Local Advertisers Open To More Spending, Borrell Survey Finds.

The number of local advertisers that consider radio advertising either “very effective” or “extremely effective” has grown by a third in recent years according to the latest Borrell Associates survey. But getting them to spend more may be a matter of showing local business owners what else radio has to offer on its media menu.

Borrell’s spring survey of small and medium sized businesses found that about one in ten (8%) planned to increase their budgets for AM/FM radio or start buying the medium, while most were holding the line. A similar number said the same about digital audio advertising.

During both Borrell’s fall 2024 and spring 2025 survey surveys, businesses established since 2020 are nearly twice as likely as those established prior to 2020 to increase spend on AM/FM radio this year. The firm has said that there is a sense among these younger businesses that radio is a “differentiator” in their marketing strategy.

Yet the biggest focus on spending more was on off-air opportunities. Borrell says one in four local businesses expect to increase their social media ad budgets. And one in five said they were increasing spending on search engine marketing.

“The net is that more than 56% of local advertisers say their budget is in flux — and in a good way — saying they want to spend more money on advertising or on something,” says Center For Sales Strategy CEO Matt Sunshine. In a vlog post for Borrell, he says for salespeople looking to tap in to that growth opportunity they should look at what they are offering and consider what businesses say they want.

“There’s a good chance one of your clients is looking to buy or even spend more,” Sunshine says. “The top two search and social media hold the biggest opportunity, and could be a really good conversation starter.”

Local businesses may also be primed to spend more. The survey finds that nearly half (45%) conclude that they’re putting too little into advertising based on a comparison to what their competitors are spending. In a related number, 19% say they think they are losing business to competitors that advertise more. Nearly four in ten (38%) say they aren’t getting enough leads or business growth. And 10% say they have failed to gain traction from new product and service launches without the required level of marketing spending.

Borrell executives said when the survey was released that the results also show that radio still matters in media plans, even if it isn’t one of the trendier choices named most effective, or most likely to attract greater interest or increased spending. The local ad buyer survey puts AM/FM radio among the top 10 ad formats that respondents consider “very” or “extremely” effective, named by 34% of the direct ad buyers surveyed by Borrell this spring.