San Diego: TV’s strong, led by auto

Coming off a strong 2012, the San Diego media market is poised for a solid 2013 with a number active advertising categories, led by automotive.

Media buyers who work the market say TV is already pacing single-digit percentages ahead of last year, with financial/banking/insurance, grocery, retail, fast food and travel buying heavily.

But the main driver has been auto, with spending coming from dealers and manufacturers.

“That includes domestic, foreign and even local dealerships,” says Julie Moe, senior broadcast buyer at Haworth Marketing + Media.

One reason for the increased spending in the auto category is growing confidence in the industry. Last week the industry-tracking firm Autodata reported light vehicle sales (cars and light trucks) hit 14.5 million units in 2012, up 13 percent from 2011 and the highest annual sales total since 2007, before the recession hit.

The healthy sales numbers have caused the auto research firm Polk to increase its forecast for 2013. The group now expects sales to rise another 6.6 percent this year to 15.3 million vehicles.

That means more business for auto dealers and manufacturers, and they’re eager to make their case via advertising to potential buyers.

One result of the healthy media economy in San Diego has been more advertisers locking in longer-term deals rather than going month to month as many did during the height of the recession.

“Some categories are negotiating and placing annuals, notably the financial and automotive categories,” Moe says.

Meanwhile, radio is also active in San Diego, driven by many of the same categories, such as auto and financial. Recently TV networks have also been running spots promoting new and returning shows for midseason.

“Categories that are down are restaurants, healthcare, professional services, education, traditional telecom and, of course, political,” says Moe.

She says that advertisers looking to get on the air at the last minute can sometimes be accommodated.

“The last two weeks of the month are generally tight,” she says. “And April, May, August and September are particularly busy for radio.”

Overall the San Diego radio market is diverse and competitive, but country station KSON-FM has become the clear leader in recent months.

The Lincoln Financial Media-owned station averaged a 7.2 portable people meter rating in December, according to Arbitron, 1.8 points ahead of the market’s No. 2 station, Clear Channel-owned contemporary hits station KHTS-FM.

Part of the reason for KSON’s success is that it’s the only remaining country station in San Diego. Clear Channel’s KUSS-FM, which had been country, dumped the format in 2011.

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