Bangor-Ellsworth radio spot sales

[Chuck_igo]

so i just dropped my son at a scout camp in Eddington this morning (Sat) and had the chance to punch around the dial (FM) while in the Bangor metropolitan area. kudos to the sales staffs at just about every station in the area! full breaks (much to the dismay of some who dislike 6-spot stopsets - argy) and of the full breaks, most of the biz is local. locally produced and very well done at that. business locales from Bangor to Ellsworth.

so the question is - are rates too good to pass up for the advertiser in the area, or are the sales staffs up that way doing that good a job?

curious, and again - a tip o the hat.

 

[ray ting]

Chuck, I can get rimshot signals from both of those markets where I am. You're right when you say that they seem to have a lot of spots on the air -- and I think you nailed it when you pointed out that most of the business was local.

Maybe Portland and other Maine markets are missing it when they plan to rely purely on agency business for Q1.

 

[Pliff]

You guys are right on the money! If local radio is going to survive, it has to sell locally. National advertising dollars are drying up (even in some major markets). Give it a few years...and most revenue will come from local spots. Agency buys are becoming a thing of the past. Many agencies are spending more their $$$ on the web.

 

[argytunes]

To my friend, Chuck...

I'm all in favor of local business over the national stuff. How much "hype" can a listener swallow from the same spokesperson who is selling cars one minute and diet pills the next! ???

My issue has always been "similar product placement"---and this is where a lot of radio (and television) stations blow it! Do you honestly think a listner a viewer is going to pay as much attention to the third commercial (for the same type of product or service) as he (or she) would to the first one?

Too much of anything is overkill. Salespeople will obtain their "pound of flesh" (aka advertising dollars) for a few times...but after awhile listeners will IGNORE the message and eventually---the radio station that's presenting it! :

You want listener (or viewer) loyalty....then don't cram more crap into a break than we can possibly digest!

argytunes

 

[oldrover]

Actually, people DO hang through stop sets. Here's research.

 

[ray ting]

Argy and Old Rover, in my humble and uninformed opinion, you're both right.

The Arbitron PPM confirms that "button pushing" is largely a myth... or at least it's an activity that is reserved for the relatively brief period of time that people (especially in Maine) listen to radio in their cars. When people listen at work -- where the vast majority of quarter hours are accrued -- they don't switch stations, with very few exceptions.

However... on Argy's side of the argyment... stations that air those endless stopsets have a problem being listened to in the first place, thus, over-spotting is a pre-emptive audience killer.

Balance. Radio folk have to pay the bills with spots, but let's not drive our customers away with too much pitch.

 

[argytunes]

Old rover...

There's a big difference between "hanging in through a stopset" and ACTUALLY LISTENING TO ITS CONTENTS! How many people are talking to other passengers in the car or are talking through a cellphone while radio commercials casually play in the background? I'll bet the number of "non-listeners" is larger than you think? :-[

ray ting...

I think there's a more "captive audience" when we're listening to a radio station in a car or van. But I know that most listeners can't handle 3 screaming commercials or promos in succession...especially if their workday is stressful or if they're searching for a little less noise. :

argytunes