Advertising on Las Vegas radio stations is the best way for local small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market.  Here's why.

Las Vegas consumers will spend $39 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 371,000 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

Las Vegas small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 48% more likely to take a family vacation
• 25% more likely to purchase a car or truck
• 80% more likely to buy furniture
• 86% more likely to purchase a major appliance
• 17% more likely to buy a mattress
• 147% more likely to buy a new house/condo
• 165% more likely to purchase a boat
• 25%% more likely to buy carpeting/floor coverings
• 58% more likely to move
• 39% more likely to look for a new job

Thousands of Las Vegas small business owners depend on radio advertising to claim their share of the $39.7 billion local consumers will spend this year. Cha-ching.

These advertisers have, typically, 30 or 60 seconds to convince the 1,502,898 listeners who tune-in to Las Vegas radio stations each week to become customers. So, it is essential to know how to use that time effectively.

Gathering a sample of 6003 respondents, Westwood One in partnership with audio testing experts Veritonic studied how different elements of award-winning radio commercials affect a listener's intent to buy the products or services advertised. 

Here are the results of the study that Las Vegas business owners could find useful.

Professional advice is always welcome. Especially when you are a Las Vegas business owner investing your own money trying to capture a larger share of the $39-billion local consumers will spend this year.

Thousands of business owners depend on Las Vegas radio stations to market their goods and services.  What they say in their commercials and how they say it are the most critical factors for turning listeners into customers.  This is referred to by the professionals as the "creative."

A study by Nielsen indicates that the creative elements of a commercial are responsible for 47% of an advertiser's sales result. 

Creative, it turns out, has a more significant effect on sales for Las Vegas small business owners than does reach, targeting, or branding elements. 

Producing and judging effective creative, though, can be a challenge for a Las Vegas business owner. So, here is some advice from an award-winning, advertising professional.

There are two reasons why advertising on Las Vegas radio stations is more effective than advertising on TV.

The first reason is reach.  In a study conducted by Nielsen, the number of consumers who are exposed to a commercial contributes profoundly to the number of sales it will create.  This is discussed in depth in the free eBook, "Seven Steps For Advertising Successfully In Las Vegas."

Among all media available to local business owners, Las Vegas radio offers the biggest reach.

The second reason why radio advertising is so powerful has been revealed in a new study Mindshare, an advertising agency that buys media for some of the most successful companies in the world including General Mills, Nestlé, Domino's, IBM, Rolex, and John Deere.

According to AdWeek, the Mindshare study used brain activity detected from electroencephalograms (EEGS) and galvanic skin response technology (which measures changes in sweat gland activity) to get a deeper sense of how advertising resonates with people.The Mindshare study indicates that when a brand tells a story using audio media, it elicits a 21% higher emotional intensity than the same story told using visual media.

The Greek philosopher Plato was born 2188 years before there were radio stations in Las Vegas.  There's no doubt, though, he could have written some great commercials.

Plato once said, "Those who tell stories rule society." This quote sounds very familiar to rule #7 for creating a memorable commercial for Las Vegas radio:

Rule #7: Tell a story… listeners are hardwired to emotionally respond to features and benefits when presented in story-form rather than as a list. The advertiser should be the hero of the story.

Lee Habib wrote in the National Review a few years ago, "Stories are packed not with hard data but with something far more powerful: emotional data. That’s why we remember them and why they’re so easily transported, even through generations. Stories stir our souls."

When a Nevada small business owner buys a 60-second commercial on a Las Vegas radio station, she is limited to about 160 words to persuade listeners to become customers.  To be successful, then, each word needs to be carefully selected to fulfill the desired marketing objective. 

A telephone number comprises seven words. Ten if the area code is included.  If the number is repeated three times during the commercial, then it will consume 21-30 words or up to 18% of the total.

So, should a local business owner sacrifice a significant portion of a radio commercial to insert a phone number? Except for certain circumstances, described below, the answer is no. 

Here are the facts.

Marketers call them Generation Z.  Las Vegas small business owners call them teenagers.  Whatever 12-17 years old are called, they live in homes cluttered with video games, smartphones, and tablets. They have easy access to Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and hundreds of other apps their parents have never heard of.

What may come as a surprise to many local business owners, despite an over-abundance of options, Las Vegas radio stations dominate teenagers' media consumption.

Last week, according to Nielsen, 147,100 teens tuned-in to Las Vegas radio. On average, each of these 12-17 year olds spent 90 minutes per day listening.

Las Vegas consumers will spend $39 billion on goods and services over the next year. To claim a significant portion of those expenditures, small business owners need to be at the top of customers' minds when it comes time to buy.

Since 1940, when KENO became the first radio station in Las Vegas, thousands of business owners knew, intuitively, that advertising on the medium was a potent way to be remembered when a purchase was imminent. 

Now there is proof that radio advertising creates the brand awareness necessary to drive sales.

There are many ways for local small business owners to advertise. Options include local newspapers, local magazines, local television, and online. But to achieve the “3-Rs” of advertising success each, Recall, and Return, no other medium delivers results as effectively and efficiently as advertising on Las Vegas radio.

"Radio, by far, is my biggest source of advertising," says Aaron Taylor, (aka The Real Estate Guy). "We have sold more homes and made more money since I started advertising on the radio than I have at any other time before then."

"After our first year on the radio," says Mr. Taylor, "we had gone from selling 50 homes a year to 300." By any measure, a home run."

Some of the bravest people in Las Vegas are small business owners.  These hearty entrepreneurs invest their passion, their hope, their time, and, of course, their money despite the odds.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), the good news is that 80% of small businesses make it through the first year. After that, though, only about half will make it to their fifth anniversary. Even fewer, 33% will keep their doors open for ten years.

CBInsights performed an analysis to determine the top ten reasons small business owners fail.  I have included the entire list. But, of particular importance, is reason #8, "poor marketing". This subject will be discussed in more detail because this is where advertising on Las Vegas radio stations can help business owners not to fail.