Borrell Survey Says Younger Marketers Turning Up Radio Budgets.

Newly released results from Borrell Associates’ spring survey of local advertising buyers are revealing a surprising view of radio from young marketers — and may also say as much about radio overall as the revenue potential.

The Borrell data shows that 13% of local ad buyers under the age of 35 say they plan to steer more dollars into radio this year. That compares to ad buyers between 35 and 44 years old, among which 11% say they are looking to increase radio spending. And buyers 45 and older are the least likely to be planning radio budget increases, with just 7% of marketers in that age bracket expecting larger radio budgets. In other words, the younger the buyer — the more likely they are to want to spend more on radio advertising.

“You’d think younger market people might be more inclined to favor nothing but social media, and while they do favor social media, they may be more interested than their older counterparts in things like broadcast, TV, radio, cable and direct mail,” says Center For Sales Strategy CEO Matt Sunshine. In a vlog post as part of Borrell’s weekly summertime data series, he says that the Borrell survey shows younger buyers also say they are less interested in boosting spending on CTV.

“It could be their world has been almost solely focused on digital media and that they're now interested in greater marketing diversity,” Sunshine suggests. For salespeople that are pitching a younger buyer, he says the survey results could be a great conversation starter and they are trying to convince them to buy them.

It is not just AM/FM radio that younger buyers are interested in spending more on. Borrell’s survey data also shows that these up-and-coming marketing pros also embrace the idea of spending more on broadcast television, cable television, and direct mail — although none has the level of interest as radio does. Yet this digitally emersed demographic isn’t shying away from online advertising either. Among those surveyed by Borrell, four in ten said they expected to spend more on social media this year, and roughly one in four said they expect to spend more on search engine marketing and website advertising.

The age of the buyer isn’t the only factor when it comes to radio. In results released earlier, Borrell said that it found younger businesses were also more radio-friendly. The data shows businesses established since 2020 are nearly twice as likely as those established prior to 2020 to increase spend on AM/FM radio this year. Borrell has suggested that what may be driving that is a sense among younger businesses that radio is a “differentiator” in their marketing strategy as they take on more established players in their market.

Borrell’s spring local ad buyer’s survey led the firm to forecast a smaller year-over-year decline for radio, based not just on what advertisers were telling the firm, but also what it says have been smarter sales tactics and stronger digital integration by stations. The July forecast update projected local ad revenue now projected to fall at a smaller 3.4% pace in 2025.