While the month of June has not treated the Padres very kindly, the team’s TV ratings have remained hot, generating significant advertising revenue for Channel 4 San Diego.
Jeff Fisher, vice president and general manager of San Diego Interconnect, which is operated by Cox Media and accepts advertising for the local division of Cox, Time Warner Cable and Adelphia, said that as the Padres do better, ad revenues follow.
“Advertising sales are up significantly over the last year,” Fisher said, adding that the increase in business is likely attributed to the “team playing extremely well.”
Fisher would not disclose the monetary amount generated from ad sales, only that it was attributed to the ratings.
“The ratings are up significantly too, and a lot of our revenue is related to the ratings,” he said.
According to Channel 4’s most recent ratings, which were updated June 21 and compiled by Nielsen Media Research, the station has experienced an average of 74,500 households tuning in during live and replayed Padres telecasts for the regular season. Throughout the season, Channel 4 has stayed ahead of other local syndicates by capturing 6.6 percent of the viewers, while KFMB-TV Channel 8 retained 4.8 percent and KGTV Channel 10 captured 3.1 percent.
Yet while the Padres have carried Channel 4’s advertising, nationally, TV advertising is dropping.
“The market is extremely soft. We are coming off of a market where we had political money,” Fisher said, referring to San Diego’s past mayoral election. “And there is certainly some consumer apprehension out there that is affecting some of the retailers. There is an overall sense of a wait and see what happens (attitude).”
NBC recently finished its spring advertising sales drive with less than $2 billion in prime time advertising commitments, according to published reports in a June 21 article in the Los Angeles Times.
The amount totaled about $900 million less than NBC had in 2004, reported the Times.
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New Clients:
The Falcon Valley Group, an independent public relations consulting practice, has added Community Catalysts of California, a nonprofit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities, to its client roster. Falcon Valley Group will provide ongoing media relations and public relations for Community Catalysts to increase awareness about the organization’s work. Gable-Cook-Schmid Public Relations, a San Diego-based public relations agency, has been selected by the Wiles Group as the agency of record. Wiles Group is the project manager for the $80 million redevelopment of Rams Hills, a 35,000-acre community in Borrego Springs that includes a golf course. Lavender Marketing & Advertising and the McRae Agency will collaborate on a new yearlong comprehensive marketing program for Good Feet Worldwide, LLC, an Oceanside-based manufacturer and retailer of custom fitted arch supports and natural sponge cushion. Lavender Marketing will launch a radio and TV advertising campaign to support Good Feet’s two San Diego stores. The McRae Agency will handle the public relations portion of the campaign.
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Agencies Complete Projects:
Mad Media, a full-service multimedia agency focusing on the youth and action sports market, recently completed the Web site for Riverside-based Porter Race Cars. The new site, www.porterracecars.com, has several new features such as a new projects area, a newsletter sign up and a news area featuring the latest victories for Porter. 760 Media, Inc., a Carlsbad-based advertising and marketing firm, is set to re-launch the campaign created for Cal-Americas and United Floral Exchange, both of which are wholesale florists based in Vista. The campaign has been used by the wholesale florists for the last two years. The marketing campaign includes collateral pieces, a trade show booth, media kits, catalog, posters, signs, and product and service sheets. 760 Media has also hired three new employees: William Davis, Jeff Bannasch and Joel Kane. Davis was hired as head of the company’s business development division. Bannasch and Kane, who previously worked as interns at the agency, will join the account management department.
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Honors:
San Diego marketing firms were awarded for all their hard work by the San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association’s American Marketer of the Year awards.
Those that received awards included: Alternative Strategies, for outstanding Web site, cause marketing campaign and integrated marketing campaign; Red Door Interactive, for best general print collateral piece; MJE Marketing and the San Diego County Water Authority, for best annual report; Mires and the Gemological Institute of America, for best catalog; Barona Resort & Casino, for best direct mail/direct marketing; WD-40, for its product promotional video; Bailey Gardiner, Inc., and Elite Racing, for best special event; and Sharp HealthCare, for integrated marketing campaign. C3 Communications, a San Diego-based public relations firm, was recently given the Silver Anvil award of excellence by the Public Relations Society of America, considered one of the top national awards for the public relations industry.
Please send all media/marketing news to Lisa Kovach via fax at (858) 571-3628 or e-mail at lkovach@sdbj.com. Call her at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 3107.
