Business screen magazine (1938)

solely one of intelligeiil production by capal)le. experienced business producers. Not so easily identified arc the members of the business film's "mass public." The problem here is not one of attendance totals but of "selectivity" and of an understanding of the existent forms of distribution, their costs and the extent of their services. Xuml)crs may be the only criteria in the case of motion pictures relating to nationally merchandised products retailing at a dollar or less. Similarly, a picture with a public relations message intended for all classes of adults will not find it difficult to reach millions of persons providing it pcssesses a good quality of interest or entertainment. But as the price of the product rises and the buyer market thins, so the problem of distribution of films parallels that of the "class" periodicals aimed at relatively small sections of our national population. At this point, the motion picture possesses a tremendous advantage in its ability to deliver a lengthy message with little loss of interest. Necessarily selective anyway because it must assemble its audience (of any size) before a centrally-located projector, the film is proving the most successful means of influencing public opinion with a minimum of wasted effort. That it can sell aeroplanes or silver fox furs better than any other form of sales material, including most personal salesmanship, can also be definitely arrived at on the basis of comparative results achieved in similarly limited fields of selling. A nickel sodafountain drink or a million-dollar industrial enterprise are as easily sold. Next to the unmistakable efficiency of films in the sales-training-dealer organization field, the least expensive and most effective form of distribution is that of the fair or exhibit showing. The New York World's Fair, despite the utterly ridiculous and high-handed intrusion of projectionists and other kinds of discouraging union activity, represents a model field for the distribution of general "consumer" pictures. Ready-made hourly audiences (most of them with sutticient means to pay their way into the Fair) , inexpensive sponsor-owned theatre setups, and the unquestioned gratitude of attending thousands for the restful, interesting period afforded by the sponsor, brings the film medium out miles ahead of all competing exhibit forms excepting the most elaborate. Five hundred films sponsored by all types of business will bear sufficient and convincing witness at the New York Fair alone. That the film serves to "capsulize" an otherwise impossibly long public relations or selling theme is a final, self-evident advantage for all types of exhibit showings including those at conventions, etc. But the film is, in itself, a World's Fair. To influential adult audiences in Burlington, Iowa; before women's clubs in Wheeling, West Virginia; down in Georgia, up in Oregon, the shadows on the screen and accompanying voice hold spellbound with interest many millions of worthwhile persons who may never find it convenient to visit the New York or San Francisco Fairs. As group-minded citizens interested in community affairs are good citizens, these are very worthy audiences of excellent prospects for the products of the automobile manufacturer, the insurance company or the household products concern. The film alone can bring them the genuinely cdueatiiinal and welcomed story of this product or that; from films they will get the desire for future travel or personal improvement; the knowledge for better living. How does the prospective sponsor of a picture reach this audience and what is the cost.'' The Right Kind of Audience ♦ Since the commercial talking picture's sole ])urpose in life is that of selling — either products or ideas — the problem is simply one of reaching prospects at the lowest possible cost per prospect. But the cost-per-prospect must also take into consideration ( 1 ) the tremendous power of the selling message delivered; ('2) the length of the uninterrupted selling interval and (3) the absence of waste circulation. Mass audiences are easy to get for certain kinds of pictures. Two baseball league films now in circulation could reach double their present audiences simply by providing the extra prints necessary to fill bookings now postponed or rejected. Similarly, sound movies of a general interest nature and of good technical quality such as Materials, Men Make Steel, Trees and Men, An Evening tvith Edgar A. Guest, Symphonies in Fragrance, and the like can reach as many audiences as the sponsor wants. For a great many pictures, particularly those dealing with a prodtict in the mass selling market or on jnattcrs of general public policy, quantity distribution is desirable. The only limiting factors in this event are (1) The (piality of the picture to be presented and (2) The size of the appropriation available to purchase necessary prints, projection service, equipment, etc. But if the problem is one of .selectivity in the matter of groups by income classification, marketing areas, age or other specialized needs of the sponsor (according to the character of the message or the price of the product) , then the distribution setup is of a different character. However, both "nuiss" and "class" audiences can be reached according to certain definite patterns of distribution and here are the existing outlets available: I. Selling It To The M.\sses: ♦ Two classifications, theatrical and non-theatrical distribution, account for film showings to the general public. The term "theatrical" includes only entertainment theatres where a paid admission is charged and does not account for showings in s])onsor-rented or constructed theatres. Theatrical Shotvings: Except for direct advertising films of the 60-second variety, familiarly known as "minute movies", this field is limited to one-reel subjects of a very general public relations character or of a variety show — entertainment type. Well])roduced entertainment subjects in which the sponsor's sole interest is a credit title or the appearance of his product without mention in dialogue are widely accepted by exhibitors. One-reel subjects which per ' form some public service or offer information of a highly-interesting nature, i.e. Men Make Steel (for United States Steel); Once Upon a Time (for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company) ; Frontiers of the Future (for the National Association of Manufacturers) ; We Drivers (General Motors) ; Trees and Men (Weyerheuser) ; and Accent on Youth (Coty) are notable examples of the superb production, the high quality of entertainmentinterest and the lack of direct advertising which are absolutely necessary to achieve widespread exhibition in this field. That the quality of these free "shorts" is often far superior to the Hollywood product offered the exhibitor is al.so worth noting. The public and thus, the exhibitor, finds no olijection to intelligent "documentary" screen subjects with either entertainment or educational values. If it did, such pictures as Union Pacific, Wells Fargo or High, Wide and Handsome would never have been made nor would they have played to such large and enthusiastic throngs. If direct advertising, particularly of the "wildcat" local variety can be improved or removed from the theatre screen, public disapproval of commercial films in theatres would be in large measure completely dissipated. National screen advertising (minute movies) has recently attained a new high level with the addition of color, etc. Direct advertising via such films is accepted by approximately 8,000 theatres in both urban anif rural markets. II. Aiming At Your Prospects ♦ Non-theatrical Distribution: This includes three general fields: (A) Group Showings with company-owned equipment or by professional projection services and (B) Promoted Audiences, such as department stores, travel shows, rented theatres, etc. A third classification (C) would include Request Distribution by express to schools or groups owning projection 12 Business Screen