Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1941)

^^SHOWMANSHIP IN ACTION Those extra promotions and merchandising stunts that lift a program out of the ordinary. Auto Supplies FIGHT BROADCASTS Sliding into the new year with a new promotion, Cyclone Auto Supply Store (White Plains, N. Y.) is applying the installment plan to auto license plates, offering the service to local auto owners. On Friday, December 27, sportscaster John Dillon announced the plan at his CYCLONE-sponsored blow-by-blow description of a special holiday boxing bout from the Westchester County Center. Proposal: Sponsor Cyclone Auto Supply Stores of Westchester County will buy the listeners' 1941 auto license tags for them, collect the fee on a "time" basis during the year. Twofold benefit to auto owners: 1) Avoid standing in line to get license. 2) Ease the *bite" of the lump payment demanded by the New York Motor Vehicle Bureau. AIR FAX: Cyclone Auto Supply Stores sponsor the weekly blow-by-blow descriptions of the local boxing shows. Broadcast Schedule: Tuesday, 9:45-11:00 P.M. Preceded By: Organ Music. Followed By: Dance Music. Sponsor: Cyclone Auto Supply Stores. Station: WFAS, White Plains, N. Y. Power: 250 Watts. Population: 35,830. COMMENT: Offering an article on the installment plan with absolutely no direct profit in view is definitely something new. Resultant good will is not the only benefit for sponsor. Patrons' regular payment calls acquaint them with the stores, stimulate traffic. \\ Bakeries KIDDIES KLUB Tops in commercial programs is one that securely ties in sponsor's product with body of show. Noteworthy, then, is Log Cabin Bakery's program. Kiddies Klub, aired once weekly over station KHSL. Originating on Saturday afternoons from the JANUARY, 194 1 Stage of the Senator Theatre (Chico, Calif.), program centers around apple-bobbing, Log Cabin pie-eating, other kid contests, plus amateur singing, acting, playing, etc. Birth dates of Kiddies Klub members are celebrated with presentation of Log Cabin cakes. Point of show: Pie-eating, cake gifts leave perfect openings for sponsor plugs. Show emcee is Uncle Earl, KHSL staff man, who, with aid of stooge, keeps party patter at high pace. Sponsor Log Cabin Bakery attributes great gains in good will to this top-notch popular show. Outside of theater displays, radio announcements are sole means of promoting the program. AIR FAX: Broadcast Schedule: Saturday, 5:00-5:15 P.M. Preceded By: Dance orchestra. Followed By: Dance orchestra. Competition: Quiz of Two Cities (CBS) and danc« orchestra. Sponsor: Log Cabin Bakery. Station: KHSL, Chico, Calif. Power: 500 watts. Population: 7,961. COMMENT: Sponsor shows double showmanship in his natural merchandise tie-ins with the program. Pie-eating contests and birthday gift cakes can go farther to promote Log Cabin products than double the number of 200-word commercials. Public Utilities MUSICAL COFFEE CUP Lifting this show out of the run of the mill morning musicals is its accent on the personal lives of its listeners. There are the usual radio requests: birthday, wedding anniversary announcements. But there are also the unusual: hello, farewells, get-wells, love greetings! Even the transcribed musical numbers are requested. To add a touch of humor, emcee shares laughs with his early-rising listeners by ridiculing late sleepers. AIR FAX: First Broadcast: January 2, 1940. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Saturday, 7:15 7:45 A.M. Preceded By: Band Music. Followed By: Morning Clock. Sponsor: Pacific Power and Light Co. Station: KBND, Bend, Oregon. Power: 250 watts. Population: 8,848. COMMENT: The success of this program depends upon the type of requests that are obtained. The more unusual the announcements, the better the show. Incidentally, the use of ridicule on the air may become dangerous business. In this case, the emcee, by poking fun at late sleepers, takes no chances. 27 1