Local businesses have been marketing their goods and services on Wilmington, Delaware radio since July 1922. That's when WHAV became the area's first radio station. 

The station broadcast from the home of the owner, Willard Wilson, until 1930. That's when he moved studios to Downtown Wilmington and changed the call letters to WEDL

Who could have guessed that 101 years later, advertising on Wilmington radio would still be the best advertising option for all types of retailers and business owners.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington radio reaches 487,506 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.

There are 84,675 small businesses in the Wilmington, DE, tri-state area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $14.6 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington, Deleware, radio reaches 487,506 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 Wilmington area, there are 299,401 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Wilmington, Delaware area business owners have an abundance of options for marketing their goods and services to local consumers. New research from Nielsen, however, indicates that advertising on Wilmington radio is still the best way to reach local shoppers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington radio reaches 487,506 adults. This is significantly more than are reached by social media, local TV stations and cable systems, newspapers, streaming video and audio, and podcasts.

In addition to listening to their favorite Wilmington radio stations over the air, Nielsen reports that 106,984 adults also listen to local stations online every month.

As a matter of fact, according to a study conducted by Edison Research during the third quarter of 2022, among Adults 25-54, 17% of all time spent listening to local AM/FM stations occurs online. This share of online listening has nearly doubled since 2016.

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.

The current high rate of inflation is tempering how much Tri-state business owners can spend on advertising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 19,142 small businesses in the Wilmington, Delaware area. There is one thing each of the owners of these companies has in common, whether they own a hardware store in New Castle, a furniture store in Pennsville, or a restaurant in Elkton. They are all experiencing the negative consequences of inflation.

In a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), inflation now ranks second as the single most important problem companies face. A year ago, inflation was barely an issue.

Inflation has not hampered the enthusiasm to spend among Wilmington area consumers keeping retail sales hovering above pre-Covid levels. But, inflation is taking a dramatic toll on the amount of revenue business owners can keep.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small business owners see inflation-fueled price increases in almost every cost of operation, including inventory, utilities, rent, and wages.

Because of these rising operational costs, Wilmington business owners are looking to cut expenses where they can, including advertising expenditures. But, because there is still robust consumer demand for goods and services, these companies need to make sure that the amount they do invest in advertising has the best return possible.

By almost any marketing metric, advertising on Wilmington radio provides the greatest return-on-investment (ROI) of any medium available to local business owners.

To ensure success, every Tri-state area business owner needs to advertise.

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

The SBA goes on to say, “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.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington, Delaware radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Wilmington radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.

When WDEL-AM became Wilmington's first radio station in 1922, there was no Facebook, no Xfinity, no Sirius/XM, no Netflix, no podcasts, and no local TV stations.  Consequently, it was pretty easy for radio to become the number one reach medium among local consumers.

Over the past 99 years, Wilmington 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 Wilmington radio has helped Delaware 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, Wilmington radio is still the most used advertising medium.

Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Wilmington, Delaware consumers are on track to spend $10.2-billion with retailers by the end of this year. This would be 13.5% higher than was spent in 2020.

To earn a significant share of these retail dollars, Wilmington area business owners are expected to spend $308.3 million to advertise by year's end, according to Borrell Associates. This company tracks advertising expenditures in local markets across the U.S.

To ensure they are spending their advertising and marketing dollars wisely, many Wilmington business owners research how to best target prospective customers by using local media. An exceptional resource for local business owners to investigate the media habits of localconsumers is on the advice section of AdvertiseInWilmington.com.  

Here are the top five most-read articles on the site in 2021:

In 2020, there were 31,876 new cars and trucks registered in the Wilmington metro area. This number is based on projections from the National Auto Dealers Associaton (NADA) and the U.S. Census bureau.

In all, says NADA, there are 53 new-car dealerships in Delaware. Despite the pandemic, these dealers, including those in the Wilmington area, sold $3 billion worth of new vehicles.

Through June of this year, these same dealers have already rung up $1.6 billion in new car sales.

When it comes to buying new vehicles, Wilmington consumers have a broad range of preferences. Some buyers want Fords while others want Chevrolets, Toyotas, or Teslas.  Some buyers want pick-up trucks, while others want sub-compacts, SUVs, or sports cars. Of course, some want blue vehicles, while others want pearl white, orchard green, or redolent red.

There is one purchase criterion, however, that most Wilmington car buyers can agree on. They want an AM/FM radio smack-dab, in the middle of their dash.