Nobody likes highway traffic, but the Southern California Broadcast Association says radio can use that daily headache to its advantage in pitching to advertisers.
Its “Quarterly Market Guidance Report” for Q4 is an advocacy piece aimed at SCBA members as well as clients, ad agencies and media buying services that also gives a flavor of the market to those beyond the SoCal area.
The association notes that Los Angeles has the second highest rate of traffic congestion in the country. It cites the region’s bursting population and 16th world ranked gross domestic product as major selling points to bring advertisers in. The report emphasizes the increasing volume of traffic in the region, thanks to the growth in employment rate, which gives listeners more time to listen to radio and to ads.
The report stresses that L.A. has a population of 10.3 million people, more than 43 entire states, and by itself would be the 21st largest economy in the world. The report claims “the economic powerhouse that is Southern California is fertile ground for radio advertisers looking to grow revenue, build their brands and drive market share.”
The document also has a useful list of recent national data about the overall reach and effectiveness of broadcast radio. It identifies strong segments and trends worth watching; it also reiterates concerns that SCBA has sounded before about what it calls misleading gross impressions for digital platforms.
Read the SCBA report (PDF).
