Weekly Spots

POSTED: May 13, 2013

(White Plains, NY) May 13, 2013 – According to Arbitron, Washington D.C. is the 7th largest radio market with a population of 4,635,000. DC has moved from 9th to 7th in three years.

• Washington, D.C. formally the District of Columbia is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. It was an attempt to have the Capital in a “neutral” area between the northern and southern states.

• The District is not a state, thus residents do not have voting representation in the United States Senate and only a delegate in the House of Representatives, but D.C. is entitled to three electoral votes for President.

• Higher education in Washington: George Washington University, Georgetown University, American University, the Catholic University of America and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. The University of the District of Columbia is a public university providing undergraduate and graduate education.

• Washington, D.C. is home to five major professional men's teams. The Washington Wizards – NBA; the Washington Capitals – NHL; the Washington Nationals – MLB; D.C. United – MLS and the Washington Redskins – NFL.

• Some notable people who were born in Washington D.C. include: Marvin Gaye, singer; Chris Carmack, actor; Stephen Colbert, comedian; Duke Ellington, jazz great; Tim Gunn, fashion guru; Samuel L. Jackson, actor; Connie Chung, journalist and Maury Povich, TV personality.

WASHINGTON D.C. SPOT TEN

In the Nation’s Capital last week, the #1 radio advertiser was GEICO with 715 spots. JIFFY LUBE slid into #2 with 643 ads, while AT&T WIRELESS connected at #3 with 626 spots. NISSAN was #4, up from #16, airing 589 commercials and VERIZON WIRELESS was #5 running 577 spots. THE HOME DEPOT dropped from #1 down to #6 with 574 spots, while MCDONALD’S was #7 with 573 ads. MARLO (Furniture) sat at #8 with 481 spots and the NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE traveled from #25 to #9 with 453 commercials. Coming in #10 was THE WASHINGTON POST with 446 radio spots.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER SERVICES SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

In this select category, the #1 advertiser was FORTUNE BUILDERS with 3,515 spots. CONSTANT CONTACT came in #2 airing 3,197 spots, while IDENTITY GUARD locked up #3 with 3,049 spots. AAA (Automobile Association of America) moved from #10 to #4 with 2,896 spots and 1-800-411-PAIN took #5 with 2,376 spots. LIFELOCK landed at #6 with 2,344 spots, while 1-800-GOT-JUNK? clanged in at #7 with 1,963 spots. INSPERITY (professional HR) captured #8 running 1,938 ads and THE COMPANY CORPORATION commanded #9 with 1,372 spots. Coming in #10 was MMAC GROUP with 1,087 ads.

NATIONAL SPOT TEN

NATIONAL STATISTICS -

GEICO has regained its #1 status with 36,746 spots and the fact that THE HOME DEPOT dropped to #3 with 29,128 (more than 50% fewer spots than they have been running). Coming in #2 VERIZON WIRELESS with 31,998 spots, then jumping to #4 AT&T WIRELESS with 28,110 spots and MCDONALD’S drops from #3 to #5 airing 27,808 spots.

Posted: April 8, 2013

Volkswagen (abbreviated VW) is one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers. Volkswagen is the original brand of the Volkswagen Group, which includes Audi, Bentley Motors, Bugatti Automobiles, Automobili Lamborghini, SEAT, Škoda Auto and heavy duty vehicle Scania.

Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, in which it is pronounced [folks-va-gen]. Its current tagline or slogan is Das Auto (in English "The Car").

Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937 by the Nazi trade union, the German Labor Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront).

During the Second World War, the VW factories were charged with producing armaments and vehicles for the Third Reich.

After the war, the U.S. market was open to buying the Volkswagen Beetle, also known as the Volkswagen Type 1, an economy car produced by Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. With over 21 million manufactured boasting an air-cooled, rear-engine, rear wheel drive configuration, the Beetle became the world’s longest-running and most-manufactured automobile of a single design platform.

The Volkswagen New Beetle is a small family car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1998, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front driving the front wheels and luggage storage in the rear.

In May 2011 Volkswagen opened the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant. The plant makes cars specifically designed for North America.

Also in 2011, Volkswagen stopped production of the current body of the New Beetle, but last year, 2012, they rolled out a brand new, New Beetle. The 2012 Beetle strives to be less feminine than the old, New Beetle. The exterior is elongated in the front and rear, it doesn’t have a flower vase and there’s a Turbo Beetle trim with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and a spoiler.

According to their web site, Volkswagen said sales revenue grew by 20.9% to €192.7 billion, which would equate to approximately $254.58 billion in 2012.

On Local Cable, VW ran 432,625 spots in the last 12 months. They hit their high mark in March of 2013 with 52,524 ads.

On the Radio, VW was sporadic with 11,921 spots for the last 12 months. Their highs in July 2012 (2,621) and August (3,356) where offset by their lows of May (29) and January (45).

On Broadcast TV, VW ran 243,207 spots in the last 12 months with the most being run in March 2013 with 28,919 ads.

POSTED: May 13, 2013

hhgregg (NYSE: HGG) was founded on April 15, 1955, in Indianapolis, Indiana by Henry Harold Gregg and his wife Fansy.

The first store was an 800 square-foot appliance showroom and office, but by 1960 H.H. and Fansy already found the need to relocate their store to a space nearly three times larger. In just a few years, the company moved again into a 5,200 square-foot location on North Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis.

Sensing a move toward larger stores in the appliance and electronics industry, the decision was made to build a “superstore” on the North side of Indianapolis in 1979. Between 1979 and 1984, three additional superstore openings soon followed, including one in Lafayette, Indiana, as well as relocations on the South and East side of Indianapolis.

The company’s first move out of Indiana came with the purchase of Famous State Sales of Nashville, Tennessee in 1984.

hhgregg reached a turning point in 1986 when they purchased a small appliances and electronics company in Terre Haute, Indiana. They opened a 180,000 square-foot corporate headquarters, warehouse and distribution center in Indianapolis. The company also began to use computers for operational purposes for the first time.

By the end of 1987, hhgregg purchased Old Hickory TV in Nashville, Tennessee and opened three more stores.

By 1999, hhgregg acquired eight stores from the defunct Sun TV in Cincinnati. Between 2000 and 2003, hhgregg continued its expansion into the Ohio, Atlanta, and Louisville markets, bringing hhgregg’s total stores to 47 in October, 2003.

Over the next five years, hhgregg began building stores with a new hi-tech design and opened its first hhgregg Fine Lines in Indianapolis.

In 2007, hhgregg went public on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol: HGG.

Today, hhgregg is one of the nation's leading and fastest growing retailers of home appliances and consumer electronics with over 228 locations. According to their annual report, they created revenues of $2.49 billion in 2012, with a net income of $81.49 million, which they say was a 20% increase in sales. They have 6,700 employees.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is an international retailer of appliances, technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation.

In 1966, Richard M. Schulze and business partner James Wheeler opened Sound of Music, an audio specialty store, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In 1983, Sound of Music’s board of directors approved a new corporate name: Best Buy Co., Inc. and the first superstore opened in Burnsville, Minnesota. The store featured expanded selling space, a wide assortment of discounted brand-name goods, central service and warehouse distribution.

In 1990, Best Buy eliminated commission for standalone sales people, but retained bonuses for management and supervisors. Two years later Best Buy hit the $1 billion mark in annual revenues and in 1997 Best Buy became the first national retailer to sell DVD hardware and software.

Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, and Pacific Sales are currently subsidiaries of Best Buy. They also own over 100 Best Buy Express Automated Retail stores or "ZoomShops", operated by Zoom Systems, in airports and malls around the U.S.

On April 10, 2012, their CEO Brian Dunn resigned after working for the company for 28 years. Best Buy has 1400 stores, but planning to close at least 50, while opening 100 small format stores.

According to their annual report, Best Buy produced revenues of $49.14 billion, but lost $-482.87 million in 2012. They have 165,000 employees.

On Local Cable, hhgregg ran only 9.52% as many spots as Best Buy. In the last 12 months, Best Buy ran 171,291 spots compared to hhgregg’s 16,299 ads. Best Buy’s biggest month was December 2012 when they cleared 28,607 spots. And the hhgregg chain hit a high mark in December as well with 2,278.

On the Radio, Best Buy ran about 34.4% as many spots as hhgregg. Best Buy ran 29,392 spots in the last 12 months, while hhgregg ran 85,416 spots. Best Buy’s biggest radio month was October with 5,011 spots compared to hhgregg’s biggest month, November 2012 when they cleared 13,302 spots.

And on Broadcast TV, hgregg ran near 55% more spots than Best Buy in the last 12 months. Best Buy ran 62,270 spots, while hhgregg bested them with 140,512 ads. Best Buys biggest month was December 2012 with 10,482 spots and hhgregg ran the most in same month with 20,076 spots.

Posted: May 13, 2013

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