Sales & Marketing

Nintendo, McDonald's offer Wi-Fi
Nintendo said it will offer free wireless Internet service for users of its Nintendo DS portable gaming device at McDonald's restaurants. The Japanese videogame maker Tuesday announced an agreement with Wi-Fi provider Wayport Inc. to extend its Wi-Fi service -- a form of high-speed wireless Internet access -- to Nintendo DS users at nearly 6,000 U.S. McDonald's locations, reported the Wall Street Journal. McDonald's already offers Wi-Fi service to laptop users for a fee, but the Nintendo deal will give videogame players access to the service free of charge. Videogame makers are pushing heavily into the online arena, where players can log on and play against other online users. Rival Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable also offers wireless gaming.

Online radio listener "Survey 33" results
RRadio Network's stations have completed a survey that looks at the household makeup of online radio's audience, and how listeners plan to spend holiday dollars online this year. It's a mature group: 73.2% of females and 72.2% of males said "yes" when asked "Are you the parent in your household?" 17.6% of 1,891 respondents report they are adults who live with their parents. Relative to children in the home: 59.6% of RRadio Network's audience live in a household that does not include a person under 18. Of those homes with children, 41.8% are single-child residences, 39% have two children, and 15.5% report living in a household with three children. 27.1% of respondents who are under 18 and living with parents say they are the sole child in their home. As for holiday spending in 2005, it's an across-the-board increase in numbers for people who plan to spend some of their holiday budget online. When asked "Do you plan to shop online this holiday season?," 7% more persons this year than last reported they will. Of these, 5.5% more will spend up to $300. 7.8% more will spend up to $450, and 8.1% more persons than last year will spend up to $600.

Consumer sentiment sinks in Oct.
Consumer sentiment eroded further in October, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. The consumer sentiment index fell to 75.4 from 76.9 in September. The drop was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for sentiment to inch higher to 80.4. Sentiment fell sharply in September in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The current conditions index fell to 95.7 in October from 98.1 in September. The expectations index fell to 62.4 from 63.3 in the previous month.

Coupon clickers
Nearly two-thirds of consumers in the US clip or print out coupons at least once a week, mostly from newspapers, magazines, circulars or inserts. But many are interested in procuring their coupons online. A survey conducted by Prospectiv found that 96% of respondents clip or print coupons, and 62% do it once a week. About 30% of consumers said that they would like to receive coupons through online channels, and more than half would like to receive coupons this way if the offers were tailored to their interests. Jere Doyle, president and CEO of Prospectiv, notes: "Leveraging online coupons can be one of the most effective methods for making that important connection that helps marketers — particularly in the grocery, health and beauty, and retail industries — attract the right customers and keep them coming back." Currently, 10.5% of US consumers get their coupons from online sources, including Web sites (5.7%), e-mail (4.4%) and banner ads (0.4%). While consumers still favor newspapers/magazines and direct mail as a source for coupons, e-mail is not far behind. However, only about 10% of respondents said they would prefer to get their coupons from Web sites and just 1% wanted to get them from Web site banner ads. A study by the e-tailing group from April 2005 indicates that 43% of promotional e-mails sent out by online retailers in the first quarter of 2005 contained coupons.

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Free FM has more to do about Jay Severin
The big buzz earlier today was about Infinity launching “Free FM” FM talk stations across the country on 22 stations. Infinity CEO Joel Hollander says that’s “Somebody just throwing stuff out there. It more has to do with Jay Severin (from WTKK-FM Boston), which we are putting out an announcement on today. We’re going to be announcing which stations he’s going to be on. I don’t know why they mixed it up so bad.” Hollander says some major Severin affiliates will be announced. “Free FM” was apparently just registered as a protection. Says Hollander: “They were protecting some URLs and other things a while ago and there’s nothing there - - don’t worry about it.”

Radio holds up, TV soft at Journal
Radio managed a tiny revenue gain in Q3 at Journal Communications, but CEO Steve Smith says Q4 is softer. Meanwhile, the triple whammy of no political, no Olympics and lower NBC ratings drove TV revenues down 16%, with more of the same expected in Q4.

More in Wednesday's
RBR /TVBR Morning Epaper.

Up quarter for NextMedia
Other broadcasters may be crying about soft ad revenues, but with its smaller market and suburban focus, NextMedia saw pro forma radio revenues rise 4.9% in Q3. Outdoor did even better, jumping 19.4%.

More in Wednesday's
RBR Morning Epaper.

Fox returning to ABC
That’s Michael Fox, who gave up his own ABC series five years ago to battle Parkinson’s disease. He is returning to the network to guest-star in three episodes of “Boston Legal.”

More in Wednesday's
TVBR Morning Epaper.

Local Sales Manager Twin Cities at KFAN-AM 1130, America's premiere Sports Talk station, home of the Minnesota Vikings and Timberwolves. LSM needed at Clear Channel Radio Minneapolis-St. Paul. Have first hand experience developing direct sales with an understanding of Sports marketing and what it can do for your clients? Can you build, lead and motivate a winning Sports sales team? Got Game? Bring your winning attitude and business savvy to KFAN. See Radio Careers