yes, I am a pest.
Posted on 02/09/2006 9:51:32 AM PST by toddlintown
Howard Stern Brings Big Ad Dollars To Sirius and Its Advertisers
Although satellite radio boasts commercial free airtime, satellite talk stations are finding both listeners and advertisers want commercials in a big way. Thanks to Howard Stern, Sirius Radio is the big winner in this new universal radio ad game.
Albany, NY (PRWEB) February 9, 2006 -- Although satellite radio boasts commercial free airtime, satellite talk stations are finding both listeners and advertisers want commercials in a big way, and thanks to Howard Stern, Sirius is the big winner in this new universal radio ad game.
When Stern debuted on Sirius in January, the first thing his entire crew noticed was the importance of commercial breaks. One reason being commercial breaks could allow producers to prepare for upcoming segments -- the other being the fact that listeners appeared to expect commercial breaks. The Sirius staff quickly went to work adding commercials to Stern’s historic show, and the ad dollars have been pouring in ever since.
Wayne Perry, president of SiCap Industries (makers of Sinus Buster, the world’s first and only hot pepper nasal spray) says his company was ready to go before Stern even premiered on satellite radio.
“We couldn’t afford to advertise when Howard was on terrestrial radio, but with Sirius we can actually do a small campaign, and we plan on doing a lot more in the future. Howard 100 and 101 are already worked into our 2006 and 2007 budgets. The thing about Howard is his listeners are incredibly loyal beyond anything else except maybe Oprah. Lets face it...Howard Stern is the Oprah of radio whether the mainstream media wants to believe it or not,” says Perry.
Wayne Perry speaks from experience. In late 2003, he was lucky enough to chat with Howard about his own public mistreatment at the hands of Clear Channel Communications, the radio giant that dropped Stern with no clear explanation, and without paying up on his legally binding contract.
Wayne Perry had also been fired by Clear Channel two years earlier. Unlike Stern who topped the company’s huge radio operations, Perry worked for the company’s small band of television stations at a local operation in upstate New York. His controversial commentaries were a popular fixture on Albany’s local television affiliate WXXA FOX 23, but after Perry started ranting about George Bush and corporate greed, his relationship with Clear Channel swiftly disintegrated.
It was at this time Perry created SiCap Industries, a company he based on a natural remedy he accidentally discovered while working on television. Perry suffered from chronic Cluster Headaches for some 20 years, and after performing a live self defense Pepper Spray demonstration on the local FOX television affiliate, he discovered that hot pepper extract could stop most headaches instantly. After researching and experimenting with various natural pepper extracts, Perry created the world’s first hot pepper nasal spray now known to alleviate a variety of chronic headaches and sinus conditions.
In early 2003, Perry introduced his new product to the world under the name, “Sinus Buster”. Sales were slow until he had that chance conversation with Howard Stern live on the air. Stern had also recently been dropped by Clear Channel, and Perry had an ax to grind. The timing was perfect, and Stern allowed Perry to rant about their former hated employer.
“Howard let me vent about those Cheap Channel assholes, and then he asked me what I was doing for work. I told him about Sinus Buster and he made a couple jokes, but he also let me plug our website sinusbuster.com. Within 24 hours we made like 30,000 dollars. Howard’s listeners came out in force after a one three second plug. That’s not something any other celebrity can do. After that we wanted to advertise with Viacom and K-Rock, but the prices were ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong -- Howard was worth every penny, but we just couldn’t afford it at the time. But now with Sirius, we can do it. There are a lot of great deals to be had on Sirius right now, and they’re willing to work with smaller companies like ours. Viacom wasn’t willing to do that. Our company owes Howard big time. Because of him we’ve created full time jobs for half a dozen people and there’s a lot more to come this year. We’re even getting medical insurance for everyone this year,” boasts Perry.
Although Perry’s company cannot afford spots during the actual live Stern Show on Sirius, SiCap has signed a three month deal to air commercials during the “Wrap Up Show,” which airs immediately after Howard on Sirius station, “Howard 100”.
“It’s a great deal and a hard one to get. A lot of companies are pushing for ads right now, but Sirius is keeping their volume low which makes a lot of sense. Giant companies and small ones like us are all vying for ad time. Sirius is the deal of the century right now and we’re proud to have our spots running in the Wrap Up Show,” says Perry.
The Sinus Buster Spots began on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl -- with a pre-recorded (30second) commercial running four times weekly, but SiCap officials plan on increasing their Sirius exposure across the board – first during the live Stern Show and then into other Sirius productions.
“We’ve already got a nice reaction from the first spots we ran, and our company’s very interested in placing spots on other Sirius channels too. I know Sirius ran some freebees for us on Martha Stewart’s channel and we saw some sales from that also. There’s no doubt people are listening to Sirius in a big way and not just for Stern although he’s of course the main draw. If they add Danny Bonaduce, we’d love to advertise with him too. I think his test run on Sirius was awesome. Danny's a real talent,” says Perry.
It seems once again Howard Stern is proving to be a powerful magnet for cash. Whether it’s through new Sirius subscribers (now over 3.5 million), or businesses looking to expand their customer base, this entertainment icon is perhaps the greatest salesman in the history of the world thus proving he is truly the “King Of All Media”.
To find out more about Howard stern on Sirius, go to www.sirius.com. To find out more about Sinus Buster Hot Pepper nasal spray and SiCap Industries, visit www.sinusbuster.com. Product samples and information kits are available for verified media and medical personnel upon request.
# # #
Wait...Isn't this supposed to be AD-FREE radio?
"Although satellite radio boasts commercial free airtime, satellite talk stations are finding both listeners and advertisers want commercials in a big way, "
Golly I wonder why this demand from listeners for more commercials is on PR Web instead news outlets?
Stern is a boring, unfunny twat anyway.
Every talk show host needs a break once in a while, so it makes sense to put the ads on the talk channels. If the music channels start using commercials, that would be a separate issue.
Only the music channels.
Of course they still have the insipid DJ's who can't help themselves from blathering sometimes, but overall it's well worth it if you drive alot or are a big music listener.
I get it free through DishTV.
Only the music channels are ad-free. The talk channels had ads long before Stern came on the scene.
Only on the all-music channels of Sirius. All of their talk, news and sports channels have commercials.
Howard will sink Serius. Who but the kooks would listen to that garbage. Let alone have the kids exposed to it when scanning for something of interest?
This listener definitely doesn't want, expect or need ad breaks, thanks all the same. I don't have Sirius and haven't listened to Stern in some time but I have a handful of PCs that record over-the-air and web streams to MP3 format. I then cut out all the junk in Adobe Audition, transfer to an MP3 player and off I go.
Rush's show lasts about 1:40 as do most 3-hour shows. Audition can even find and delete silence above a certain decibel threshold and/or for a set length of time to even further condense the show and remove some of those tedious "dramatic" pauses Rush is so proud of, along with his raps.
When he was on the SF station the commercial breaks were nearly twenty minutes long. If I tuned him when I got in the car to go to work and heard a commercial, I simply changed channels immediately.
Lotsa luck, Sirius. So much for the magic of commercial-free radio.
WANT?!! Talk about putting lipstick on a Pig!
Stern's show on SIRIUS has had commercial breaks from the beginning last month. This is not news.
LISTENERS want commercials? Oh, sure, and I have some ocean front property in Kansas to sell you.
"This is not news."
It is for people who were thinking of signing up for ad-free radio. Now Stern? Not news.
Remember back in the dark ages when cable was touted as commerical free?
yes, I am a pest.
Rush 24/7 is supposed to be commercial free but it has ads from Spatula City, Barnacle Brothers, etc.
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
I'm hoping you meant T W I T. The other word is not fit for normal conversation, or this forum IMHO.
Sorry, wasn't thinking....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.