Borrell Associates has released a long-range forecast on why local advertising has become a harder sell. And the use of AI by Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) has played a role in the difficulty.
In a webinar discussing the topic, Borrell Associates shared that roughly two-thirds of local advertising sales and managers have seen their positions eliminated in a decade.
Between 2014 and 2024, nearly 66% of sales agents and managers between newspapers, radio, television, and cable were reduced.
That figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The television industry was especially struck hard, with a nearly 70% decline between television and cable.
The decline of advertising sales agents and managers coincides with a rise in AI usage by local marketers.
According to figures released by Borrell Associaties, 60% of SMBs are now using AI for marketing tasks. Additionally, a rise in Marketing Managers has risen to nearly 400,000 employees in 2024.
Meanwhile, those advertising sales agents and managers have dwindled form 177,000 in 2010 to 119,000 in 2024.
“That’s what you got out there,” said Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell. “An army three to one. Look back in 2010 through 2014 pretty even, slightly more ad sales agents and markers. Now? Three to one out there. They’re all probably about 22 years old, and they know a whole lot about Instagram Reels, and they do a lot of video production on their iPhones. I’m exaggerating, of course, but maybe not all that much.”
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