Bruce Hershey II was into radio when radio wasn't cool. Or at least when it wasn't embraced by the real estate industry. Hershey, vice president of sales and marketing with Engle Homes in Southwest Florida, came to the field from the sports world.

He worked for teams such as the Florida Everblades, where he saw advertising promotions on the airwaves connect with fans. Then at KB Home, he sought to diversify the focus, which was heavy on print advertising and signs, to include radio.

"I had the outdoor [advertising], I had the print, I had a little bit of TV, but I needed a full mix to get the exposure I needed," he recalls.

Hershey believed radio would bring top-of-mind awareness to potential buyers, persuading them to turn their vehicles literally toward a new development. He first started with ads offering gift cards for gasoline or to spots such as Starbucks, if they would stop by a community that day.

"Now, as I've changed in my marketing and adapted to market conditions, I'm trying to appeal more to a lifestyle," Hershey says of his work with Engle Homes. The company's radio messages focus on hot buttons such as price, lifestyle and amenities.

Radio executives and analysts say there's a bit of an upswing in radio advertising. That's after a hit during 2004 and 2005, when agencies that place advertising for companies were looking primarily online to reach consumers, particularly those under 30 years old, says Dave Van Dyke, president of Bridge Ratings, a Glendale, Calif., radio market analysis firm.

He describes the 1990s, when dot-coms poured money into radio advertising, as "traditional radio's heyday in terms of advertising revenues."

"Things have settled a bit, and advertisers have realized that a lot of these new things just weren't quite everything they expected in terms of effectiveness, but they were an important part of a complete mix," he says. "The benefit of radio is what we call reach, and it's capable of reaching large masses of people; that's why they call it broadcasting."

In 2006, approximately $20 billion was spent on radio advertising-up about 3 percent from the previous year, Van Dyke says. Three percent growth is expected again for this year.

Naples-based Beasley Broadcasting Group, which owns five local stations, has seen categories of advertisers that were nonexistent or down in the past five or 10 years experience a surge recently, says sales director Robert Hallman.

"Real estate was always a very rough category to break into. It is definitely a radio category now," says Hallman.

Radio advertising now includes nontraditional sources of revenue, such as concert and event sponsorships, promotions and Internet presence. "A lot of the reason why you're getting the positive karma about radio is there are a lot of different ways [to reach a market] other than just buying commercials," Hallman says.

Stations are seeing renewed interest in radio advertising from the financial, healthcare and retail industries, particularly with the opening of the two new regional malls.

Those advertisers might be exceptions, however.

"None of our clients has expressed an interest in radio advertising recently," says Clay W. Cone, president of Cone Communications Co. "With all of the emerging media that's out there today, you have to wonder if standard, over-the-air radio is a little old-fashioned."

It is about buying the right mix, says Chris Spiro, CEO and creative director of Spiro & Associates, an advertising, marketing and public relations firm in Fort Myers.

Even in radio, the lines are starting to blur with streaming audio and live simulcasts. "It's the power of the radio with the Internet combination," he says.

Internet advertising is projected to outpace and outperform traditional radio by the end of 2008. About $21 billion is expected to be spent on traditional radio and slightly more online, according to Van Dyke. That will be the first time Internet advertising surpasses its radio counterpart.

A couple of Hallman's clients already have a separate budget for advertising on radio station Web sites. Beasley's goal is for Internet revenue to reach 5 percent this year-a number that Hallman admits could grow to 11 percent within the next two years.

"We were forced to go this way. Now people are really buying into it," he says. "We have a couple of different ways now bringing money in."

Engle Homes used radio, direct mail, e-mail, print and TV advertising during a push in March to sell 50 homes in five days at its five communities in Southwest Florida. After the first couple of days, Hershey pulled TV ads to funnel more money to radio.

"I think the biggest drive behind it was the radio," he says. "We saw results of people coming through the door [who] heard it on the radio."

With the reach of traditional advertising and other components, radio can be a smart way to attract customers. "You will see more and more people utilize it in my kind of work," he says.