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On the Friday evening of April 12th at a quarter of eight o'clock, in the showroom of Wolfington Motors, De Soto agency, at 3427 Chestnut St., in Philadelphia, some 200 men and women gathered.
The attraction that made these men and women leave their homes and walk, drive, or take a street car to an auto showroom was a radio program. At eight sharp, announcer Fred Wehher, huhhling over with cordiality and good will, began talking into a microphone. The De Soto Quiz Caravan was on the air for the first time!
Since that eventful night, and to date, the program has been on the air 21 consecutive times, each show emanating from the showroom of a different Db Soto dealer (15 of them in Philadelphia), each show attracting
a capacity audience.
Of the program, Jack Bradley, advertising manager for I)i SOTO dealers in the Philadelphia area, has this to say:
"We have taken no survey of the show yet, nor do« the program call for a mail response. The only method we have of checking the program's WOrd) ll the olisris.itmn* and reaction* of the i.m
ou\ daalon tbmwlrm. They, I can say unequivocally, .irr rnehmi.Mtic about the program and laki •UpiWflM .id v.int.igi of the opporiunio it givM them
t» dir«-, i their lalci argument! to prospects right ■ " thnr oun ibowfOOUli We do have several IfM rx.impl.-s di.it dlu-.tr.iJ. tin b.isi. COUM for tli«
papularit) ol dM prngf ■aoog «•><■ d—low and
uhv tlirv .ill support it .mil nn-n fi.imlisr it SO h—rtily. OfM d— IT, to • ontinnr uuh the example, •old BV« BUtomobUoi dM nigfa dM show was broad
cast from his showroom; another sold three. That does not necessarily mean that the program stirred the prospects to purchase. The incidental fact, that they (the car buyers) were present in a DE SOTO dealer's showroom when the desire was converted to action, is merely another chain in the many links that makes radio a worthwhile expenditure."
To analyze the program, to pick out the many colored threads that went into weaving a radio promotion that can and does keep 15 car dealers in one city happy, we must start at the very beginning, even before a program was ever put on the air, on a night when Philadelphia De Soto dealers gathered in one of the major studios of WFIL for a meeting.
Host was Roger Clipp, WFIL's general manager. Present were William F. Herchtold of the J. Stirling Cietchell advertising agency; Jack Bradley. Mort Lawrence, special events announcers for WFIL; announcers, control room men. After a brief explanation of the merchandising possibilities of the program, the Db Soto Quiz Caravan was auditioned for the first time.
Dealers observed, made notes, joined in the
general discussion. The meeting ended as g
Di SOTO official pointed out bow the program
should be exploited.
The week before tbe program, dealers were alre.uh in action. I'p went special window displays in showrooms, out went publicit) tO dailies and neighborhood weeklies.
Result: 200 attended the first show. F»p attendance at ani dealer showroom to date:
16
RADIO SHOWMANSHIP