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On The Air

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 13, 2006

If you 'blink,' you might miss these radio ads

Clear Channel Communications Inc. is selling radio ads that are shorter than this sentence. Commercials lasting only five seconds - and some two-second ads called "blinks" - are in demand by marketers. Clear Channel stations are also offering blinks that are just one-second long, but they haven't found any takers - yet. Clear Channel started offering the super-short spots in hopes of bringing in more ad dollars, part of a broader effort to revive ad sales in an industry hurt by competition from other media and listener fatigue with commercial overload. CBS Radio, the No. 2 radio company after Clear Channel, has sold five-second ads as well, including some this year for TV networks. Unlike traditional radio ads, which tend to run 60 seconds in minutes-long commercial breaks, the minimessages can be tucked in between individual songs in a series. Marketers hope that positioning gives them a better chance of being heard, since listeners often change channels when a commercial break starts. Of course, the brevity of the spots also makes them easier to miss. Clear Channel is pricing the five-second spots, called "adlets," at 18 to 21 percent of a standard 60-second ad, which in a top-10 station in a major market can go for about $800, media buyers say.

Networks helping fuel the fire for Web video

A rapidly multiplying number of TV networks, startup firms and Web portals are rushing to feed a growing demand for Web video. Increasingly caught up in this stampede are magazine publishers, eager to get their hands on video ad dollars that typically have been beyond their reach. Advertisers have long regarded television as the preferred medium for marketing, pumping as much into TV as into magazines and newspapers combined - roughly $50-billion last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Spending on online video ads is taking off and is expected to increase to about $1.5-billion in 2009 from a projected $385-million in 2006, according to eMarketer. "For decades, the mainstay for most ad agencies has been the 15- to 30-second commercial on network television. Now, with the Web, we can get that," says Steve Forbes, president and chief executive of Forbes, which posts 10-15 videos on its Web site daily.

Late-night yuk-yuks

JAY LENO: "Former President Bill Clinton has now struck a deal with several major food companies to supply schools with snacks that have less fat, less sugar and less salt. This is all part of Clinton's new program, 'No Child Left With A Big Behind.' "

On 'Mad Money'

6 p.m./9 p.m./midnight MOST WEEKDAYS, CNBC

Jim Cramer suggested these stocks on his CNBC show this week:

Guess? Inc. (GES): The clothing company will profit from its popularity among teens seeking an "aspirational" brand, Cramer said. Cramer said he expects the stock to continue to rise because strong back-to-school sales can presage strong holiday sales and because increasing numbers of stores in the United States, South Korea and Japan will help growth.

[Last modified October 13, 2006, 06:22:10]