Weekly Spots

POSTED: October 25, 2010

(White Plains, NY) October 25, 2010 - According to Arbitron, Honolulu, HI is the 64th largest radio market with a population of 769,200. Honolulu is the capital and most populous area in the state of Hawaii.

• Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter."

• Oral histories and artifacts indicate that there was a settlement where Honolulu now stands in the 12th century. In 1794, William Brown of England was the first foreigner on record to sail into what is now Honolulu Harbor.

• Despite the turbulent history of the late 19th century and early 20th century, which saw the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, one of its most famous moments was one of the darkest moments for the United States when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This event bonded the state to the mainland forever.

• Honolulu hosts the NFL's annual Pro Bowl, in addition to the NCAA football Hawaii Bowl. The Pro Bowl will be held on January 30, 2011, once again a week before the Superbowl.

• Businesses based in Honolulu: Air Hawaii, Aloha Airlines, Crazy Shirts, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Matson Navigation Company and Visionary Related Entertainment.

• Famous people from Honolulu: Tia Carrere - singer and actress (Wayne's World), Sanford B. Dole, of the pineapple family who helped overthrow Queen Liliuokalani and became president of the Republic of Hawaii, Sid Fernandez former pitcher for the New York Mets, Don Ho, singer and entertainer, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, first member of the US Congress from Hawaii, and the first Japanese American to serve in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, Bette Midler, singer and President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States.

HONOLULU SPOT TEN

In Honolulu last week, the #1 advertiser on the radio was GEICO with 865 spots. TONY GROUP AUTOPLEX was #2, up from #67, with 606 ads, while SERVCO AUTO CENTERS was #3 with 408 commercials. RITE AID was #4 with 376 spots, while NEIL ABERCROMBIE FOR GOVERNOR ran 376 spots and came in #5. HD DIGITAL RADIO ALLIANCE was #6 with 287 spots and HAWAII TOBACCO PREVENTION ran 276 spots to bag #7. MCDONALD’S was #8, up from #14, with 262 spots, while the DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF HAWAII was #9 airing 259 announcements. CIRQUE DU SOLEIL was #10 with 256 spots.

INTERNET SERVICES SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

Proving that sporting events have a major impact on internet usage, the #1 advertiser in this category is ESPN3 with 832 spots. GOTOMEETING was #2 with 789 spots, while THE GOLF WAREHOUSE was #3 airing 677 announcements. TWOFREELAPTOPS.COM was #4 with 677 spots, while E-MEALZ was #5 with 425 ads. CRAZYFREEIPAD.COM was #6 with 320 spots and AUTOTRADER.CA was #7 with 293 spots. UPILLAR.COM was #8 with 234 spots, while EARTH SPORTS was #9 with 222 spots. Coming in #10 was FREEUSLAPTOP.COM with 192 spots.

NATIONAL SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

At the top once again is GEICO with 65,017 spots. Coming in a distant #2 was THE HOME DEPOT with 37,953 commercials, while MCDONALD’S was #3 with 23,902 spots. FORD LINCOLN MERCURY climb into the top five from #8 to #4 with 21,364 ads and coming in #5 was the HD DIGITIAL RADIO ALLIANCE with 19,887 spots.

Posted: October 25, 2010

KROGER HISTORY: In 1883, Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati. The son of a merchant, Kroger ran his business with a simple motto: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.”

Being more than 120 years old, that motto has kept Kroger well, as it has evolved into a variety of formats aimed at satisfying the ever-changing needs of the almighty consumer. With nearly 2,500 stores throughout 31 states, under two dozen banners with annual sales of more than $70 billion, Kroger ranks as one of the nation’s largest retailers.

Some of their other brands include: Loaf ‘N Jug, Dillon’s, Baker’s, Ralph’s, City Market, King Soopers, Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, Fry’s Marketplace, Fry’s Mercado, Smith’s Marketplace, V&F Coffee and Office Products, Food 4 Less, Fresh Fare, QFC – Quality Food Centers, Cala Foods, Bell Markets and Fred Meyer.

In the early 1900s, most grocers bought their bread from independent bakeries. But Kroger always baked its own bread, attempting to reduce the price for their customers while still making money. Mr. Kroger became the first grocer in the country to establish his own bakeries. He was also the first to sell meats and groceries under one roof.

Kroger now operates 41 food processing facilities that collectively make thousands of products ranging from bread, cookies, milk, soda pop, ice cream and peanut butter. Nearly half of the 14,400 private-label items found in the company’s stores today are made at one of these manufacturing plants. These “corporate brands” today account for an impressive 26% of the grocery dollar sales at Kroger, providing the company with a huge strategic advantage.

Acquisitions have played a key role in Kroger’s growth over the years. In 1983, 100 years after the company’s founding, Kroger merged with Dillon Companies Inc. in Kansas to become a coast-to-coast operator of food, drug and convenience stores.

The biggest merger in Kroger’s history came in 1999, when the company teamed up with Fred Meyer, Inc. in a $13 billion deal that created a supermarket chain with the broadest geographic coverage and widest variety of formats in the food retailing industry. The merger also enabled Kroger to generate huge economies of scale in purchasing, manufacturing, information systems and logistics. In an era when many larger mergers failed, the success of the Kroger-Fred Meyer merger stands out.

The Kroger Company had revenues of $76.73 billion last year with net income of $70 million. They have 334,000 employees.

On Cable, Kroger ran 30,515 spots in the last 12 months. The biggest month was last December when they ran 5,107 ads.

Like many food stores, Kroger loves Radio. With 674,307 spots ran on the Radio in the last 12 months they pushed hard in November (66,610) and December (67,581) last year. Last month, they ran 66,145 spots, which could be predictive of a stronger fall.

On TV, Kroger ran 69,870 spots in the last 12 months. The biggest month as last December when they ran 7,493 spots.

POSTED: October 25, 2010

Kohl's Corporation is a department store chain headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The company currently operates 1,022 stores in 49 states. Kohl's considers itself a family-focused, specialty department store. Based on 2007 revenue, Kohl's was the 22nd-largest retailer in the United States, and fifth-largest discount store after Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, and Big Lots.

Kohl’s was founded by Max Kohl, who had previously operated traditional grocery stores. His first Kohl's supermarket was built in 1946, which grew to a southeastern Wisconsin chain known as Kohl's Food Stores. In 1962, he started his first department store, Kohl's Department Store, in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He positioned Kohl's between the higher-end department stores and the discounters, selling everything from candy to engine oil to sporting equipment.

In 1972 the British-American Tobacco Company's BATUS Inc., bought a controlling interest in Kohl's Corp., which at the time operated 50 grocery stores, six department stores, three drug stores and three liquor stores. The Kohl family, led by Allen and Herb Kohl, continued to manage the company. The family left management in 1979. In 1983, the grocery stores were sold to A&P.

A group of investors, including the senior management, purchased the company in 1986, and the company added 27 more stores in the next two years. In 1988, the chain acquired 26 locations from Chicago-based MainStreet.

In 1992, the company went public and began a decade of store expansions in the south and Mid-Atlantic States.

Kohl's design office opened in January 2007, located in the heart of New York's garment district. The facility, located at 1359 Broadway, is the company's first product-design facility in the nation's fashion capital.

Kohl’s produced revenues of $17.18 billion last year with net income of $991 million. They grew 4.8% in sales in 2009 and have 29,000 employees.

Belk is still truly a family company, which they say was, “built on humble beginnings.”

In 1988, a 26-year old William Henry Belk opened a small bargain store in the rural farming community of Monroe, North Carolina. He named it the New York Racket in hopes the name would attract customers.

Sales were strictly cash. Prices were clearly marked so there was no haggling. And, customers could return goods for an exchange or full refund if not completely satisfied. In 1893, William Henry persuaded his brother, Dr. John M. Belk, to leave his medical practice and join him as a partner in the business. Together, they expanded the company throughout the Carolinas and the South as the company flourished and grew.

Today, Belk is in the third generation of family leadership. Thomas M. (Tim) Belk, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer; H.W. McKay Belk is president and chief merchandising officer; and John R. (Johnny) Belk is president and chief operating officer. They are sons of the late Thomas M. Belk, former Belk president, and nephews of the late John M. Belk, former Belk chairman and CEO.

The company has continued to expand by acquiring the Proffitt’s/McRae’s and Parisian department store groups from Saks Incorporated in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

In 2006, Belk acquired the assets of Mississippi-based Migerobe, Inc. a fine jewelry company and established a division at its corporate offices in Charlotte. Belk and Co. Fine Jewelers shops offer a wide assortment of fine jewelry, watches and quality gift items in more than 150 Belk stores.

Belk, the nation’s largest privately owned mainline department store company, has more than 300 fashion department stores in 16 Southern states and sales totaling $3.5 billion in its past fiscal year.

They have more than 20,000 employees and are involved in community service and philanthropy.

On Cable, Belk only ran 1.8% of the spots that Kohl’s ran. Kohl’s ran 86,891 spots in the last 12 months, whereas Belk only ran 1,601.

On the Radio, Kohl’s once again delivers big numbers with 556,662 spots ran in the last 12 months; their biggest month being December with 62,643 ads in the month.

On TV, Kohl’s ran 128,065 spots in the last 12 months to Belk with 10,238 spots. Again, December was the big month for both companies.

Posted: October 25, 2010

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