One-Second Radio Spots: Could Blinks Help Your Radio Ads?
By and large I'm not the biggest fan of radio advertising, although I recognize that it's still a viable advertising medium for some businesses and industries. I think the insurance industry, which is still pretty traditional in nature, can probably extract some value from radio advertising, albeit contingent on a variety of factors. 
But despite my general distaste for radio advertising, I was intrigued by a recent AdvertisingAge article, which discussed the prospect of one-second radio spots.
The spots, called Blinks, are second-long commercials, generally featuring audio mnemonics like a word or jingle (the article calls to memory the Intel chime and the NBC bells). Clear Channel Creative Services Group, the brain behind the Blinks, has crafted demonstration spots for McDonalds and BMW's Mini Cooper (the spot features a honking horn with a man's voice saying "Mini" and was placed it before short news briefs, according to the article) and it's starting to generate some buzz.
Though the short spots (which may include three-second Blinks, as well) are only in the concept stage, the real value of Blinks, notes AdAge author Willow Duttge, may be in the publicity they generate. I can see that. I can see a weird or crazy Blink catching my attention, sending me straight to Google with one burning question: What's up with that company?
But before you go running to Clear Channel with a fistful of bills, it's important to consider the contingencies.
Take this quote from Clear Channel's VP of Creative:
"It [a Blink] really is to find new uses of radio for advertisers who are continually asking us to demonstrate that our medium can successfully extend brands, can successfully reach the consumer with touch points that are new and surprising."
It's important to touch on what Cook said about extending brands. Quite simply, Blinks might only work for your agency if it's already fairly well-known. "It's not about building a brand," adds broadcast director, Jim Gaither, "it's about refreshing a brand." Good call. You probably can't use a one-second spot to build recognition for your agency if it hasn't been advertised before.
Furthermore, like traditional radio advertising, Blinks would have be run with frequency—probably more so than a traditional 30-second spot. Otherwise, consumers wouldn't get that the Blink is associated with your agency. And I imagine increased frequency—even at one second—is going to cost you more cash.
So are Blinks going to be the next big thing in radio advertising? Would you buy a one-second radio spot to advertise your agency? Check out AdAge's article here and leave me your thoughts and impressions via comments.
[hat tip]: TopLeadGenorators
Comments
This is an interesting concept. The "blinks" sound like they would almost be subliminal because they are so quick. Maybe that's the idea?
Posted by: Laura Gates | June 14, 2006 09:26 PM
I think when they tried the "subliminal" ads in movie theatres for products available in the lobby there was no increase in sales. The conclusion was that if the ad was too brief to notice consciously, it was ineffective.
Posted by: Peter | June 15, 2006 03:35 PM
I'm not entirely sure the Blinks are intended to be subliminal, at least that's not the impression I got from the article.
At the same time, however, the only way I could see Blinks being an effective marketing tool is if the spot were a little crazy, random...just weird. But even then I'm not sure how beneficial the ads would be.
Nonetheless, I have to give Clear Channel props [as the kids say] for stepping out of the box with this concept. I'll be interested to see if the idea comes to fruition.
Posted by: Megan Mahan | June 15, 2006 03:58 PM