Associated First National Franchise (1921)

January-February, 1924 First National Franchise 23 Paging the Public A "Boost 'er" Section Written by Practical Showmen NONE other than Sig Samuels, First National franchise holder in Atlanta, is responsible for the original idea of one of the best exploita tion stunts unearthed in months. Col. Willard C. Patterson, who guides the destinies of the Metropolitan, worked out and executed the details, which is ample security that the campaign was engineered in approved style. One of the chief ingredients for success lay in the fact that "Pat" loves to act first and talk afterwards. His stunt was to issue coupon books for the Metropolitan ; and the books were out for sale without a word of advance notice that might have given the opposition a chance to steal his thunder. The books were issued in $6. and $3 denominations with a discount of a dollar and of fifty cents, respectively. The result of newspaper and wordof-mouth advertising as soon as the books were available resulted in orders for two hundred even before the coupons were acceptable at the gate. From the original idea Mr. Patterson developed two farreaching angles. One was a tie-up with the United Cigar Stores. The other was a tieup with the Atlanta Georgian and Hearst's Sunday American. Through J. A. Davis, southeastern representative for the United Cigar Stores, an arrangement was perfected to have the three Atlanta stores feature the coupon books in their window displays. The window cards carrying the Metropolitan's sign measured 28 by 30 inches and were designed so as to provide for the name of the current attraction being inserted in the card with each week's change. In exchange the Metropolitan carried a slide and put a line in its program and newspaper advertising announcing the sale of these coupon books at the United Stores. In view of the fact that 5,000 people passed through these stores daily, the exchange was all in favor of the theatre. By contrast, the tie-up with the Georgian and the Sunday American went directly into 23,000 Atlanta homes. The special $3 book was sold outright to the Georgian for $2.40, the first order being for 2,000 books. Each of the Georgian's 268 carriers was enlisted in a circulation campaign that offered one of these coupon books to any regular reader of either paper who obtained four new six months' subscriptions. The carriers followed up the original announcement with house to house solicita tion. To each of the five carriers on whose routes the largest percentage of new subscribers was obtained a season ticket to the Metropolitan was given. Other carriers who showed results in their sales campaign were rewarded proportionately. An important feature was that the collector of internal revenue in Atlanta, after all the facts in the case had been submitted to him, ruled that the admission tax was solved by regarding all tickeis covered by the discount as "Complimentary." From the standpoint of the Metropolitan the campaign had a distinct value in addition to the tie-up features. It stimulated business during the NITED CIGAR STORES CO. "Trilby" saw stars in the lobby Houston, Tex. THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING the window space Willard Patterson got for his discount coupons at the Metropolitan, Atlanta, Ga. dull season before Christmas. Despite the fact that it was used around the Yuletide season, the idea's national value lies in the fact that, after being adapted to conditions in any particular locality, it can be used anywhere. NOT even a Roman amphitheatre ever held a i larger crowd than Manager Hokailo and Jack Pegler, First National's Boston representative, were able to commandeer for their exploitation message on "Flaming Youth" in advance of the picture's opening at Gordon's Olympia Theatre, Boston. A huge kite and banner, 40 by 20, was flown over the grounds of the Braves Field during the last football games of the season. Crowds totaling 70,000 at the Pere Marquette and at the Boston College-Holy Cross games found the sign unavoidable. The sign flew over the center of the field throughout the games. Of greater novelty and equal efficacy was the use of the radio message herald. The radio alphabet was explained on one side of the sheet. In the center was a message praising "Flaming Youth,'' written out in radio. Through the sponsorship of Farley and MacNeill, a local radio store, passes to the theatre were offered to the first 100 persons who correctly deciphered this radio message. Although the returns were late in coming in. Pegler's report at the time he left Boston showed the following results; a pile of answers three feet high^ the calling out of special police to protect the store's window from interested crowds and the printing of 50,000 heralds in all because of the keen demand for them. Forty thousand door knob hangers on residences, telephones, office suites and automobiles, together with an extensive billboard and newspaper advertising campaign, completed the preliminaries. "Flaming Youth" opened to a waiting line. By one o'clock in the afternoon the sale of tickets had to be stopped and throughout the day the theatre played to capacity. "^LAMING YOUTH" has spread like wildfire. Down at the Beacham Theatre, Orlando, Fla., Manager H. B. Vincent and Exploitation Manager Frank H. Burns conceived a futuristic lobby dressing that held the Florida town in a boxoffice grip. The . work is all the more creditable because the picture was a substitute booking and the campaign had to be arranged on two days' notice, starting without the aid of a press sheet or a concrete idea of how the film had been adapted from the book. A/f ANAGER ED W E I S iV* FELDT of the Strand Theatre, Milwaukee, usually manages to ring the bell when he starts to exploit anything. He has a faculty of hitting on one idea and striking on it until it registers. Thus with "Flaming Youth." His chief idea in the lobby, reproduced on another page, was a facsimile of the book cover with a hand painted warning to patrons not to look at such and such a page less they wished to be shocked. Human curiosity provides the answer to such exploitation. TN New Haven, with characteristic vigor, Manager Harry (Tod) Browning of Gordon's Olympia staged an extensive campaign for which he borrowed some song pluggers. A piano was hoisted to the roof of a building and while a large crowd below listened the choristers gave popular numbers while the banners and signs on the building advertised "Flaming Youth" along with the songs. A novel angle was the joint exploitation of the picture by the Olympia Theatre, New Haven, and the Princess Theatre, Hartford, under the astute management of Harry Needles. A truck (Continued on page 26)] of the Isis, An attractive lobby front helped " The Fighting Blade " at the Liberty, Portland, Ore.