LivingSocial, Clear Channel Team for On-Air Deal Mentions

A new partnership between Clear Channel and LivingSocial is seeking to leverage the power of on-air personalities on 500 Clear Channel radio stations. The personalities will rap about the deals in unscripted segments. It would be interesting to know what the split is for something like this. The arrangement is described as a “commission.”

We know that on-air mentions by radio personalities provide a lift for websites and e-commerce — especially for things that have urgency requirements, such as events. But there hasn’t really been much cross-over between the two channels.

Many station groups, however, are adding deals and other offers to their websites. BogoPod, for instance, leverages a local radio show for mentions. Similarly, Cumulus Media has developed its own daily deal site, Sweetjack. That service will be live in 18 markets by the end of 2012. On a much broader basis, CBS Local stations push out deals powered by BluLabel. But we aren’t sure they have been pushing them with on-air mentions.

ClearChannel CEO Bob Pittman is the opening keynoter at ILM West Dec. 12-14 in San Francisco.