Twin Cities: Retail revs up TV spending

Coming off a slow April, the Minneapolis-St. Paul market has picked up considerably for May and June, boosted by retail and the onset of political spending.

Buyers in the market say April was sluggish but spending for the remainder of second quarter is pacing up high-single-digits versus a year ago, with morning news and primetime the tightest dayparts.

Part of the recent surge in spending is from advertisers gearing up for Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and graduation season, which generate considerable consumer spending.

“It’s mostly the usual suspects [including] home improvement and retailers,” says Claudia Eggan, broadcast director at the Minneapolis agency Haworth Marketing + Media. “We’re [also] hearing of new advertisers in the fast food, recreation and beverage categories.”

Though political spending started earlier in a handful of markets around the country, it is just beginning to affect the Twin Cities, and it should remain strong through the November elections.

Two main races will drive the big political spending in the market this year, including the race for governor. Incumbent Mark Dayton, a Democrat, faces several Republican challengers vying for their party’s nomination.

Former state house minority leader Marty Seifert, a Republican, began advertising in high-profile inventory such as Minnesota Wild playoff games this week, and others, including businessman Scott Honour, are expected to follow ahead of the August primaries.

A few Republicans are already advertising on the radio, too.

The race that may see the most spending is for U.S. Senate, where former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and incumbent Democrat Al Franken is seeking reelection.

Franken kicked off local TV advertising this week by spending more than $140,000 for a six-day campaign on a handful of stations in the market, with much more expected as the election nears.

Meanwhile, radio in the Twin Cities is also healthy and even oversold in some areas, as is typically the case in spring.

“For the size of the market, there aren’t that many radio stations, so inventory can disappear quickly,” Eggan says.

It’s not an easy radio market to navigate. Some weeks and months stations have plenty of last-minute inventory available, and at other times they’re sold out and require bump rates to get advertisers on the air.

Buyers note that many Minneapolis-St. Paul residents head out of town during holidays and weekends, and they can be targeted on stations in other areas of the state.

“Most metro stations do not reach the northern end of the DMA,” says Eggan. “That area is important, especially during the summer months, as many people migrate north each weekend to lake homes and resorts.”

The top overall station in the market is Clear Channel-owned contemporary hits station KDWB-FM, which posted a 9.4 average quarter-hour listener share in March, according to Nielsen portable people meters.

That was nearly two full ratings points ahead of Hubbard-owned hot adult contemporary station KSTP-FM, which was No. 2 with a 7.5 share.

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