American television directory (1946)

WHAT WILL YOUR TELE-TIME DOLLAR BUY? For most advertisers, television today is a long-range investment. On this basis, however, it can be highly recommended, for it will pay off handsomely. By RICHARD MANVILLE. Consultant on Advertising & Research Manufacturers and advertisers who are deeply concerned with present-day sales promotional problems and trends are asking a $64 question with increas¬ ing frequency. That question is: “Shall I go into television right now?" And now, late in 1945, my reply runs something like this: “Before I can give you the intelligent answer you de¬ sire, please answer one question for me — What do you want your expenditure in television to bring you?” If my inquirer says: “I want to get experience so that I will know some¬ thing about television when it breaks full flood” — then I know his problem boils down to how much he can afford to spend on a regular basis to get that experience. On the other hand, suppose he de¬ clares: “My advertising budget is a cer¬ tain fixed amount. If I go into television I’ll have to spend a part of it that pos¬ sibly could be used elsewhere to better advantage. My job is to make every dollar spent bring a dollar plus in sales.” When he states an objective like this, I shake my head sadly and go into a little simple arithmetic. 900 Sets in Chicago Let us imagine, as has happened, that the gentleman is from Chicago. So I point out that there are around 900 tele¬ receivers in his city. If we assume that every receiver is in working order (an extremely optimistic assumption at this moment) and if we further assume that there are four viewers for each set, we arrive at a total of 3,600 viewers. Some surveys report as high as 10 viewers per set. The findings of CBS, G-E and my own organization agree on 4 or 5 listeners per set and I have used the conservative lower figure. However, this theoretical 100 per cent potential* — 3,600 viewers — must be trimmed down to actual sets in use. A G-E survey rates this “sets-in-use” audi¬ ence as 60 per cent of the potential. Using this percentage we arrive at an actual audience of around 2,000 viewers per show. In passing, I might mention that G-E and my own surveys indicate that about 25 per cent of this audience will he children. Audiences may vary considerably from show to show, and * Again optimistic with perhaps 10-15% of sets needing repair and “not working.” drop off alarmingly on evenings when another television station goes on the air with a good program. However, this audience of 2,000 is a starting point. At this stage I am likely to ask: “Have you an idea as to what a tele¬ show will cost you?” “Yes,” this adver¬ tiser may reply, “I can get a complete package that includes everything for $300.” This figure is low but typical of today’s operating conditions and in no wise comparable to radio expenditures. We proceed to divide 2,000 by $300 (per show) and the quotient tells us that he can hope to reach approximate¬ ly 7 people for every $1.00 spent. Logic then compels me to point out that if he is paying approximately 15 cents per viewer per show, he must sell 15 cents worth of goods per viewer per show. And this 15 cents must be considered as a base cost over and above the cost of the product, other advertising, etc. 3,000 Sets in New York Or let us go back and assume that our questioner is a New York business man. Here, the most recent surveys re¬ port about 3,000 tele-receivers in metro¬ politan New York. Assuming 4 to 5 viewers per set, we can start with a potential audience of about 15,000 viewers. Reduced to 60 per cent — the sets-in-use estimate — we find ourselves with a net of 9,000 viewers. As we accept this figure we must admit that it is optimistic, that we are assuming that all 3,000 sets are in working order and that 6 out of 10 will be turned on in any given evening despite the presence of three television stations and New York’s other enter¬ tainment distractions. Divide these 9,000 viewers (which also include children, mind you) by, let us say, a $300 show cost per week and we find that we are getting 30 viewers per dollar, this is 3 cents per viewer, not buyer. Stack this up against cost per magazine reader, or cost per radio listener — particularly when these other media can supply the right type of reader or listener for our product — and we are down to bedrock. Naturally, the two examples cited are streamlined for brevity’s sake. Some shows have cost ten times as much for the same size audience. And many ex¬ cellent shows have cost considerably less. However, “free time” from stations will be scarce from now on. As controls release materials for the manufacture of television sets, as the public buys the sets (with inevitable price reductions making them more and more available) ; as additional tele¬ vision stations are erected, and as the sets in any given area increase from several hundred to several thousand, thence to several hundred thousand and then to millions, the situation will im¬ prove radically. But what we are con¬ sidering is the economic picture right now — the arithmetic of television! If arithmetic proves that other media can be used at lower cost per person, we can only suggest cold-bloodedly that you wait until television has a different story to tell. For at this moment this fact must be faced : television cannot be justified if a dollar-and-cents yardstick is the only one by which you are per¬ mitted to judge this medium. It must be remembered also that owners of television sets, at this mo¬ ment, are: 1. persons in the high in¬ come brackets who are interested in television because they are associated directly or indirectly with television manufacturers; 2. wealthy persons who buy any new product which contributes sociological distinction; 3. persons in associated lines such as radio and ad¬ vertising; 4. theaters, bars, etc., and 5. radio retailers who had prewar sam¬ ple models and moved them to their homes. Value in Research Now Qualifying our audience by these in¬ tangible factors and we find it a highly restricted, highly selected market at this moment. On the other hand, use of television today offers very real advan¬ tages of dollars-and-cents value. 1. Television, today, still packs enough novelty to pull a tremendous volume of excellent publicity if intelligently handled. 2. If you go into television now, you can “merchandise the pants off” your program to dealers. Most dramatically you can make them aware of your pro¬ gressive advertising plans. Its psycho¬ logical effect upon your dealers and (Continued on page 134) 23