• by Karlene Lukovitz , September 21, 2011

CKE Restaurants, Inc. has signed a deal with the new mobile news site OneMinuteNews.com to reach the site's young users with interactive, geotargeted video advertising for its Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains.

The deal makes CKE the first advertiser to employ the privately held site's video solution. Initiative, the Interpublic Group media communications company, will also collaborate under the terms of the exclusive agreement.

OneMinuteNews, launched in March, streams 60-second news stories that are edited, produced and anchored by and for Millennials. The site will present short-form advertising for Hardee's and Carl's Jr. in the form of five- and 10-second pre-roll videos, interactive/rich media and content sponsorships.

The restaurant brands are creating short-form advertising specifically designed to appeal to "the fast-paced Millennial generation in a high-impact, geographically targeted manner," according to CKE manager of digital strategy and marketing Brad J. Rosenberg.

Generation Y is the most under-delivered demographic in the news space, says OneMinuteNews founder and CEO Doug Greenlaw, formerly an advertising executive with MTV Networks and president of Whittle Communications's Channel One. The site says it aims to provide this highly mobile demographic with short, accurate, neutral reporting.

At launch, the site described itself as supported by "ultra-short form" video ads featuring exclusive product category advertising opportunities in areas including trending news, lifestyle, entertainment, sports and technology.

In separate news, CKE reported that its chains' combined same-store sales for fiscal Q2 rose 2.2%, and are up 4.1% year-to-date. Carl's saw same-store sales rise 2%, and Hardee's 2.5%, in the quarter. Year-to-date, Hardee's' same-store sales are up 6.4%, and Carl's' are up 2%.

Hardee's has now had 19 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales, but this is just the second such quarter for Carl's Jr.

Reported revenue for the quarter was down 4.5%. Excluding revenue lost due to the sale of the Carl's distribution business in July, revenue was up 3.7%. EBITDA was $40.9 million, $1.4 million lower than in Q2 2010.

For the first 28 weeks of the current fiscal, through Aug. 15, the company saw net losses of $4.8 million, compared to losses of $30.4 million in the same period last year.