MarketInk: Digital marketer iCatch nominated for Yelp lead generation awards

iCatch Marketing, a San Diego-based digital marketing agency, reports it has been named a finalist in three categories for the 2025 Yelp Advertising Partner Awards. The categories include Agency Ambassador Award, Best in Innovation and Best in Technology.

The awards, to be presented at a Yelp conference in early March in Miami, celebrate top-performing agencies that demonstrate excellence in partnership, innovation and technology while delivering measurable value to businesses nationwide, said an iCatch statement.

“We’re very excited about the nominations, but it’s both humbling and motivating,” iCatch co-founder Tim Prüsener told Times of San Diego. “These nominations are a reflection of the passion, creativity and dedication of our entire team.”

In 2014, Prüsener and Christopher Wieseler founded iCatch, which now has 14 full-time employees and teams of contractors in Guatemala and Germany. Along the way, they developed ySuites, a software platform that uses artificial intelligence to improve lead generation with Yelp advertising.

“ySuites has been a game-changer for us,” Prüsener said. “The technology provides advanced optimization, transparent reporting and real lead attribution. It typically results in at least three times the conversion rate of leads to appointments.”

Prüsener said any advertiser on Yelp, large or small, can benefit from the ySuites platform. He mentioned that ySuites has helped businesses in the home services industry, including home repair and remodeling, plumbing, heating-air-conditioning, landscaping, garage door repair and pool service, as well as other professional services, including lawyers, dentists, doctors, restaurants, realtors and lenders.

“We’re offering the software to other marketing agencies as the secret sauce to help their clients generate more leads from Yelp,” he said. “We’re committed to delivering measurable results and building long-term relationships.”

Prüsener said iCatch’s constant innovation and support of the Yelp platform earned the agency Yelp’s 2023 Yelp Advertising Partner of the Year award. It also landed Prüsener a seat in the Yelp Agency Partner Advisory Council, which began meeting in January.

Although iCatch specializes in Yelp, it also serves clients and partners of Google, Meta and other marketing channels with research-based branding and competitive analysis.

KPBS-FM returns to Borrego Springs after 15-year absence

KPBS Radio 89.5-FM, an affiliate of National Public Radio, has begun airing its channel to San Diego County’s Borrego Springs community on KRAM 90.5-FM in a one-year agreement with Gabriel Wisdom of American Money Management, owner of KRAM.

In mid-2025, Wisdom purchased KRAM and approached KPBS about rebroadcasting the public media station’s content in Borrego Springs, KPBS said.  

“By airing programming from KPBS on KRAM 90.5 FM, we’re linking Borrego Springs with trusted journalism and a cultural connection that strengthens civic life in San Diego’s beautiful desert community,” Wisdom said in a statement. “The KRAM-KPBS alliance is grounded in local identity, while keeping San Diego’s desert population connected to the wider world.” 

KPBS said it has been more than 15 years since the station transmitted its programming to Borrego Springs due to the community’s geographically-challenged topography, which prevented KPBS’s signal from reaching the desert valley via its radio transmitter located on La Jolla’s Mount Soledad.

“As an essential public service, it’s important that KPBS reach local communities, especially in times of crisis,” said Deanna Mackey, KPBS general manager. “This agreement is a good example of how we can creatively partner with others to continue that service to broader San Diego. KPBS looks forward to the chance to serve Borrego Springs.” 

Religious radio gained the most new stations in 2025

U.S. radio stations with religious programming gained the most new stations in 2025, according to data from Inside Radio-Precision Trak.

The religious format with religious teaching, hymns and other related programming content added 61 stations in 2025, up 2.9% in total number of stations. The increase was more than any other radio format for the year. Religious stations nationwide total 2,133.

Stations airing contemporary Christian music added 39 new stations in 2025, which was fewer than in 2024, when 44 outlets were added. Its nationwide total is 1,987.

Country remained the most popular format in 2025 based on number of stations. Country ended the year with 2,150 stations, which was 18 fewer outlets than its 2024 total.

Spanish-language stations outdid its 2024 intake, up from 22 new stations in 2024 to 28 in 2025, up 2.1% vs. 2024’s 1.7%.

The top 10 radio formats in America based on the number of stations (appearing in parentheses) include: Country (2,150); Religious (2,133); News-Talk (1,987); Contemporary Christian (1,987); Spanish (1,332); Variety (1,178); Classic Hits (1,175); Classic Rock (647); Sports Talk (598) and Top 40 (546).

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.