Local is King: What commercial radio taught me about doing business in WA

We live in the most isolated capital city in the world.

People say that like it’s a bad thing. But if you do business here, you know that isolation can actually be your superpower.

In a past life, I worked in commercial radio. From completing an Advanced Diploma as a mature-aged student to hosting a regional breakfast program, one rule was drilled into us above all others: Local is King.

Unfortunately, senior radio executives have since thought better and syndicated radio programming has since taken over. We hear fewer local voices and fewer local insights on the airwaves.

But the hunger for those stories hasn't gone away.

Western Australia is still a "big country town." Everyone knows (of) everyone. Trust in local business is built on handshakes and "who you know," not just fancy marketing campaigns.

In a market like this, I've learned the hard way that generic content simply doesn't work.

If your business sounds like a faceless corporation from Sydney or a tech startup from Silicon Valley, you won’t cut through.

WA audiences can smell inauthenticity from a mile away.

The Power of the Local Voice

This is why podcasting is exploding in WA right now. It is filling the gap that local radio left behind.

When a potential client hears your authentic voice, they aren't just hearing information. They are hearing local context.

They hear the passion you have for the local community. They hear the specific references to suburbs they know. They hear that you are "one of us."

That connection is something a polished 1,000-word newsletter written by ChatGPT can never replicate.

The "Perth" Way of Doing Business

At Perthspective, I built my entire business model around the way WA likes to work: Local, Convenient, and Friendly.

• Local: I don’t outsource my editing to an overseas content farm. I do it here. I know the context of your conversation because I live here too.

• Convenient: We don't make you cross the river in rush hour to get to a studio. We come to you.

• Friendly: We strip away the pretension. No red tape, no complex contracts, just a couple of locals having a chat and making great content.

Your Story is Your Competitive Advantage

If you are a WA business, stop trying to sound like everyone else. Lean into your location.

Share the stories of your local staff, your local clients, and your local wins.

Because in a world of global noise, the most powerful story you can tell is the one happening right here in our own backyard.