Weekly Spots

POSTED: May 23, 2011

(White Plains, NY) May 23, 2011 – According to Arbitron, Akron, Ohio is the 76th largest radio market with a population of 598,100.

• Akron was co-founded by Paul Williams and General Simon Perkins in 1811. The city was settled in 1825 as a strategic point at the summit of developing the Ohio and Erie Canal. Akron’s name is derived from Greek meaning “summit” or “high point.”

• The city was once known as the Rubber Capital of the World when the four major tire companies of Goodrich Corporation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and General Tire were headquartered in Akron. Goodyear became America’s top tire manufacturer after merging with The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company in 1935 and remains the last major tire manufacturer based in Akron.

• Several residents of Akron have played a role in defining American cuisine. One of those was Ferdinand Schumacher created the first American oatmeal and is a pioneer of breakfast cereal. He also founded the Empire Barley Mill and German Mills American Oatmeal Company, which later resulted in the Quaker Oats Company.

• Akron’s professional sports team include the Akron Aeros (Minor League Baseball), Akron Racers (National Pro Fast Pitch-women’s softball), and Rubber City Rollergirls (Roller Derby).

• The city is home to the University of Akron, originally Buchtel College. The school features the Goodyear Polymer Center and the National Polymer Innovation Center. The University is home to the Akron Zips, who compete at the NCAA Division I level in many sports including the men’s basketball team and the men’s soccer team.

• Notable people from Akron, Ohio include: NBA star, LeBron James; lead singer of The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde; actress, Anne Heche; NFL star, James Harrison; and actor, Clark Gable.

AKRON SPOT TEN

The #1 Radio advertiser in Akron last week was the TIME WARNER BUNDLE with 315 spots. GIANT EAGLE (Grocery) was 32 with 278 spots, while THE HOME DEPOT was #3 airing 274 commercials. FRONTIER BUNDLE was #4, up from #12, with 252 spots and BEST CUTS was #5 with 184 ads. MCDONALD’S was #6 with 158 spots, while GEICO was #7 running 155 spots. FORD LINCOLN MERCURY was #8 with 150 spots and the US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION cruised into #9 with 149 announcements. SAM’S CLUB was #10 with 146 spots.

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

The winner in the higher education radio ad-a-thon last week was KELLER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT with 7,666 spots. The UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX rose from #11 to #2 with 7,427 spots, while IDIANA WESELYAN UNIVERSITY aired 822 spots to come in #3. UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND was #4 with 794 spots and GALEN COLLEGE OF NURSING held down #5 with 494 commercials. TIDEWATER COMMUNITY COLLEGE was #6 with 432 ads, while DEVRY UNIVERSITY was #7 with 415 spots. ARGOSY UNIVERSITY leaped from #41 to #8 with 411 spots and DAVENPORT UNIVERSITY was #9 airing 399 spots. Coming in #10 was HERZING UNIVERSITY with 316 spots.

NATIONAL SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

The king of the hill once again was THE HOME DEPOT with 60,107 spots last week. Coming in #2 was GEICO with 38,784 ads, while MCDONALD’S was #3 with 26,686 spots. The US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION (Seat Belt On campaign) from #66 to #4 last week with 25,296 announcements. The HD DIGITAL RADIO ALLIANCE was a solid #5 with 20,417 spots.

Posted: May 23, 2011

The Wendy’s/ Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN) is the holding company for the fast food chains Wendy’s and Arby’s. It is the nation’s third largest quick-service restaurant company with more than 10,000 chains in 27 countries and territories. They have their corporate headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wendy’s origins date back to 1969 when the first restaurant was opened in Columbus, Ohio by founder, Dave Thomas. Thomas named the restaurant after his fourth child, Melinda Lou “Wendy” Thomas. He wanted to create a restaurant that was new and different, using fresh ingredients served the way customers wanted. His inspiration for Wendy’s “old fashioned hamburgers” and Frostys came from Thomas’ trips to Kewpee Hamburgers in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan where they sold square hamburgers and thick malted shakes.

Wendy’s claims to fame include having “the first modern-day, drive-thru window” as of 1971 as well as being the first fast food chain to introduce the salad bar in 1979. Aside from the famed Burgers and Frosty shakes, today’s menu includes items like Wendy’s chili, Garden Sensation Salads, Boneless Wings, and Chicken Go Wraps. The restaurant prides themselves on their fresh, never frozen beef and made-to-order menu.

Arby’s was founded in Boardman, Ohio in 1964 by Forrest and Leroy Raffel who believed there could be a fast-food chain based on a food other than the traditional hamburger.

The brothers wanted to call their restaurants "Big Tex," but that name was being used by an Akron business. The brothers came up with the name Arby’s based on the initials “R.B” that stood for Raffel Brothers.

Arby’s original menu only included roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, and soft drinks. Today, Arby’s also features their famous curly fries, Market Fresh sandwiches, and Jamocha Shakes. In 1991, it became the first restaurant in the fast food industry to offer a complete “lite” menu with sandwiches and salads under 300 calories and 94% fat free. They also were the first major fast food chain to eliminate all trans-fats from their menu as well as feature chicken products that contained no artificial additives as of 2006.

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is the power behind Triarc, which gobbled up Arby’s and then on April 24, 2008, Triarc Companies, Inc. acquired Wendy’s International fast food company for $2.3 billion in stock. Under the terms, the company name was changed to Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc.

According to the company website, Wendy’s/Arby’s Group had approximately $12 billion in system-wide sales from more than 10,000 stores. They have 64,100 employees.

On Cable the Wendy’s-Arby’s Group ran 427,750 spots in the last 12 months with their biggest month being August with 56,760 spots, followed by July with 47,383 spots. This last March was strong as well with 48,566 spots.

On Radio, Wendy’s-Arby’s Group ran 470,156 spots in the last 12 months with August having 67,521 of them.

On TV, the group ran 253,927 spots with spikes last July at 30,268 ads and a slight rebound last March with 23,774 spots.

POSTED: May 23, 2011

Universal Studios Theme Parks and Resorts is part of the theme park division of NBCUniversal, which is now part of Comcast. The division has its headquarters in Orlando, Florida.

The first Universal theme park opened in Hollywood and was attached to the soundstages at the heart of Universal’s movie empire. What once began as a simple backstage tour through the Universal lot in 1962, eventually grew to become a full fledged theme park. It was the success of that venture that inspired Universal to eventually invest $250 million in 1990 to launch an east coast version of its theme park in Orlando.

By 1996, Universal saw a need for expansion to challenge the growth of its rival theme park, Walt Disney World. This expansion included the opening of the Islands of Adventure theme park, the hotel resort Portofino Bay, and an entertainment district called CityWalk. By 2000, The Hard Rock Hotel was added and two years later The Royal Pacific Hotel opened to the public.

The latest and greatest development for the Universal Studios Theme Park family was the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18, 2010. Universal Studios Florida is also the home of Wet’n Wild Water Park. There is also an international location in Japan.

With the help of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando had a 20% increase in attendance in 2010. The resort drew 11.2 million visitors, the best attendance since 2004. They had revenues of $1.1 billion and profits of $267 million.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company’s theme parks and resorts as well as other family-oriented leisure enterprises.

The Walt Disney Company got its start in 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri after Walt Disney created the short film, Alice’s Wonderland. On October 16 of that year, Walt and brother Roy Disney, moved to Los Angeles and set up the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. In 1928, Disney introduced the world to its icon, Mickey Mouse.

The Parks and Resorts division of the company traces back to 1952, when Walt Disney created and built Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Later in 1971, Walt Disney Attractions was founded in conjunction with the opening of the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The first of the Disney theme parks, Disneyland, grew to include Disney California Adventure Park, Downtown Disney, Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. This is one of the major attractions to Southern California.

The Walt Disney World Resort located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida is the largest, most visited vacation resort in the world. It is the home of the famed Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Disney World also features Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon water parks. There are more than 20 hotels featured including Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

Other locations include Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris and the Hong Kong Disneyland. Parks and Resorts also include Disney Cruise Line, eight Disney Vacation Club Resorts, and Adventures by Disney.

Disney Theme Parks host more than 100 million guests every year. The parent company Walt Disney Company had $38.06 billion in revenue in 2010 and $4.31 billion in net income. They have approximately 149,000 employees.

On Cable, Universal ran 51,585 spots against Disney’s 109,114 spots. The biggest months out of the last 12 for Universal were this April at 9,776 and May of 2010 at 8,044 spots.

On Radio, both resorts were neck and neck with Universal clearing 72,844 spots and Disney ran 75,851 ads. Disney ran heavy this March with 11,553, while Universal was hottest in February with 10,196 spots.

On TV, both firms were close with Universal running 56,403 ads in the last 12 months, while Disney ran 50,240 spots in the same time period.

Posted: May 23, 2011

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