business
Toowoomba firms move early on digital radio growth and lock in lower ad rates
Retailers along Ruthven Street and operators near the Clifford Gardens shopping precinct report new customer flows after shifting marketing spend to online stations.
How we reported this
Three Toowoomba retailers have recorded a 22 percent lift in weekend foot traffic since switching part of their advertising budgets to online radio platforms in late June.
The change follows repeated national network disruptions that left landline and mobile services unavailable for hours on 10 July, prompting local owners to test lower-cost digital channels that do not rely on the same infrastructure.
Named operators already seeing results
Empire Antiques on Ruthven Street moved $1,800 of its monthly print budget to two regional online stations on 28 June and tracked a 31 percent rise in enquiries through its website within ten days. The same week, the owner of Rangeville Bakery on Herries Street reported selling out of sourdough loaves by 11 am on three consecutive Saturdays after running 30-second spots during morning music programs. Both businesses sit inside the Toowoomba CBD and use the city’s free public Wi-Fi network to monitor real-time listener data supplied by the stations.
Further out, the Clifford Gardens precinct management group began a six-week trial on 3 July that bundles short audio features with local weather and traffic updates. Two tenants, a pharmacy and a hardware outlet, have each paid $620 for the package and noted a measurable uptick in after-hours click-and-collect orders.
Numbers behind the shift
Regional Queensland online audio advertising spend reached $2.4 million in the April-June quarter, up from $1.9 million in the same period last year, according to figures released by the Australian Digital Radio Association on 7 July. Average cost per thousand listeners for a 30-second spot now sits at $11.40, compared with $18.60 for equivalent local print placements still listed by the Toowoomba Chronicle. The Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce recorded 47 member enquiries about digital audio options between 1 and 10 July, more than double the monthly average for the first half of the year.
Businesses that act before the end of August can lock in rates for the spring racing and Christmas trading periods. The chamber will hold a free briefing at its Margaret Street office on 22 July that includes a live demonstration of how to book inventory directly with three established online stations. Owners who attend can also obtain a template contract that caps rate increases at 5 percent for the next 12 months.