Delco advertising starts on I-95 and the Blue Route
A dense county, a daily paper that started in 1876 and two of the busiest roads in the market. Here is how we would spend on Delco so more of the right people see your ads.
Plan a campaign in Delaware County
Media we buy for Delaware County
- Television Advertising Delco is about 20 minutes from Center City and part of the Philadelphia TV market. A spot shows up in the county whether or not you aimed it there, so we check the cost against what you actually need.
- Radio Advertising The mean commute is 28.1 minutes and about 64% of workers drive alone. Radio is with them in the car. About 18% work from home, so we do not lean on radio alone.
- Print Advertising The Delaware County Daily Times has served the county since 1876. We compare it with regional papers on readership, price and fit with your customers, and negotiate the ad with the county reader in mind.
- Out of Home Advertising I-95 has the most billboards in the Philadelphia market. The I-476 Blue Route carries about 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day between Springfield and Radnor.
- Paid Search Advertising With about 3,182 people per square mile, a search map can be small and still put your ad in front of thousands. We set it around your location and count the calls each ad brings in.
- Social Media Advertising Median household income is about $89,500. Paid ads on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms let us aim at homeowners in Springfield or Ridley Park separately from students in Villanova.
Clients we’ve worked with
- Parx Casino
- Chickie’s & Pete’s
- The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton
- Villari Brandes & Giannone
- Gwynedd Mercy Academy
- Franklin Auto Spa
The Delaware County media sheet
Delco advertising from Harleysville: the Daily Times, I-95 and Blue Route billboards, commuter radio, search and social that reach local drivers.
- Papers, stations and sites
- Delaware County Daily Times (Delco Times), Primos, founded 1876
- Philadelphia-market TV and radio
- Visit Delco (tourism promotion)
- Roads for billboards
- I-95, including the I-95 and US 322 interchange in Chester
- I-476 (the Blue Route), about 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day between Springfield and Radnor
- US 1
- US 13
- US 30
- US 202
- US 322
- PA 3
- PA 291
- Audience
- About 579,000 residents, at about 3,182 people per square mile. Median household income about $89,500 (2020 to 2024), roughly 14.8% above Pennsylvania. About 64% of workers drive alone, about 18% work from home and about 6.6% carpool. Mean commute about 28.1 minutes, against a US average of 26.4.
- Big employers and venues
- Subaru Park and the WSFS Sportsplex (Chester)
- Harrah’s Philadelphia (Chester)
- Philadelphia International Airport, about 10 minutes away
- Villanova University
- Wawa
- Boeing
- Jefferson Health
- What we’d buy first
- We would start with an I-95 or Blue Route billboard and a commuter radio schedule, then add the Daily Times as the local anchor. The reason is density: a lot of people pass the same few miles of road. Working from home is common enough that we would also add search ads aimed at your neighborhoods rather than rely on drivers alone.
- people live here
- 579K
- average commute, vs 26 nationally
- 28 min
- median household income
- $89,500
| Category | Delaware County | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Drove alone | 64.4% | 68.8% |
| Carpooled | 6.6% | 8.5% |
| Public transit | 5.9% | 3.2% |
| Worked from home | 18.0% | 15.1% |
| Other | 5.1% | 4.3% |
In Delco the media map is short and the roads do most of the work. The Daily Times is the county paper, and I-95 and the Blue Route carry your message past a lot of drivers. You get a short plan that puts your budget where the traffic is.
We would not pick a billboard by road name alone. One at the I-95 and US 322 interchange in Chester is seen by different drivers than one on PA 3. You pay only for the audience each billboard delivers.
About 18% of Delco workers work from home, so a drive-only plan leaves gaps. Paid search and paid social reach people at home, so you bring in customers in the car and on the couch.
For a sports or entertainment business, Chester is a special case. Events near Subaru Park and Harrah’s Philadelphia draw regional crowds on a calendar, so you can fill a date with a buy priced for that date. We negotiate each client’s buy on its own.
Where the Delaware County buy is planned
- Media The county seat since 1851, and a natural place for local print and small-business search.
- Chester The original county seat from 1789 and home to Subaru Park, the WSFS Sportsplex and Harrah’s Philadelphia, all near the I-95 and US 322 interchange.
- Upper Darby One of the county’s densest communities, near where the Daily Times is based in Primos.
- Springfield The southern end of the Blue Route stretch that carries about 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day.
- Ridley Park A borough on the southern side, reached by I-95 billboards and Daily Times print.
- Swarthmore A town where local print and social can carry more weight than a highway billboard.
- Radnor The northern end of the Blue Route stretch and a high-traffic point for radio and roadside billboards.
- Newtown Square A western township where newer development adds households along US 1 and US 30.
Reading the Delaware County market
Delaware County, which locals call Delco, sits in the Philadelphia metro with a humid subtropical climate and four seasons. Housing runs from mid-20th-century rowhomes and twins in the inner boroughs to older stone homes and newer suburban development farther west, with some new construction in the western townships. It is about 20 minutes from Center City and about 10 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport, which puts it inside the Philadelphia television market.
Major employers include Boeing, UPS, Villanova University, Wawa, Harrah’s Chester, Jefferson Health, Genesis Healthcare, State Farm, SAP America, Wells Fargo, Amoroso Baking and Endo Pharmaceuticals. Media has been the county seat since 1851, and Chester held that role from 1789. Visit Delco runs tourism promotion, and the county has landmarks such as the Brandywine Battlefield, the Brandywine Museum of Art and more than 200 miles of park trails.
For an advertiser, the useful facts are the ones about movement. About 64% of workers drive alone, about 18% work from home and about 6.6% carpool. The mean commute of about 28.1 minutes is longer than the US average of 26.4.
Billboards along state routes and interstates fall under PennDOT, the state road agency, and municipal zoning. We check each site before we quote it. That is why our Delco plan is a road plan, a paper plan and a search plan, each priced separately and each tied to a specific place.
The Delaware County Daily Times was founded in 1876 and is based in Primos, in Upper Darby. I-95 has the most billboards of any road in the Philadelphia market, about 256 across the market, and the Blue Route carries about 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day between Springfield and Radnor. Billboard companies list available boards in Delaware County and Darby, and US 1, US 13, US 30, US 202, US 322, PA 3 and PA 291 all cross the county.
About 579,000 people live in the county, about 3,182 to the square mile, and median household income is about $89,500. Most workers drive alone, and about 6.6% carpool. Subaru Park and the WSFS Sportsplex host the Philadelphia Union, and Harrah’s Philadelphia is in the same city.
What happens next
Our work for Chickie’s & Pete’s, Parx Casino and Villari Brandes & Giannone goes back more than a decade.
- 1
Tell us what you’re launching
Use the form or call 215-870-5548. A few lines is enough — what you’re promoting, where your customers are, and when it needs to run.
- 2
We talk it through
We call you back to ask about your goals and your budget. The first conversation costs nothing, and if another approach suits you better, we’ll say so.
- 3
You see the plan before anything runs
You get where your ads will run, the schedule and what it costs, in writing. Nothing is booked until you approve it, and afterwards you see where every piece ran.
Advertising in Delaware County: common questions
What does Delco mean, and do you use it in ads?
Delco is what locals call Delaware County, and Visit Delco uses it for tourism promotion. We use it in casual headlines, radio copy and social posts, where it reads as neighborly. In formal notices and brochures for readers outside the county, we write Delaware County in full. The decision comes down to who is reading and where.
Is the Delaware County Daily Times worth advertising in?
For a local message, often yes. It was founded in 1876 and is based in Primos, in Upper Darby. We compare it on readership, price and how well its readers match your goal, and set it beside regional papers before we recommend it. Its value depends on who you need to reach.
Should I buy I-95 or the Blue Route?
It depends on the driver you want. I-95 has the most billboards in the Philadelphia market, and it includes the interchange with US 322 in Chester. The Blue Route, I-476, carries about 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day between Springfield and Radnor. We would compare price, the view from the road and the audience for the exact boards available.
Does working from home change how you plan Delco media?
Yes. About 18% of Delaware County workers work from home, so a plan that relies only on radio and roadside billboards misses them. We add paid search and paid social, which reach people at home, and we set them to the neighborhoods you serve. The road buy then works alongside online ads instead of by itself.
Can you promote an event near Subaru Park or Harrah’s in Chester?
We can plan around the venues. Subaru Park and the WSFS Sportsplex host the Philadelphia Union, and Harrah’s Philadelphia is also in Chester. Billboards near the I-95 and US 322 interchange, radio and paid social can all support an event. We would work back from the date and the crowd, then choose what fits your budget.
Plan a campaign in Delaware County
Plan a campaign in Delaware County