Is spot load an indication of how much money a station is making, or how many advertisers the station actually has? Our example comes out of Bend OR, where KXIX has a regular schedule of short breaks, about 3 per hour, each about 2 minutes. KWXS on the other hand, only does 1 break per hour as far as I know, and only has about 3 spots per break, that's on a high day. Sunday afternoons there are times when there is only 1 spot per break. Also, are there spots that are sold to every station in a particular market at different rates? It seems like 90% of the spots on the radio in my market are the same on all stations. KOMO and KRWM have some of the same spots that KPLZ and the other CHRs don't have, and there are some spots that only appear on certain stations, but again, most spots are the same. Is this usual?
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spot load
- Thread starter bobdavcav
- Start date
No.
Spots are sold based on one of two things:
In non-ratings based transactions, the rate is based on an advertiser's perception of value, the relationship with the seller and the ringing of the cash register. In ratings-based sales, the rate is based on audience delivery where a station with twice the audience generally can get about twice the rate as one with lower audience.
A station with low ratings or which does not get great results for clients might be filled with cheap spots, while a more listened to station has fewer but more expensive spots.
In Bend, KXIX is about 8th in total billing. KSJJ bills twice as much and has more than twice the ratings. So you can see the relationship.
Major advertisers will use multiple stations in a campaign, as each station only reaches one segment of the population based on format, age, taste, etc.
In a market like Seattle, an agency buy for a big account might include 10 or more stations. Agencies use a calculation called reach and frequency to select stations that complement each other by adding additional cume and achieve the right number of average weekly impressions to the campaign. Agencies specify a goal as to rate against their target audience and stations that contribute to the campaign's effectiveness are bought if they meet the rate goal.
It's a "new" sign on, just making the Spring, 2012 book. So it billed less than 1/25th of the KSJJ level. I mentioned KSJJ as it is the market leader, taking about 12% of market revenues.
When I was in radio, I was surprised at how many people who worked inside the station didn't realize that some of the lowest billing stations ran the most spots. It actually seemed inverse. the more spots being aired, the lower that station's billing. The only thing that keeps rates up is the discipline to turn down business when you reach the predetermined limit.
Bongwater
Walk of Fame Participant
And sometimes, it's painfully obvious when stations whore themselves out this way.....
http://www.markramseymedia.com/2013/10/28-minutes-of-commercials-per-hour-on-a-music-station/
http://www.markramseymedia.com/2013/10/28-minutes-of-commercials-per-hour-on-a-music-station/
Ramsey has a reputation for hyperbole. There's probably more to the story than he tells.
Because most music stations in this country, especially those in PPM markets, find themselves running fewer, not more, spots.
Advertising is built on the marketplace. If the marketplace supports 28 spots an hour, then that's what the market will bear. If such a spotload is causing the problems Ramsey describes, then both listeners and advertisers will disappear. If that hasn't happened, then what other motivation is there? Not everyone sees advertising as a turn off.
Because most music stations in this country, especially those in PPM markets, find themselves running fewer, not more, spots.
Advertising is built on the marketplace. If the marketplace supports 28 spots an hour, then that's what the market will bear. If such a spotload is causing the problems Ramsey describes, then both listeners and advertisers will disappear. If that hasn't happened, then what other motivation is there? Not everyone sees advertising as a turn off.
But the article begins "So there’s this medium-sized market unmeasured by Arbitron/Nielsen."
Maybe things have changed more than I thought since I retired from radio. There are medium-sized markets that are unmeasured by Arbitron/Nielsen?
Good point. It's like going to a pass/fail school.
landtuna
Walk of Fame Participant
I know of no one who tunes into TV and radio for the express purpose of watching/listening to advertising. Perhaps there are people whose business it is to monitor such things but they aren't in the ordinary viewing/listening population.
If your purpose is to see what entertaining commercials are on these days you need only tune into YouTube on the web and there they are in all their back-to-back glory.
You know what the home shopping networks are? Someone apparently is watching.
michael hagerty
Walk of Fame Participant
True as far as it goes. But if you go back to when spot clusters were short, inventory was managed and commercials had high production value, I didn't mind commercials. A killer :60 for PanAm into a tempo-matched jingle into a record was fine.
7 minutes of radio spots with 3 of them competing car dealers all screaming at me....or endless pharmaceutical ads on TV (though the tall brunette who texts her husband "save me" at the cocktail party in the Cialis ad can occupy my screen anytime)...and few if any of them that are up to the best stuff I've ever seen...that's different.
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