Local radio did to come to Las Vegas until 1930, when local resident John Heaton was awarded a license for KGIX.
Prior to the arrival of KGIX, radio listeners in Las Vegas were dependant mostly on distant broadcasts. These were primarily from Los Angeles based stations.
KGIX, unfortunately, lasted for only five years. The station was both underpowered and under-financed.
In 1939, a more successful radio station was licensed to Laure Belle and Maxwell Kelch of Las Vegas. The call letters KENO were chosen.
The inaugural broadcast of the station occurred in 1941 from studios located in the Meadows Nightclub on Boulder Highway. Shortly, thereafter the station moved to the El Rancho Vegas Hotel & Casino at 2500 Las Vegas Boulevard. It broadcast from that location until 1960.
For almost 100 years, small business owners have depended on local radio stations to successfully market their goods and services through depressions, recessions, wars, and natural disasters. Even now, during a pandemic, advertising on Las Vegas radio remains a dependable way to make cash registers ring.
Here are five facts every Las Vegas Small business owner needs to know about local radio in 2020.
Each week, according to Nielsen, more local consumers tune-in to local radio than watch Las Vegas television, connect to cable-TV, read the newspaper, browse social media, or listen to streaming audio sites like Facebook and Instagram.
The millennial generation now accounts for over 30% of every retail dollar spent in Las Vegas. This generation was the first to inject online and digital options into their daily media usage. Local radio still reaches more members of this age group than all other advertising options available to Las Vegas small business owners.
The onset of the Coronavirus pandemic has created significant changes in the media, work, mobility, commuting, shopping, and lifestyle habits of local consumers. Something that has not changed, though, is the length of time adults spend listening to Las Vegas radio every day.
There are 370,000 adults in the Las Vegas area who have earned a four-year college or postgraduate degree, according to research from Nielsen. A study from the Federal Reserve indicates that these educated consumers have been least affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic, and they have money to spend now.
Las Vegas shoppers are expected to spend a record $5.5 billion online in 2020, based on the most recent projections from eMarketer. This would represent year-over-year growth of 32.4%.
During the same period, according to eMarketer, receipts at brick-and-mortar stores have contracted by 3.2%. Overall, excluding gas and auto sales, e-commerce will account for 20.6% of all retail sales this year.
By any measure, the best way to reach local online consumers is by advertising on Las Vegas radio.
Last week, for instance, local radio reached significantly more online shoppers than all other local media including, Las Vegas TV, cable, newspaper, or social media.