Yearbook of radio and television (1957)

Success of Local Programming Is Based on the Personal Touch IN keeping with the sweeping trends in radio programming and selling today, in which the emphasis has returned to "local" programming creation, "local" merchandising and selling, we at World Broadcasting System long ago started to broaden the original concept of our services. We realized, by talking to many of the broadcasters among our 1,000-odd world affiliated stations, that what was needed was much more than the old idea of a "music library" to fall back on. What they required, it became increasingly clear, was a wideranging "sales and program service" designed to give them individual "identity" in a community— an identifiable personality — as well as scores of specialized sales tools. 0<Z>« Our emphasis today has switched largely to the development of new "program aids" of all sorts, tailored to meet the needs of creative broadcasters who have reshaped their program schedules to meet local listening tastes. Today, we are supplying such packages and program aids, as part of the World Sales & Program Service, as: (1) A wide variety of service-type radio features. These include special time signal jingles, weather jingles, tune-in jingles (to build station listening) — all of which can enhance a station's service to its community and its advertisers. (2) A long list of programming features. These include specially created musical signatures, formats, lead-ins and many other devices for use in locally produced programs of community-wide interests, sportscasts, special feature shows for homemakers, seasonal and holiday events. These are designed to give increased "production values" of a professional calibre, and represent the sort of values few broadcasters are in a position to afford on a locally-created basis. 0<O0 (3) Special selling jingles, of a wide range, in which a local advertiser can insert his selling message. These are produced with top musical and creative talent by World. In fact. World has jingles for over 150 different categories of advertisers, which cover the bulk of all the advertising a local station usually carries. Some are even designed to operate as special seasonal packages, keyed to themes of spring cleaning, back-to-school, or other activities. By DICK LAWRENCE General Manager World Broadcasting System (4) Special programs, often of a seasonal nature, featuring such star personalities as Gene Lockhart, Raymond Massey, Robert Montgomery, and others. 0<Z>0 Of course, we are still supplying custom musical recordings featuring many of the outstanding recording artists in America today, such as Doris Day, Peggy Lee, SauterFinegan Orchestra, Three Suns, David Rose, Xavier Cugat and Harry James. These recordings still represent an important segment of our over-all program activities. A good example of successful program building through World Broadcasting System has been our "Radio's Voice of Fortune" series. It is actually a major program package, complete with everything from program blueprints to promotion and merchandising materials, and has been designed basically to act as an all-day audience-builder for radio stations. "Radio's Voice of Fortune" is a telephone quiz show which centers on identification by radio listeners of the recorded voices of famous personalities. These are actually well known people — actors, actresses, sports figures, leaders in business and government, and others — whose names are instantly recognizable, but whose voices usually baffle the memories of the average listener. 0<=» This in itself would be a sizable package for any station, but World has backed it with one of the most extensive merchandising and promotional campaigns in the history of our film. There is a wide range of pointof-sale material, posters, mailing pieces and other promotional devices available to the advertiser who really wants to call maximum attention to his show. All of our activities today are really centered on a problem I mentioned earlier — the creation of a separate, distinct and "personal" identity for radio stations today. We feel that such an identity is vital in order that a station attract new business and new listeners. 965