Borrell Associates’ 23rd Annual Benchmarking Webinar delivered a clear message to radio: evolve fast or fall behind. While digital advertising continues to lead local ad spending, the past year’s data suggests that radio may be uniquely positioned to win back ground.
Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell and EVP of Local Market Intelligence Corey Elliott co-hosted the webinar, outlining findings based on proprietary databases tracking over 1 million data points, survey responses from more than 1,000 advertisers, and confidential digital revenue figures from thousands of US and Canadian media companies.
Digital advertising now commands the largest slice of local advertising spend, with paid search, social media, and video – particularly OTT – making up 78% of the digital total. Despite forecasts showing around 4% annual growth, Borrell emphasized that if media companies aren’t matching or exceeding that rate, they’re losing share.
The report underscores three major shifts impacting media: exponential growth in local business formations post-pandemic, the rise of short-form video advertising, and significant R&D spending by tech companies that radio groups largely neglect.
Among the biggest disruptors is AI, which Borrell says is starting to pull attention and dollars away from traditional paid search. Recent antitrust rulings could further reshape the space if regulators succeed in forcing divestitures from Alphabet. “We didn’t adjust the forecast yet, but we probably should,” Borrell said, predicting streaming video could become the top advertising format within five years.
Radio companies, meanwhile, are losing ground, which Borrell attributes to underinvestment in innovation. “None of the 18 local media companies we reviewed reported any R&D spending,” he noted.
The report identifies high-performing “market dominators” among local media who are pulling in up to 60% of available local digital ad spend. These companies share common traits: multiple digital products, high-value clients, and a data-first strategy for identifying and serving emerging advertisers. Conversely, companies relying solely on traditional prospecting methods, like “eyes and ears” or repeat advertisers, are likely missing the surge of new businesses forming post-pandemic.
In a striking statistic, post-2020 businesses are twice as likely to be planning investments in traditional media such as radio, TV, and newspapers. Borrell and Elliott attribute this to marketers seeking to differentiate from purely digital competitors. Radio, in particular, saw its effectiveness ratings rise from 25% in 2017 to 33% in 2024 among advertisers surveyed.
The report calls on local media companies to allocate at least 5% of top-line revenue toward growth initiatives like true R&D – not just hiring a few new salespeople. It also emphasizes the need for a new kind of sales culture centered around data-driven marketing education.
“The biggest vulnerability of tech platforms is that they can’t offer local expertise,” Borrell said. “You can’t Google your way to a custom marketing strategy for a heating and cooling business in Paducah, Kentucky.”
