CLEAR CHANNEL CITES GROWTH IN SHORTER ADS Sue Zeidler – Reuters Miniature radio ads, spanning just a few seconds in length, are a hit in Hollywood, says market leader Clear Channel Communications Inc., which launched the spots known as blinks and adlets last year.
Homer Simpson's unmistakable "D'oh!" or "Woohoo!" followed by the familiar tagline, "Tonight on Fox!" for example, has been a popular two-second ad -- known as a blink -- for Fox Broadcasting.
"We love the blinks and adlets. They are great frequency builders, especially when you have iconic sounds associated with shows," said Kaye Bentley, senior vice president with News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting.
Clear Channel, which launched the shorter ads in the face of a slowing radio ad market, said at least 20 national advertisers have tried out the shorter format since launching the ads last summer. Nearly half of those are entertainment companies, Clear Channel said.
The company in the past few years has also begun selling 15- and 30-second ads in addition to more traditional one minute spots.
Unlike longer ads, which run during minutes-long commercial breaks, the blinks and adlets are slipped in between songs.
"It's (adlets/blinks) grown so much in the last six months. It continues to grow on a daily basis," Jim Cook, senior vice president of creative services for Clear Channel Radio, said, noting the mini ads work particularly well for companies with recognizable brands and in conjunction with longer ads.
"We all enjoy and memorize things of an entertainment nature and adlets are a great way to get the message out cost-effectively," he said.
Clear Channel would not disclose pricing, but one ad executive said five-second adlets typically price at up to 20 percent of 60-second ads, which cost about $800 in major markets, while two-second blinks cost 10 percent, or about $80.
Cook noted that only one adlet and two, two-second blinks can run per hour on any station in order to avoid ad clutter.
BLINKS FROM HOMER
Bentley said Fox Broadcasting plans to run about 15,000 "Simpsons" blinks across a multitude of stations on one day in September to promote the series' fall season and has similar plans for other Fox series as well.
Bentley said she has also placed blinks with other radio groups like CBS Corp. CBS confirmed that both Fox and General Electric Co.'s NBC have run shorter-length ads on its radio stations.
Clear Channel said Walt Disney Co.'s ABC has used the shorter ads to promote "The View," while Viacom Inc.'s VIA.N MTV has employed them for the "Real World" and Viacom's Paramount Pictures used adlets to promote the film "Stardust."
But while the concept appears to be gaining traction in Hollywood, some advertising executives remain skeptical.
"I think a few advertisers have found a strategic way to use it, but it's not something that's going to work for the majority of advertisers," said Richard Cotter, managing partner for WPP Group Plc's MindShare Local Broadcast unit.
"If your product is well-known, you can probably have some fun with these things, but they're not easy to use if you have to really communicate a sales message to listeners. You can't do that in five seconds," he said.
Dennis McGuire, an executive with Carat, said a few of his clients tried the spots but are not rushing back into them. "I don't see it as a huge thing, but as a way for clients to have some fun and get a presence on radio. We have used this for certain accounts, but they haven't rushed back to use them."
"In terms of planning advertising time, clients are planning 30-second and 60-second ads," he said. |