Commuters Create Market for Advertisers

Rivers of commuters fill the lanes of U.S. Highway 71 every morning and afternoon, and the stream of traffic grows steadily heavier.

In 1990, 15,990 vehicles per day filtered past a counter at the southernmost Bentonville exit, according to Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission figures.

Nine years later, almost 40,000 vehicles thumped over the same counter daily to increase traffic by 144 percent. In 1990, almost 10,500 people commuted between Washington and Benton counties daily, according to census documents. Now, Curt Lloyd, president and CEO of the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, estimated that more than half of the workers in Benton County actually live in other towns.

With their daily travels, these commuters create a ripe market for area businesses. Bombarding the drivers from every direction, advertisements for anything from jewelry stores to hotels and restaurants target drivers on their way to work.

Approaching drivers over radio waves is one available medium. Dale Daniels, general manager for four popular radio stations in Northwest Arkansas, knows the value of radio communication.

“[Radio] is right there with them,” Daniels said. “It reaches them in the car.”

From 6:30-8 a.m. and 4:30-6 p.m., the morning and afternoon drive slots offer prime car-listening time. Three of four stations managed by Daniels are the most popular for morning drives, and advertising during the morning drive offers the highest profile for ad time, Daniels said. About 33 percent of all ad sales for the stations run during the morning drive, and ads during this time tend to be more expensive, totaling about $4.4 million in sales each year.

“We do everything we can to make them choose us,” Daniels said.

Programming designed specifically to connect with commuters airs on morning shows. KJEM-FM, 93.3 “The Eagle,” reaches commuters by continually updating traffic situations. People on the road use cell phones to call in speed traps and accidents, while the radio gives frequent traffic reports.

On the Road Again

After five years of commuting along U.S. 71 to her job as a real estate manager for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Shannon Parks has had time to get used to her daily drive. Parks uses a hand-held cellular phone to get some business done in the car by taking advantage of different time zones. In the morning, Parks calls her Eastern associates, and she uses the drive home to call her Western contacts.

Wireless technology companies advertise to reach commuters like Parks. Using radio advertising, Alltel Communication Services’ rates for wireless usage “spikes” on weekdays between 4-5 p.m., said Jessica Brogdon, communications supervisor for Alltel in Little Rock.

“When people are in their cars, cell phone usage is at its highest,” Brogdon said. “Radio is a very viable medium…. Drive time is crucial.”

Brogdon said Alltel concentrates radio advertising to air between 6-8 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. on six popular radio stations in the area.

A special promotion between Alltel and the radio stations encourages people to use their cell phone to call the radio station toll-free. Alltel receives repeated name recognition, and the promotion encourages people to interact with the station via cell phone.

Listener interaction is another device radio stations use to set advertising rates.

Rocky Road

Stacked between the yellow and white lines of the highway, commuters have created their own territory for getting to work, but Parks said she remembers when the traffic along U.S. 71 didn’t back up the way it does now.

“It’s dangerous,” Parks said, noting that cars pile up on 71 as people wait for exit ramps to clear. At U.S. Highway 412 in Springdale, the traffic stops on 71 far before the exit breaks away, Parks said.

According to the Arkansas Transportation and Highway Department, peak times for traffic flow at the 412 exit off of U.S. 71 are from 7:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. A specific number of vehicles on the road during these times was not available, but the crowds of people are “getting worse daily,” said Lance King, an Arkansas State Highway Patrol sargent.

“It’s tough to catch people because of the traffic,” King said. “[Drivers] are all running too fast and following too close. There are a lot of people on that road.” Crammed rush hour traffic promotes incidents of road rage, because the heavy traffic irritates people, King said.

An increased flow of traffic on 71 also affects the cost of upkeep for the highway. In July 1997, the end of the fiscal year for the AHTD, maintenance costs for 71 north of U.S. Highway 62 in Fayetteville to the Arkansas state line were $253,535. Three years later, the AHTD paid an increase of 49 percent in maintenance costs to bring the bill for 1999 to just under $378,000.

Considering all of the hustle created by more commuters and more frequent maintenance on the highway, Bernard Leonard plans his commute to avoid the worst of the traffic. Heading to Tyson Foods Inc. in Springdale, where he works as senior vice-president and the general manager of national accounts, Leonard leaves his house in Bentonville at about 6:30 a.m. On his way out of the house, Leonard’s wife reminds him to keep his mind on his driving.

“I figure that people in New York go for an hour and half of commuting, so 30 minutes is not that bad,” Leonard said. Listening to National Public Radio or practicing his duck calls for hunting season help Leonard make the best of his drive.