Research

DR Radio Media Billings Continue Slide With a 21.4-Percent Drop in 3Q 2008

1 Mar, 2009 By: Shay Moftakhar Response

---

Local radio decreases by 40 percent as the top 10 campaigns shrink 20.6 percent.

Third-quarter 2008 DR radio media billings from TNS Media Intelligence (TNSMI) didn't buck the losing trend of the first half of 2008, reporting a 21.4-percent decrease of more than $3.3 million. Setting record lows in all three quarters, DR radio has shown its worst results in the six years of TNS-provided data in Response.

Figure 1

Third-quarter 2008 DR radio totals are 41-percent lower ($8.5 million) than when Response started reporting these figures from TNSMI in 2004, and 11.3-percent lower than the previous record 3Q low, set in 2005. Like the previous two quarters of 2008, a major contributing factor to this decline is the dwindling number of individual campaigns measured.

Figure 2

In this case that number is down 42 percent from 3Q 2004 — 61 campaigns, compared to 105 five years ago. Also, the absence of last year's No. 2 and No. 3 campaigns — "Dell Various Computer Products" ($2.5 million) and "TempurPedic Inc." ($1.1 million) — combined to exceed the quarter's overall deficit, while no other campaigns compensated for the loss in spending.

Figure 3

 

Multiple Category Rad

 

Despite the overall losses, nine of 17 categories reported advances in 3Q 2008. Like 2Q, the "Multiple Category Ad" category earned the highest dollar gain, with a $1 million advance (up 71 percent). The "Home and Building" category claimed highest percentage gainer honors with a 13-fold increase of $97,100. The "Correspondence Schools" and "Lawn, Garden, Seeds and Bulbs" categories made impressive advances with 406.5-and 153.2-percent gains. The "Business" category gained $15,100 (it was zero in 3Q 2007), while the "Collectibles and Art" category remained stagnant.

Figure 4

Unlike 2Q 2008, the "Computers, Software and Home Office" category claimed the highest dollar decline, losing $2.3 million (91.3 percent). However, as in 2Q 2008, the leading percentage loser was the "Automotive and Travel" category, which landed at zero, losing all of the $97,300 it earned a year ago. The "Drug and Toiletry" category suffered a 37.3-percent decline, losing $1 million. "Food and Beverage" lost a half-million dollars, an 80.5-percent demise, while "Crafts, Hobbies, Sporting Goods and Toys" lost a quarter-million dollars, more than two-thirds of its total from 3Q 2007.

Figure 5

1 2 

Bookmark it: digg del.icio.us technorati yahoo facebook twitter