Weekly Spots

POSTED: February 13, 2012

(White Plains, NY) February 13, 2012 – According to Arbitron, Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island, FL is the 62nd largest radio market with a population of 833,000.

• Incorporated in 1886, Fort Myers is the center of a popular tourist area located about 120 miles south of Tampa at the meeting point of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caloosahatchee River. Fort Myers was the frequent winter home of Thomas Edison.

• Fort Myers, built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians that were massacring the area's few settlers, was named after Col. Abraham C. Myers, who was stationed in Florida for seven years and was the son-in-law of the fort's establisher and commander.

• Fort Myers first became a nationally known winter resort with the building of The Royal Palm Hotel in 1898. But what really sparked the city's growth was the construction of the Tamiami Trail Bridge built across the Caloosahatchee River in 1924. After the bridge's construction, the city experienced its first real estate boom and many subdivisions sprouted around the city.

• Schools of higher learning include: Florida Gulf Coast University, Edison State College, Rasmussen College-Fort Myers and Barry University.

• Famous People from Ft. Myers Area: NFL players Phillip Buchanon and Jevon Kearse - former two sport (football & baseball) great Deion Sanders, Sara Hildebrand - United States Olympic diver, Mindy McCready - country music artist, Nolan Henke - professional golfer, Walt Wesley- NBA basketball player.

FT. MEYERS SPOT TEN

In Ft. Myers last week, 7 out of the top 10 radio advertisers were automotive sales oriented. #1 was MORGAN & MORGAN (law firm) with 1,182 spots. SAM GALLOWAY FORD LINCOLN was #2 with 672 spots, while FUCCILLO KIA was #3 with 494 spots. COCONUT POINT FORD is #4 with 384 spots and GERMAIN LEXUS was #5 running 368 spots. DUNKIN’S DIAMONDS moved from #19 to #6 with 357 ads. SUTHERLIN NISSAN was #7 with 355 commercials, while NAPLES NISSAN was #8 airing 351 spots. ZOOM TAN clocked in at #9 with 344 ads and coming in at #10 was O’BRIEN HYUNDAI with 335 spots.

DIAGNOSTICS & MEDICAL SERVICES SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

#1 in the medical diagnostic services category was SONA MEDSPA with 1,205 commercials. TRUE RESULTS was #2 with 644 spots, while BOSTON MEDICAL GROUP was #3 with 572 spots. #4 was FLORIDA MEN’S MEDICAL CLINIC with 440 spots and INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY was #5 with 424 ads. CSL PLASMA was #6 with 381 spots, while STRAX REJUVENATION hit #7 with 349 spots. HRC MEDICAL was #8 airing 338 announcements and VEIN CLINICS OF AMERICA was #9 with 287 spots. And coming in #10 was SONO BELLO with 231 spots.

NATIONAL SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

The king of radio advertising regains the throne as GEICO takes back #1 airing 44,793 spots last week. AUTOZONE moves from #3 to #2 with 27,694 spots and MCDONALD’S settles into #3 running 26,678 spots. PROFLOWERS soars from #18 to #4, just in time for Valentine’s Day, with 23,858 spots. THE HOME DEPOT moved from #8 to #5 with 23,728 spots.

Posted: February 13, 2012

Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., known by most as Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. They are the manufacturer of Nissan and Infiniti cars. The company's global headquarters is located in Nishi-ku, Yokohama.

Its origins can be traced to the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911. In 1914, the company produced its first car, called DAT. They became the DAT Motorcar Co. in 1925. In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". The spelling was later changed to Datsun for marketing purposes.

Nippon Sangyo was shortened to 'Nissan' in the 1930s. By 1934 after a merger, Nissan emerged as the builder of trucks, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese military. As the war progressed and Japan took land in China, the plant was moved there until the end of the war, when Russia and the US moved it back to Japan. Under the command of American William R. Gorham, who brought technologies and ideas from Detroit, they moved forward.

In the 1950s, Nissan made a conscious decision to expand into worldwide markets. Nissan management realized their Datsun small car line would fill an unmet need in markets such as Australia and the world's largest car market, the United States.

In 1958 they first showed cars at the 1959 Los Angeles auto show, and sold a few cars that year in the United States.

The decision to change the name Datsun to Nissan in the U.S. was announced in the autumn of 1981. The rationale was that the name change would help the pursuit of a global strategy; one name everywhere.

The Infiniti brand was introduced in the United States in 1989. The marketing strategy was to target the premium vehicle segment in the United States. The Nissan VQ engines - V6 configuration - won Ward's 10 Best Engines for 14 straight years.

From 1993-2002 Nissan partnered with Ford to market a consumer-friendly minivan: The Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest. The two minivans were manufactured with all the same parts and were virtually identical aside from several cosmetic differences. That relationship ended in 2002.

According to their web site, first half of their fiscal year 2011-2012, Nissan sold 2,225,000 vehicles worldwide, up 10.7% compared with last year. Their net income after taxes totaled $2.30 billion, which was down 12.0% compared with the same period last year. They have 159,398 employees.

On Cable, Nissan ran 450,358 spots in the last 12 months. They ran hottest in September with 59,867 spots. 44.3% of all their spots ran on Cable.

On the Radio, Nissan seems to have an up and down flight schedule through the year. March was the biggest month with 42,197 spots, then spiking up again in August with 37,121 and then running hot in December with 34,420 ads. The total radio ads in the last 12 months totaled 236,104 spots.

On TV, Nissan ran 330,058 spots in the last 12 months with the hottest month being December with 41,811 spots followed by August with 41,035 spots.

POSTED: February 13, 2012

Sleep Train is one of the top three mattress retailers in the United States, and was founded by Dale Carlsen in June 1985 and is based in Rocklin, California.

Sleep Train carries mattresses manufactured by Sealy, Stearns & Foster, Simmons, Vera Wang by Serta, and Tempur-Pedic and headboards by Fashion Bed Group and Modus International.

Today, Sleep Train has more than 90 stores throughout California and Nevada employing nearly 1,000 people in the Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego markets. Sleep Country USA, Inc., is a subsidiary of Sleep Train.

Sleep Country USA, Inc. was founded in 1991 by Sunny Kobe Cook and Bob Cook, Sleep Country USA and has 75 stores and 350 employees in the Pacific Northwest. Sleep Train bought them in 2006 for $55 million.

In September of 2011, Sleep Train bought Christian’s Mattress Xpress, a retailer with three stores in the California Central Valley region and then in October last year, Sleep Train bought Mattress Outlet, a 14-store company with 13 stores in eastern Washington and one in Idaho, and America’s Mattress, a seven-store company in western Washington.

Because they are an employee owned store, no financial figures were readily available. They currently have 255 outlets.

Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) manufactures the Sleep Number bed as well as foundations and bedding accessories. The company is based in Plymouth, Minnesota.

In addition to its Minnesota headquarters, Select Comfort has manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Carolina and Utah.

In 1980, the category of adjustable air supported sleep systems was invented by a private company, Comfortaire Corporation, of South Carolina. An executive from Comfortaire left and formed a new company in 1987 called Select Comfort based on the mattress invented by Bob and JoAnn Walker.

At the touch of a button, the Sleep Number bed can be made firmer or softer on each side, making it the perfect bed for couples.

The company's TV commercials used to feature actress Lindsay Wagner. Other endorsers include conservative radio talk show hosts Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Laura Ingraham.

As of 2006, Select Comfort held 32 issued or pending patents for its products. Select Comfort products are sold through 400 company-owned stores located across the United States; direct marketing operations; and online at sleepnumber.com. The current CEO is Bill McLaughlin.

According to their 2010 annual report, they had revenues of $605.68 million and net revenue of $31.57 million, which represented 11.3% sales increase in 2010. They have 2,165 employees.

On Local Cable, Select Comfort has clicked up the spots to 194,177 in the last 12 months against Sleep Train’s 13,902 ads. The biggest month for Select Comfort was last month, January 2012, with 32,873 spots, while the Sleep Train ran the most in January as well, with 1,893 ads.

On Radio, Sleep Train chugged into the station with 212,640 spots in the last 12 months to Select Comfort’s 138,004 ads. The biggest month for Sleep Train was last month with 23,514 spots and Select Comfort also ran hot in January with 15,432 spots

On TV, Select Comfort ran 81,277 spots in the last 12 months, while Sleep Train ran 32,457 spots. Select Comfort was hottest in January with 12,272 spots and Sleep Train also ran the most spots in January 2012 with 5,148 ads.

Posted: February 13, 2012

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