Now, you can market your products

in the blink of an “ear”

Radio advertising is alive and well and getting better. Clear Channel Communications, which owns 1200 stations, in a master stroke of business acumen and listener empathy has launched “Less is More,” a program that reduces clutter and increases effectiveness.

Advertisers can now buy five-second “Adlets” or one or two- second “Blinks.” These innovators were probably greeted with the same skepticism as were the guys who first proposed only charging bridge tolls in one direction.

Will this help Channel land clients? Sure. But to make it more palatable to listeners and advertisers, they’ve cut down the number of ad minutes per hour and the number of commercials in each “Pod.” (Pods are clusters of commercials.) TV crams so many commercials into some pods that you know you’ll have time before programming resumes to go potty, mix another drink, or go out and turn on the garden hose.

Blinks and adlets won’t work for products that need a lot of explaining. But like billboards, they’re another touch point that can make a quick impression, crystallize a unique selling proposition, or direct prospects to your Web site where they’ll get the rest of the story.

Radio is hot, and the cool thing is that rates are often negotiable. A little guy can get a mega bang for his buck with the right timing, audience and creativity. According to industry experts, radio can claim over seven years of uninterrupted revenue growth. Stations must be doing something right---like giving clients a good ROI.

Check out http://www.clearchannel.com/ for all the details on the"Less is More," program.