington consumers were forecast to spend nearly $11 billion at retail this year. The current level of spending suggests that shoppers are on track to hit that number.

Of course, for local business owners to successfully compete for a share of this record spending requires marketing. By most key marketing metrics, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington radio. This is especially true among business owners who must limit the number of marketing channels that can be used because of economic restraints.

Of all media, advertising on the radio provides the greatest return on investment.

Local business owners have been advertising on Wilmington, Deleware radio since WDEL first signed-on in 1922.  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, 501,249 adults listen to a Wilmington 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.

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

According to Nielsen, every week 501,249 adults tune in to their favorite Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 24.9% of all consumers who listen to a Wilmington 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 11.3% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Me: Alexa, how many consumers In Wilmington, Delaware have access to a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to a recent Nielsen study, 198,215 Wilmington adults own a smart speaker. This is 34.4% of the local population.*

Me: Alexa, what exactly is a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to Wikipedia, A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and hands-free activation with the help of one "hot word" (or several "hot words"). Some smart speakers can also act as a smart device that utilizes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other protocol standards to extend usage beyond audio playback, such as to control home automation devices. This can include, but is not limited to, features such as compatibility across a number of services and platforms, peer-to-peer connection through mesh networking, virtual assistants, and others. Each can have its own designated interface and features in-house, usually launched or controlled via application or home automation software. Some smart speakers also include a screen to show the user a visual response.

Me: Alexa, what brand of smart speakers are Wilmington consumers likely to own?

During the past seven days. according to Nielsen, only 69.5% of local consumers tuned in to Wilmington, Delaware area television stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, and WHYY.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Wilmington 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, according to new Nielsen data, 501,249 adults tune in to a Wilmington, Delaware area radio station. This is more consumers than use social media, access local cable, watch broadcast TV, stream video channels, listen to streaming audio, read a newspaper, or download a podcast.

Based on per capita estimates from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Wilmington consumers are expected to spend between $11.1 and $11.3 billion at retail in 2022, a six to eight percent growth over the previous year. Utilizing radio's enormous advertising reach, local business owners can compel shoppers to spend this large pool of cash in their stores and on their websites.

The number of consumers reached is critical to the success of an advertising campaign.

According to a Nielsen study, after the actual content of the commercial message itself, reach is the most potent advertising element that can drive sales. Reach is more important than brand, recency, or even context. Wilmington radio provides local business owners with the most significant reach among consumers.

Father's Day this year is on Sunday, June 19. Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Wilmington, Delaware area shoppers are expected to spend $45.1 million on the dads in their life. This is on par with the record-breaking $45.2 million spent in 2021.

“Despite growing concerns about inflation, consumers plan to spend approximately the same amount as last year in celebration of Father’s Day,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Spending patterns also reflect the sentimental nature of the holiday as consumers are prioritizing unique and meaningful gifts.”

The NRF projects that nearly 60%, of all Father's Day purchases in Wilmington, will be for special outings, clothing, gift cards, and electronics. Although most category spending will be down slightly from last year, the amount of money spent on special outings such as dinner is expected to increase by over 8%.

Here is how this large pool of Father's Day cash in Wilmington is expected to be distributed in all retail categories.

Every week, 550,788 Wilmington, Delaware area consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when a Wilmington consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on Philadelphia stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, WHYY, 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 Wilmington 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, Wilmington 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.