PPM GIVING STATIONS, BUYERS DATA TO ADJUST AVAILS Katy Bachman – Mediaweek Clear Channel hasn’t been afraid to tinker with its ad inventory. The radio giant’s recent decision to reduce the number of commercial breaks on its five FM stations in Houston is no exception.
Like Clear Channel’s less-is-more crusade, the inventory change from three commercial breaks per hour to two has reignited the debate on inventory management, the length of spots and commercial breaks.
With the Portable People Meter now in two markets (Houston and Philadelphia) and New York scheduled to go live in November, the radio industry, for the first time, has the opportunity to get near-instant feedback on the most effective way to manage commercials.
“We need to steal a chapter from TV’s book and create better ways to keep people around during the break,” said John Fullum, VP, market manager for Greater Media in Philadelphia. “With the PPM, we’re getting into that world.”
According to a recent e-mail sent to buyers, Clear Channel said the avails change at its Houston stations won’t add additional minutes or commercial units per hour. At most, commercial breaks will only increase by one minute for a total of five minutes, and more typically four and a half minutes. To accommodate the change, stations are reducing the amount of time devoted to station promotions and IDs to one minute per hour.
Greater Media’s four FM stations, which typically schedule two stop sets, has made similar changes, shortening station promos and tightening traffic reports. “It’s still early with the PPM, but our opinion hasn’t changed. Listeners feel that fewer interruptions are better. The PPM has underlined that,” said Fullum.
While two stop sets are not uncommon in radio, the length of breaks, even at four-and-a-half minutes, is giving more than one buyer some pause, especially when the number of units—of varying lengths, from 60 to 15 seconds and shorter—could approach eight or 10.
“They’ve gone from less is more to more is more,” said Richard Cotter, senior partner, director of local broadcast at MindShare. “CC says the audience is sticking with the station through the stop sets, but I haven’t seen the research.” Added Rich Russo, director of broadcast for JL Media: “It’s never good to have that many ads in a row.”
Others are less concerned. “Houston is a test scenario for Clear Channel, which has some room to play because the stations are strong in the market,” said Lowery Ferguson, senior VP, associate director of local broadcast at Universal McCann.
It’s not just inventory that management needs to concentrate on, suggested Jerry Lee, owner of top-rated WBEB-FM in Philadelphia. “The biggest problem radio has is that less than 1 percent of its commercials are tested, compared to 85 percent in TV,” said Lee, whose station has tested more than 2,000 commercials. “When you do that, you learn what works and doesn’t work.” |