• by Wayne Friedman , September 8, 2009

To tout NBC's revolutionary move in putting a Monday-to-Friday talk show in prime time from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., Katz Marketing Solutions and Horizon Media, NBC's media agency, have developed two campaigns using radio's traffic reports.

Starting today, Sept. 8, Leno's comedy bits -- intended to cheer up listeners' commuting drives -- will run with traffic reports in NBC's top 12 markets nationwide.

"The first [part of the campaign] was finding mundane moments in everyday life that could use a laugh from Leno, such as sitting in gridlock while listening to a local traffic report," said Ken Grayson, senior director of media planning for NBC, in a release.

A second campaign starting Sept. 14 -- the day of Leno's debut on NBC -- will feature additional comedy spots introduced by local DJs. It runs in a fixed position at 10 minutes after the hour to promote Jay's new 10 p.m. time slot. The campaign will air in NBC's top 25 markets.

"The second [part of the campaign] was closely aligning Leno and the comedy with the number 10 to highlight his time slot, hence the comedy from Jay at 10 after the hour," said Grayson.

These segments will air separate from the show's content -- away from the clutter of other advertising. Instead. the comedy bits will air before and after a station programming -- music and/or talk.

Katz Marketing Solutions is a division of Katz Media Group, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, a major radio company.