Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

PROOF 0' THE PUDDING Results from radio programs, based on sales, mails, surveys, long runs, the growth of the business itself. Beverages (others) NIGHT WATCH That a wide-awake sponsor may benefit by a program in the wee small hours of the morning has been proved by the success of WIND'S Night Watch. Since February, 1936, listeners in the Chicago area have kept their dials tuned to WIND a good part of the time between midnight and 4:00 A.M. Judging by mail, telephone, and telegraph response, these night owls proved to be not only the usual collection of pleasureseekers but also those who were gainfully employed at that time. (Musicians, hotel clerks, all-night restaurant and tavern employees, garage men, truck drivers, etc.) A survey, conducted to determine the percentage of people listening to the program during these hours, flood-lighted these facts: Out of a total of 709 people interviewed, 530 listened to the radio between 12:00 and 4:00 A.M. Of these, 400 were Night Watch listeners, or 75.4% of the total radio audience at that time. AIR FAX: This WIND show might be called the manin-the-moon's version of the popular sun riser shows in the early morning. It's a musical program featuring electrical transcriptions, news, telegraphic requests from listeners, time signals, weather reports. Humor is adeptly interspersed by old night watchman Riley Jackson. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Saturday, 12:004:00 A.M. ded By: Dance music. Compttititmi Dance orchestras till 1:00 A.M.; then no competition. $pon$ort Peter Fox Brewing Co. (Also Olson's UMMIMM and others.) Station: WIND, Chicago, III. Power: 5,000 day; 1,000 night. fopmlstioMi 1,564,956 I i« M». Cost: 125-word annniumnirtu Mcfa niKht — #24 per Mk| 1 ' -iniruitrs «'.uh nlgfti — >H4 jmt WMk| half hour each night — $ 144 [><r ITnIl COMMENT: Evidently response t<> program (both from listeneis and Sponsors) lias COID Densated mail) times o\ei fol additional el operating more hours. Based <>n WIM) experience, businesses most likely to benefit by Night Watch sponsorship are allnight restaurants, breweries, tobacco manufacturers, automobile dealers, men's clothing companies, petroleum products manufacturers. Women's Wear MELODIES AND FASHIONS As controlled as an experiment conducted in the most scientific laboratory is the one radio sales power is undergoing at the hands of Buttrey Stores, Inc. Sponsor Buttrey is seeking to compare the sale of hosiery in radio-advertised stores as against those not having the extra push of radio. Such a test can naturally best be made by a chain store. Buttrey stores are located throughout the northwest in Albert Lea, Billings, Austin, Rochester, Fairmont, Sioux Falls, etc. Tinkering with the possibility of radio as an effective advertising medium, sponsor launched Melodies ant Fashions on station KATE in Albert Lea as a feeler. Program promotes the Buttrey stores at Austin, Fairmont and Albert Lea. No other stores at present are using radio. After 10 or 15 pre-program plugs, the show went on the air last February. The hook: a pair of silk hosiery. Winner is selected by means of a wheel from the list of those who j have registered at the stores. Attractive « window displays are coordinated with the pro | gram, featuring items announced on the radio. During the first day, 75 women registered at the stores. Registration and sales continued. So did program. Experiment deduction: radio's prowess established by definite increases in hosiery sale in radio-promoted stores ! AIR FAX: Informal fashion chatter by Ronnie and Sherm and popular recordings are sandwiched in between the all-important turnings of the lottery wheel. Wheel is spun three times during the program — first determining number of card on which woman's name is registered, second determining letter her name begins with, and last revealing the winner of today's pair of beautiful Buttrey hose! First Broadcast: February. 1940. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00-8:15 A.M. Sponsor: Buttrey Stores, Inc. Station: KATE, Albert Lea, Minn. Power: 250 waits. Population: Albert I M, 10.169; Austin, 12,876; Fairmont, 5,52 1. SAMPLE SCRIPT AVAILABLE. COMMENT: Sponsor has used easily-identifiable item for his test, one tli.ir requires no elaborate descriptions. Too much radio time has been wasted In describing an item rather than Belling it. Mi TTREl Itores put their full time into Belling the product, have succeeded with a simple variation of I tried and tested base. 112 RADIO SHOWMANSHIP