Radio’s top national advertisers showed some big seasonal shifts for the week of May 16-22 as Americans make plans for the Memorial Day weekend, marking the unofficial start of summer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pressed pedal to the metal on safe driving messages ahead of an expected 37.9 million Americans hitting the road this weekend, according to Arrivalist.
NHTSA flooded the airwaves with 45,000 spots last week, according to Media Monitors, to leap from No.64 to No.6 for its highest ranking since the week of April 4-10, 2022. The Home Depot, which was conspicuously absent from radio’s top 100 advertisers for much of 2022, is back in a big way for spring planting, mulching and fix-ups, landing at No. 7 with 41,904 spot occurrences.
During The Home Depot’s absence, competitor Lowe’s picked up the slack in the Home Centers and Hardware Stores category, often ranking in the top10. But during the past several weeks Lowe’s has pulled back and placed No. 38 on the latest list with 15,027 spots. Rival Menards was No. 69 with 8,601 ads. In the related Home Furnishing category, Ashley Home Store was No. 78, Living Spaces No. 89 and La-Z-Boy No. 90.
Targeting shoppers stocking up on charcoal briquettes and other grilling-related products is Kingsford, the brand owned by The Clorox Company. Kingsford ran 16,289 spots to rank No. 30. Kingsford made its seasonal return in early May after not placing in the top 100 since June 2021.
Zevo, the pest control brand owned by Procter & Gamble, is also among seasonal advertisers on the radio, airing 12,312 ads to finish at No. 46. P&G began using radio to promote Zevo in April 2022. In the Farming, Lawn & Garden Equipment category, John Deere is riding high with6,656 spots to rank No. 87.
Apart from seasonal advertisers, many of radio’s most dependable clients remain unchanged, particularly within the upper reaches of the chart. For the week of May 16-22, 2022, the top 10 on the Media Monitors tally are iHeartRadio at 1, Progressive at 2, Indeed at 3, Upside at 4, Zip Recruiter at 5, NHTSA at 6, The Home Depot at 7, Straight Talk at 8, Babbel at 9 and Wendy’s at 10.