Philadelphia media, bought by people who used to sell it
One of the largest TV markets in the country, a radio dial split by audience and I-95 billboards. We negotiate each buy on its own, so your budget goes further with the right people.
Plan a campaign in Philadelphia
Media we buy for Philadelphia
- Television Advertising Every county we cover gets its television through the Philadelphia market, so a city-focused spot has to earn what it costs. We check that before we place it.
- Radio Advertising The dial splits by audience: country on 92.5 XTU, sports talk on 94WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic, Spanish-language on Radio Sol 1340 AM. We match the station to your customer, then negotiate the schedule.
- Print Advertising The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Business Journal reach different readers than the Philadelphia Tribune and AL DIA. We compare each paper on readership, price and how well its readers match your customers, then use that when we negotiate.
- Out of Home Advertising I-95 and I-76 carry the most billboards, while Center City and the sports complex have digital billboards. We choose by who drives, who walks and who waits on a platform.
- Paid Search Advertising Search ads on Google can follow the city one neighborhood at a time. We set the map and count the calls and form fills each ad brings in, so you can see which parts of town produce calls.
- Social Media Advertising The median age is about 34.7 citywide and 24 in University City. We aim paid ads on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms at that audience instead of at everyone.
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 Philadelphia media sheet
Media planning and buying for Philadelphia: TV, radio, print, billboards, paid search and paid social, so your budget reaches the right people.
- Papers, stations and sites
- The Philadelphia Inquirer (daily)
- Philadelphia Business Journal
- Philadelphia Tribune
- AL DIA (Spanish-language)
- Technical.ly Philly
- Generocity
- The Philadelphia Citizen
- 92.5 XTU (WXTU)
- 94WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic (sports talk)
- Radio Sol 1340 AM (WHAT, Spanish-language)
- WHYY and KYW (public and news)
- Roads for billboards
- I-95 (Delaware Expressway)
- I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway)
- Atlantic City Expressway
- Vine Street Expressway
- Roosevelt Boulevard
- Ads on SEPTA
- PHL airport
- Digital billboards in Center City and at the South Philadelphia sports complex
- Audience
- About 1,580,000 residents, median household income about $61,950, average commute about 32 minutes, median age about 34.7. Center City has about 67,000 residents, the second-largest downtown residential population in the country. University City has about 18,800 residents with a median age of 24. The Philadelphia market covers about 3.1 million TV households.
- Big employers and venues
- Lincoln Financial Field
- Citizens Bank Park
- Wells Fargo Center
- Xfinity Live
- University of Pennsylvania
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- Temple University Hospital
- Jefferson
- Comcast
- SEPTA
- What we’d buy first
- Start with a road and a radio station, not the whole market. We would price an I-95 or I-76 billboard against a country or sports-talk radio schedule, because both put your ad in front of drivers who are already on the road. Print goes in only where your customer reads it. Television comes last unless your budget can cover the whole Philadelphia market.
- people live here
- 1.58M
- average commute, vs 26 nationally
- 32 min
- median household income
- $62,000
| Category | Philadelphia | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Drove alone | 46.0% | 68.8% |
| Carpooled | 7.8% | 8.5% |
| Public transit | 16.7% | 3.2% |
| Worked from home | 18.4% | 15.1% |
| Other | 11.2% | 4.3% |
A Philadelphia campaign is three buys in one budget: broadcast, roads and transit, and print and digital. You get one plan that covers all three. We negotiate each buy on its own, so a discount on one never hides a weak price on another. Your budget goes further.
We have worked with Chickie’s & Pete’s on print, including a New Year’s Eve countdown ad for the South Philly location, and with Parx Casino on television, radio, event creative and a billboard. You can see the pieces before you hire us, so you know what your ads will look like in this market.
Center City has about 67,000 residents who live where they work and shop, so a digital billboard downtown shows your ad to the same people all week. The sports complex draws crowds on a schedule you can buy against. You reach the right crowd on the right day.
Northeast Philadelphia and Roxborough are mostly reached by car along Roosevelt Boulevard and I-76, while Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Old City and Manayunk have smaller local reader bases. You pay to reach each group only where it counts, and we plan the event calendar before the creative.
The price a station quotes is an opening offer, and our buyers have sat on the other side of that conversation. If you want to check a Philadelphia buy against a plan of your own, we will walk through it with you.
Where the Philadelphia buy is planned
- Center City A downtown with about 67,000 residents, where digital billboards and SEPTA ads put your message in front of the same people day after day.
- University City About 18,800 residents with a median age of 24, and a campus economy built on Penn and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
- South Philadelphia Sports Complex Four venues on one event calendar, which lets a sponsor or a digital billboard reach the same crowd on game days.
- Old City A neighborhood audience for print and for screens and signs in places people wait or shop, rather than highway billboards.
- Northern Liberties A small, local reader base that suits community outlets and targeted social ads more than broad TV.
- Fishtown A neighborhood where search and social ads aimed at the neighborhood can be tested cheaply before a bigger spend.
- Manayunk A destination district reached by the I-76 roadway and by local print.
- Northeast Philadelphia A car-based part of the city that Roosevelt Boulevard and radio serve better than a downtown digital billboard does.
Reading the Philadelphia market
Philadelphia is a consolidated city and county, and its economy rests on healthcare and higher education. The University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Temple University Hospital and Jefferson employ a large share of the workforce, and SEPTA and Comcast, with its Center City headquarters, add to it. For an advertiser, those institutions matter in a practical way: they are large employers with large audiences, and they are also potential sponsors and neighbors.
The city is a media center in its own right. The Philadelphia Business Journal covers regional business, and the Inquirer is the daily paper. The Philadelphia Tribune and AL DIA serve readers that general-market papers can miss, and Radio Sol 1340 AM is a Spanish-language station on the dial.
Technical.ly Philly, Generocity and The Philadelphia Citizen cover the startup, nonprofit and civic communities. Billboards and signs in the city fall under local zoning and outdoor advertising rules, plus PennDOT, the state road agency, on state roads. We confirm the current rules for each billboard before we quote it.
That is the shape of a Philadelphia buy: many outlets, several major roads, several audiences, and one plan that decides which of them earn your money. If you sell to the whole region, the city is where the plan starts. If you sell only to the city, the plan is mostly about what to leave out.
For The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, the television spots include one titled “Center City Convenience.” We have worked with Villari Brandes & Giannone on television and print, and a Chickie’s & Pete’s football-season ad listed Eagles radio shows in the Philadelphia Inquirer. University City is younger, and its economy leans on Penn, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Jefferson.
The South Philadelphia sports complex is a third kind of place. Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, the Wells Fargo Center and Xfinity Live draw crowds on a schedule, and you can buy ads against that schedule. The city’s pro-sports culture, from the Eagles and Phillies to the Sixers and Flyers, is the reason sports radio and venue sponsorships are worth a hard look.
Weather and event dates decide when a billboard earns its rent.
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 Philadelphia: common questions
Is Philadelphia the right place to start if I sell across the region?
Usually yes, because television and most radio in the surrounding counties are bought through the Philadelphia market anyway. A regional brand can plan the broadcast spend once and then add billboards, print and online ads in the counties where the customers actually live. We would look at your customer map first, then decide how much of the budget belongs in the city and how much belongs in the suburbs.
Which Philadelphia radio stations do you buy?
We buy the station that fits your customer, not the one with the biggest name. Country listeners sit on 92.5 XTU, sports talk lives on 94WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic, and Radio Sol 1340 AM serves Spanish-language listeners. WHYY and KYW cover public and news audiences. We ask for the schedule, the time of day each spot runs and the reason, and we negotiate each station on its own.
Do you place billboards on I-95 and I-76?
Yes. Billboards and signs are part of the Out of Home Advertising we plan and buy. I-95 and I-76 carry the most billboards in the market, so they are where we usually start a road buy. Digital billboards in Center City and around the sports complex are a second option. We check availability and price, and confirm current placement rules with the billboard company and the city, before we quote a board.
Can you reach a Spanish-language audience in the city?
We can plan for it. AL DIA is a Spanish-language print and digital outlet in Philadelphia, and Radio Sol 1340 AM is a Spanish-language station on the dial. Whether they belong in your plan depends on who buys from you. We would start with your customer list, then decide whether print, radio or paid social does the most useful work.
What does a Philadelphia media plan cost?
We do not publish price lists, because every buy is quoted. The price depends on the medium, the outlet, the dates and how many other advertisers want the same space. What we can tell you is how we work. We negotiate each client’s buy on its own, negotiate every part of it, and show you where every dollar ran.
Plan a campaign in Philadelphia
Plan a campaign in Philadelphia