Two seconds are all an advertiser needs 

That was the headline on a front page article in the July 4, 2007, Boston Globe. What’s up?  The two-second radio commercial.  Get ready. It may be coming to your local radio station soon.  Clear Channel Communications now offer them on 1,200 stations they own nationwide.  Here’s the scoop.

New radio product 

The new radio commercial blurbs are called “blinks” or “adlets”.  Blinks run two seconds; adlets about five seconds. They respond to two developments: increased costs for 30-second and 60-second commercials, and shortened listener attention spans. 

According to the Globe article, Clear Channel introduced the two-second commercial as a “less is more” strategy i.e., to cut down on advertising clutter. 

Blink and adlet examples 

These two examples were cited in the Globe article:  “Sweet tea at McDonald’s” (blink); “This Saturday at Rain, it’s a glamorous VIP afterparty hosted by Fergie. Visit rainnightlife.com.” (adlet).  You can fit three or four words into a blink commercial.  You can use a few more in adlets.

What does it all mean for your agency?

If and when blinks and adlets come to your local radio station, be ready.  It may present an ideal advertising opportunity for you: a way to build name recognition and promote new business inquiries. One way to get on your mark, get set and ready-to-go is to make sure you have a Positioning Statement that you could use in a blink or adlet.  

Two of our regular clients who are ready right now are Estabrook & Chamberlain (Bridgewater MA) with their “Expect more from us” positioning line and Lupton & Luce (Riverhead NY) with their “Sound advice for sound decisions” line.  Both these lines, with the agency name inserted, are perfect for adlets.  Both agencies use these strategic positioning lines in all of their print and electronic advertising. 

Consult with your local radio station rep 

If radio fits into your marketing plan, ask your local rep if the station will take blinks or adlets now.  If so, find out how are they priced, and what length of schedule you must run to qualify for blink or adlet uses, if that is a criterion.  

If the station does not accept blinks or adlets currently, find out if it intends to and when.  Being the first insurance agency in your community to use the new commercial formats is an advantage worth considering.