The combination of a desire to tap into Christmas spending and to be seen as helping the family of nurse Jacintha Saldanha will drive advertisers back to 2Day FM tomorrow, a media analyst said.
Steven Allen, media analyst at Fusion Strategy, told B&T that the Sydney station’s five-day advertising blackout was long enough.
All advertisers will to return to the scandal plagued Today Network as the countdown to Christmas accelerates, according to Allen who said if it was a different time of year that brands would “probably” stay away.
“This is the worst time of the year to drop advertising, not so much from 2Day’s point of view, but from an advertisers point of view this is the run up to Christmas,” Allen said.
“This is when you really need to get extra people through the front door and buying.”
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has announced it will donate all profits from advertising on 2Day FM from tomorrow until the end of the year to the family of deceased nurse Saldanha.
Saldanha was the nurse on duty at London’s King Edwards VII hospital who transferred a prank phone call from two 2Day FM DJs through to the ward housing the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
Saldanha is believed to have committed suicide. The results of a post mortem examination on Saldanha’s body are expected to be released today.
SCA has pledged to contribute a minimum of $500,000 to the charity that will help the nurse’s family.
In a statement Rhys Holleran, SCA’s chief executive, apologised again for the now infamous prank phone call.
“It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family,” Holleran said.
“We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time.
“The company today reiterates that it is deeply saddened by this tragic and unforeseen event and offers its condolences to the family of Jacintha Saldanha.”
SCA’s move will help “soothe” any nervous advertisers, according to Allen who expects ad profits for the 19 remaining days of 2012 to be “north of half a million”.
