This blog shares highlights from Radio Ink’s recent coverage of the New York Market Radio Association’s Q4 2017 market report, which Provoke Insights writes each quarter. This quarter’s NYC radio research focuses on how the city’s booming financial sector fuels radio ad spending.

New York City’s economy continues to outperform expectations. Job growth reaches 1.8 percent, higher than the state average of 1.4 percent and the national average of 1.7 percent. The unemployment rate drops to 4.7 percent, down 0.3 percent from the same time last year.

This economic strength directly supports more local advertising. Our NYC radio research shows the financial services industry spends about 11 million dollars on New York radio in 2017. Top names like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, Investors Bank & Trust, and Bethpage Federal Credit Union each double their spending to over 3.3 million dollars. Together, these institutions represent one-third of total financial category radio spending in the market.

Insurance companies also play a major role in the local radio scene. They spend over 11 million dollars on New York radio ads, with auto insurance leading the subcategories. Auto insurance remains highly competitive nationwide, with companies in this category spending more than 5 billion dollars on advertising overall.

The report also finds that 44.4 percent of New York companies with more than 500 employees include radio in their marketing mix. This figure is slightly higher than the national average. Key industries driving local radio ad dollars include automotive, retail, healthcare and pharmaceutical, and banking and financial services.

This NYC radio research confirms that radio remains a trusted and effective medium for reaching engaged local audiences, especially in a thriving market like New York City.  Want to see Provoke Insights latest research? Check out here.