In the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Hampton Roads area, media and advertising play out against a unique backdrop. This coastal region – the 34th-largest market in the U.S. by population – boasts a highly diverse audience and a strong local identity. More than 21% of Virginia’s population lives in Hampton Roadsmedia.hamptonroads.com, including one of the nation’s highest concentrations of African American consumers (around 30%) and a significant military presence (over 6% of residents) media.hamptonroads.com. For advertisers, this means a dynamic, multifaceted market with both immense opportunity and distinct challenges. As media consumption habits evolve and fragment, reaching the right audience in Hampton Roads requires a strategic blend of mass outreach and targeted engagement. Local businesses are seeking partners who understand the regional nuances – and increasingly, Max Media of Hampton Roads is emerging as the go-to solution, offering an integrated approach through its powerhouse radio stations and cutting-edge digital marketing platform.
Local Media Consumption Trends and Advertising Shifts
Hampton Roads residents are avid media consumers, but how they consume content is changing fast. Traditional television viewership is not what it once was – in fact, the Hampton Roads TV market recently saw a >6% decline in the number of TV households vartv.com as cord-cutting and streaming continue to rise. Consumers now spread their attention across a mix of platforms: broadcast radio, streaming audio and video services, social media, mobile apps, and more. This media fragmentation poses a challenge for advertisers used to relying on one or two outlets to blanket the market.
Radio Remains a Staple: Despite the on-demand digital options available, old-fashioned radio is deeply woven into the daily routines of Hampton Roads audiences. Commuters driving the region’s network of interstates, bridges, and tunnels rely on AM/FM radio for music, news, and traffic updates during their journeys. Nationally, AM/FM radio reaches about 92% of adults each week – more than any other single platform, including television – and local listening mirrors this trend. Notably, radio’s reach cuts across demographics: for example, among adults 18–49, radio actually ties with social media as the top-reaching media platform weekly, ahead of online video or streaming TV, with traditional live TV ranking much lower. In-car listening is especially dominant. According to Edison Research’s latest “Share of Ear” study, AM/FM radio accounts for nearly 90% of ad-supported audio listening in the car. Even younger generations haven’t abandoned radio – Gen Z listeners spend roughly 30% of their ad-supported audio time with AM/FM, nearly on par with the 32% spent on streaming music. In workplaces and at home, radio still commands a strong share of audio listening as well. All this underscores that radio continues to deliver mass reach in Hampton Roads, a critical advantage as other media splinter into niche offerings Westwood One.
Digital Engagement Soars: At the same time, Hampton Roads consumers are highly connected digitally. Smartphone and internet usage are ubiquitous, and people increasingly get their news, music, and entertainment via online platforms. Social media usage is high across age groups, and streaming services (from Spotify to Netflix) are part of daily life. Advertisers have responded by pouring more of their budgets into digital channels each year. In fact, 2025 marks a tipping point nationally – digital media will capture about 52% of all local advertising spending, surpassing traditional media’s 48% sharebia.com. The Hampton Roads market reflects this surge, with robust growth in connected TV (CTV) viewing, online video, and mobile advertising. Local businesses are investing in everything from Facebook campaigns to geotargeted mobile ads to reach customers who increasingly live on their phones. Yet this digital boom is a double-edged sword: while online channels allow laser-focused targeting, the sheer number of digital outlets can dilute audience attention. An advertiser might find that no single website or app delivers the broad reach that a prime-time TV spot or top-rated radio morning show once guaranteed. This is leading many savvy marketers in the region to adopt a hybrid strategy – combining the broad appeal of traditional radio with the precision of digital marketing.
National Trends, Local Impact
Many of the shifts in Hampton Roads echo what’s happening nationwide. Audiences everywhere are more fragmented, dividing time among streaming video, social feeds, podcasts, and more. This fragmentation makes it harder for brands to build awareness quickly. However, one medium has proven resilient as a unifying reach vehicle: AM/FM radio. Recent studies reaffirm radio’s status as America’s leading mass-reach medium. Each week, radio reaches tens of millions more people than streaming services or cable TV. The consistency of radio’s reach is especially valuable in an era when even big TV events command smaller audiences than in the past. Advertisers who ignore radio may be leaving reach on the table – one analysis found that reallocating just 20% of a TV/CTV/digital ad budget into radio can produce significant new reach that those other platforms miss.
At the same time, digital marketing continues to expand and refine its capabilities. Marketers can now target consumers by granular factors – down to their ZIP code, their recent website visits, or whether they’ve been to a competitor’s store. The ability to serve tailored messages (say, an HVAC company showing ads only to homeowners in Norfolk, or a restaurant targeting 25–34-year-olds in Virginia Beach who dined out this week) is powerful. However, digital-only campaigns can struggle to scale up awareness – they risk preaching to the choir or missing those not already seeking similar products. This is why an integrated approach is increasingly recommended by experts. The Radio Advertising Bureau and BIA Advisory Services, which track local ad markets, note that the fusion of digital innovation with traditional broadcasting is creating new value for advertisers by combining broad communication with precision targeting radioink.com. In other words, the smartest strategy is often not “digital or radio,” but digital and radio. Advertisers can capture the best of both worlds: radio delivers quick, widespread awareness and brand trust, while digital delivers follow-up engagement and measurable conversion.
National data bears out the benefits of this synergy. Nielsen’s research indicates that blending AM/FM radio with digital media boosts overall campaign reach – one study showed a 24% increase in reach among adults 25–54 when radio was added to a mix of online video and social media. And when it comes to ROI, radio is a star performer: Nielsen analyses of ad campaigns find that every $1 spent on radio advertising generates about $10 in sales on average, one of the highest return-on-ad-spend ratios of any medium. Similarly, marketing effectiveness guru Peter Field’s extensive study for the IPA concluded that brands using radio see significant lifts in key business outcomes – including a 28% higher market share and 42% greater profit growth compared to those not using radio. The takeaway for a Hampton Roads advertiser is clear: a campaign anchored in radio can turbocharge your results, especially when amplified with savvy digital tactics.
Max Media of Hampton Roads: A Best-in-Class Advertising Partner
Given these trends, it’s no surprise that Max Media of Hampton Roads has positioned itself as a best-in-class advertising partner for businesses in the region. Max Media offers an unusually comprehensive toolkit under one roof – pairing the broad reach of its popular radio stations with an array of advanced digital marketing services. This dual capability allows clients to achieve both mass-market reach and “laser-targeted” results through a single expert provider, a combination that is increasingly hard to find at the local level.
On the broadcast side, Max Media operates five diverse, high-performing radio stations serving the Hampton Roads market ramp247.com. These include heritage brands and audience favorites across multiple formats: 97.3 The Eagle (WGH-FM), a leading country music station; 92.9 The Wave (WTWV-FM), a mainstream adult contemporary outlet; 100.5 The Vibe (WVBW-FM), an urban AC station catering to R&B and classic hip-hop fans; and a sports radio duo of Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 (WVSP-FM) – the region’s ESPN Radio affiliate – and Fox Sports 1310 AM (WGH-AM)ramp247.com. Collectively, these stations reach hundreds of thousands of local listeners each week, from young adults to retirees and from military personnel to long-time locals. Whether an advertiser wants to speak to country music enthusiasts in Chesapeake, suburban families in Virginia Beach, or sports fanatics following ODU football and Norfolk Tides baseball, Max Media’s radio portfolio has it covered. Each station consistently ranks among the top choices in its respective genre, delivering engaged audiences that trust their favorite DJs and shows.
Equally impressive is Max Media’s digital marketing prowess. Unlike traditional broadcasters that stick to selling airtime, Max Media has invested in building a full-service digital agency capability in-house. Through its proprietary digital platform and team, the company offers a suite of services that rival any stand-alone marketing agency. Advertisers who partner with Max Media can deploy:
- Streaming and OTT Advertising: Reach cord-cutters via streaming TV (OTT) and online video platforms like YouTube, or place targeted audio ads on music streaming services.
- Targeted Display and Social Media Campaigns: Use programmatic display ads and social media marketing to engage consumers based on specific locations, demographics, or interests – for example, geo-fencing a 5-mile radius around a store to send special offers, or running Facebook/Instagram ads to users who fit a business’s customer profile.
- Search Engine Marketing & SEO: Max Media’s team can manage Google Ads campaigns and optimize a business’s search engine presence, ensuring that local customers find them when searching for relevant services.
- Email and Content Marketing: Businesses can leverage Max Media to design email marketing blasts, create branded content, or even develop new websites and creative assets.
(These are just a few highlights – Max Media’s digital capabilities also extend to mobile device ID targeting, native advertising, analytics/reporting, and moremaxmediallc.com) The key point is that Max Media operates on both the broadcast and digital fronts seamlessly, crafting integrated campaigns that maximize impact. “We specialize in hyper-targeted marketing strategies that focus on geography, demographics, and behaviors,” the company notes, while also leveraging its legacy strengths in radio to “ensure your brand reaches the right audience, at the right time, on the right platform” maxmediallc.com. In practice, this means a local advertiser can get the branding boost of being on popular FM stations and the precision of data-driven online ads, all through one coordinated effort.
Mass Reach + Precision: Delivering Results for Advertisers
The real magic happens when these elements work together. Max Media routinely executes campaigns that start with the mass-market reach of radio and then layer on digital tactics to drive engagement and conversion. For example, consider a hypothetical home services company in Norfolk: using Max Media, they might run catchy radio spots across The Eagle and The Wave to build general awareness and trust in their brand (reaching the broad audience of homeowners during morning and afternoon drive times). At the same time, Max Media’s digital team can serve follow-up ads online – such as streaming TV commercials on Hulu targeted to households in specific zip codes that heard the radio ads, or Google display ads that “retarget” listeners who visited the company’s website after hearing the radio spot. The radio provides the wide net, and the digital provides the follow-through, catching interested prospects and guiding them down the purchase funnel. This kind of coordinated strategy is proven to amplify marketing performance: the radio creates an emotional connection and instant credibility (often bolstered by live DJ endorsements or sponsorships), while the digital components provide additional touchpoints and personalized calls-to-action. Advertisers get both branding and immediate ROI – a powerful one-two punch.
Max Media’s own insights reinforce how effective this combo can be. “As marketing directors and local business owners face increasing pressure to deliver stronger ROI and clear attribution, [we have] observed a powerful synergy when combining traditional AM/FM radio with targeted digital marketing,” notes Sean Rhoads, Max Media LLC- Executive Vice President of Sales, pointing to industry research and the company’s real-world client experiences. It’s not just theory: local businesses have seen tangible results from this approach. Nationally, as mentioned, integrating radio can extend campaign reach by 24% among key demos, and the improved awareness translates into more web traffic and leads – a study by attribution firm LeadsRx found radio ads produced an average 14% lift in website visits for brands that ran them . In Hampton Roads, case studies abound of this radio+digital formula driving success. Westwood One
Success Stories: Hampton Roads Advertisers Find Winning Strategies
Nothing underscores Max Media’s impact better than the stories of local advertisers themselves. One standout example is Priority Automotive, a major Tidewater-area car dealership group. In an unprecedented move in early 2023, Priority Automotive was so confident in the reach of Max Media’s stations that it acquired the naming rights to the ESPN Radio outlet 94.1 FM – rebranding it as “Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1”radioinsight.com. This partnership made waves in the industry (such deals are exceedingly rare in radio) and speaks to the value the advertiser sees in associating its brand with Max Media’s audience. “This is an important partnership for us. At Priority Automotive we think sports ties everyone together, so this is a great opportunity for us to be a voice in the community and partner with the number one voice for sports in Hampton Roads, ESPN 94.1,” said Priority’s COO, Matt Elmer, upon inking the dealradioinsight.com. In other words, Priority chose Max Media’s station as the best vehicle to solidify its presence among local sports fans – a demographic that aligns perfectly with car buyers – and the results have been mutually beneficial. The station continues to deliver strong listenership (airing ESPN’s national shows alongside local programming like the “Tim Donnelly Show” and live ODU football broadcasts), now with Priority’s name entwined in that success and community goodwill.
Other advertisers across various sectors have likewise reaped rewards with Max Media’s integrated approach. Local healthcare providers have used Max Media’s radio spots to educate the public on new services or clinics, then followed up with geo-targeted online ads for appointment bookings. Area events and attractions – from music festivals to museums – regularly turn to Max Media to promote attendance, leveraging the company’s ability to blast out a message on high-traffic radio stations while simultaneously engaging people on social media with event details and ticket links. Max Media also isn’t shy about getting creative with promotional opportunities: they host events like the Tidewater Job Fair maxmediava.com and sponsor community initiatives, providing additional platforms for advertisers to connect with audiences face-to-face. By delivering on its promise of both reach and precision, Max Media has built a roster of loyal clients, from small local businesses to regional powerhouses, who “love working with Max Media” (as the company’s own success stories highlightmaxmediallc.com). The common thread in these testimonials is that partnering with Max Media leads to real, measurable business growth – whether that’s increased foot traffic, higher web conversions, or simply greater brand recognition across Hampton Roads.
Leadership with Local Roots and Vision
A key differentiator for Max Media of Hampton Roads is the strength of its leadership and its deep roots in the local media scene. The company is helmed by two broadcasting veterans who are nothing short of industry legends in Virginia: Gene Loving and John Trinder. Gene Loving (Chairman and CEO) and John Trinder (President and COO) co-founded Max Media in 2001, bringing with them decades of experience and a track record of success. This isn’t their first rodeo – in fact, Loving and Trinder have built and sold multiple media companies prior to Max Media. In the 1990s they grew Max Media Properties to 17 radio and TV stations across ten states, before selling that portfolio to Sinclair in 1998. Back in the ’80s, Trinder was CEO of TVX Broadcast Group, which owned major TV stations in markets like Philadelphia and Houston before it was acquired by Paramount. And Gene Loving’s roots go even deeper: he started as a radio DJ in the Hampton Roads area in 1958 and went on to own and operate local stations and even a concert promotions company by the 1970s.
But the success of Max Media in Hampton Roads doesn’t stop at the corporate level. At the local helm is Keith Barton, the General Manager of Max Media of Hampton Roads – a seasoned and passionate leader who has been instrumental in propelling the station group to local greatness. Keith brings both strategic vision and deep regional knowledge to the team, ensuring that Max Media’s stations remain deeply embedded in the community and responsive to the evolving needs of local businesses. Under his leadership, the Hampton Roads stations have continued to grow audience share, forge powerful advertiser relationships, and embrace new technologies that amplify the company’s impact. Barton’s on-the-ground leadership complements the broader vision of Loving and Trinder, creating a perfect blend of corporate strength and local execution.
What this means for advertisers is that Max Media is led by people who truly understand Hampton Roads – its history, its business climate, and its communities. Loving, Trinder, and Barton are not absentee executives; they are deeply connected to the region and have been intimately involved in local media and civic life for decades. (John Trinder even served as President of the Hampton Roads Advertising Association and as a district governor in the American Advertising Federation, underscoring his engagement with the local marketing community.) Barton, meanwhile, is widely known in the market for his collaborative style and his commitment to ensuring Max Media is more than just a media outlet—it’s a partner to local businesses and organizations.
Under this leadership trio, Max Media maintains a philosophy that “Your business is our business,” treating client partnerships as more than just ad buys. The company’s team of marketing professionals – from account managers to digital strategists – take pride in crafting customized campaigns and providing attentive service. It’s a culture that stems directly from the example set by Loving, Trinder, and Barton. These leaders have seen the media landscape change over the years, and they’ve continually steered Max Media to innovate and stay ahead of the curve (for instance, by embracing digital services early on and by forging creative sponsorships like the Priority Automotive deal). Yet they’ve never lost sight of the core mission: helping local businesses thrive by connecting them with audiences in meaningful ways.
The Bottom Line: Reaching Hampton Roads Through Max Media
In the Hampton Roads market – with its sprawling geography, diverse population, and rapidly evolving media habits – advertisers need a partner that can deliver both scale and specificity. Max Media of Hampton Roads stands out as that partner. By combining a cluster of top-rated radio stations (which collectively offer unmatched mass-market reach across the region) with a robust in-house digital marketing agency (able to drill down to laser-targeted audiences and deliver actionable results), Max Media provides an advertising solution that is truly best-in-class for this market. The company’s approach aligns perfectly with the current state of media: use radio to cut through the noise and speak to the entire community, while using digital to zero in on the customers that matter most and track the impact.
For a wide range of businesses – from retail, dining, and automotive to healthcare, education, and tourism – Max Media offers a one-stop shop to plan and execute integrated campaigns with local relevance and real ROI. Advertisers can trust that the recommendations are backed by data and experience (as evidenced by the clear results and testimonials), and that their message will resonate on platforms people in Hampton Roads actually engage with daily. As national statistics and local success stories have shown, this combination of broadcast and digital isn’t just convenient; it’s effective. In a region where reaching everyone can mean using everything from a country music morning show to a sponsored Instagram post, Max Media has already done the hard work of building the channels and refining the strategy. They’ve been a cornerstone of the Hampton Roads media landscape for years, and under savvy local leadership, they’ve evolved into a modern marketing powerhouse.
Bottom line: If you’re a business aiming to grow your footprint in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News area, leveraging the powerhouse combo of radio and digital is likely to yield the strongest results – and Max Media of Hampton Roads is uniquely equipped to deliver exactly that. With its proven ability to achieve both broad reach and precise engagement, Max Media has earned its reputation as the leading advertising solution in Hampton Roads, helping brands big and small connect with the community and drive success in today’s complex media environment.
Join the Max Impact Marketing Seminar on May 21, 2025 to learn more about the changing media landscape and the exciting opportunities available to advertisers with Max Media of Hampton Roads. RSVP Here: https://maximpactmarketingseminar.rsvpify.com
Sources: Recent industry reports and local market data were referenced for factual accuracy, including Nielsen and Edison Research audience studies, BIA Advisory Services forecasts, and statements from Max Media and its partners. These sources underscore the trends and results discussed above – from radio’s 92% weekly reach to digital’s 52% ad share tipping point bia.com to the powerful testimonials of advertisers like Priority Automotive radioinsight.com. Together, they paint a clear picture: Hampton Roads’ media landscape is evolving, and Max Media’s integrated radio-and-digital approach is leading the way in helping advertisers navigate that evolution successfully.