Westwood One says a national AM/FM radio campaign for a major retailer’s Valentine’s Day promotion generated a 34% increase in foot traffic, with the strongest gains occurring in markets where the campaign received the greatest advertising weight. The findings come from a new analysis by location analytics firm Placer.ai, commissioned by the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group, that examined the relationship between radio advertising and visits to retail locations

iHeartMedia is urging advertisers to take a culture-first approach to reaching Hispanic and Latino consumers, arguing that audio’s strong role in the daily lives of those audiences can help brands build trust, relevance and measurable business results. The nation’s Latino population represents a significant opportunity for marketers because of its size, purchasing power and relatively young demographic profile. Jasmine Mejia, VP of Multicultural Brand Partnerships and My Cult

Day 1 of Nielsen August 2026 PPMs (covering July 23-August 19) sees shuffling at the top of four of these eight non-embedded markets, with all-news and news/talk stations involved in three. In New York, where it’s been years since two stations tied for first, both Audacy news WINS-AM/FM (1010/92.3) and iHeartMedia adult contemporary “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW claim the top spot, while in Chicago, Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS (780/105.9) ousts Hubbard hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX f

The mid-summer advertising market remained in growth mode, even as higher gas prices and inflation continue to weigh on the U.S. economy as marketers increased their investment in advertising. Newly released data from Guideline shows total U.S. ad spending increased 11.9% in July compared to a year earlier. That was smaller than the 20.5% growth rate posted in June when World Cup ad spending skewed the totals. While smaller, it marks seven consecutive months of year-over-year

Podcast advertising bounced higher in August as most of the medium’s biggest advertisers increased their investment, while a new No. 1 emerged and ChatGPT made a splashy debut among the top spenders. New data from Podscribe shows the top 10 podcast advertisers spent a combined $34 million in August, up 15.3% from $29.5 million in July. Eight of the 10 advertisers increased their spending month-to-month, making August a considerably stronger month after spending softened in Ju

Audio advertising can create a direct, personal connection with consumers, but marketers need more than reach to make that connection work. According to new insights from iHeartMedia, the strongest audio ads combine authentic voices, clear messaging, thoughtful production and a straightforward call to action. The company argues that effective audio creative should sound more like a conversation than a commercial. Because listeners use their imaginations to create scenes from

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily put a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on hold that had limited broadcasters’ lowest unit ad rate charge requirements to legally qualified candidates. The decision, issued Sept. 4, restores the FCC’s broader interpretation of the political advertising rate provision for now, as the Republican congressional committees pursue further Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court granted an emergency application from the National Republican

Adult contemporary remains radio’s top format, based on Inside Radio’s analysis of average-quarter-hour share data in PPM markets, covering Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight, including shares from Nielsen’s just-released August 2026 survey (covering July 23-August 19). As has been the case all this year, AC has maintained a significant lead in both the persons 18-34 and 25-54 demographics. For August, it’s 1.5 share points ahead of second-ranked country in the former demo (7.9-6.4),

After years of encouraging students to pick up a microphone, NPR is turning to the other end of the age spectrum for its newest podcast talent search. The public radio organization has launched the “Senior Podcast Challenge,” inviting the roughly 60 million Americans age 65 and older to create their own podcasts and compete for a chance to have their work heard on NPR. The move brings NPR’s podcast competition model to the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population and co

U.S. retail sales during the November-December holiday season are expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time, according to a 2026 holiday forecast from Bain & Company. The consultancy projects holiday sales will increase 4.5% from a year earlier, exceeding the 3.5% growth recorded during the 2025 season. The forecast also cautions that the gains may not translate into equivalent increases in consumer purchasing power. More than half of the expected nominal sales growt