Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1946)

Record Details:

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mitted by listeners, well, put yourself in the parental role. You'd be proud, too. And it's on the level. There's no rehearsal before air time. Thirty minutes before the actual broadcast the kids meet ach other, get the usual do's and don'ts, practice with some dummy queries and then stand by. It's the old battle of wits; aitting the listeners against the kids and the arm chair participants are still trying to top the teen-agers. Questions cover local angles, national and international affairs, all academic subjects and for the lighter moments, there are a few catch queries. That's all there is to it. Yet the weekly mail count plus the Hooper survey for San Diego prove that the town loves it! It takes only seven people; four hi-teeners (two boys and two girls), the announcer, the emcee and the engineer. A simple show that packs a wallop! NO SALES SLOUCH jPECiFiCALLY, the program presents to the listeners each week a different frozen no\elty produced by Arden; ice cream sandwiches, ice milk bars, etc. If the copy plugging the product of the WTek fails to win the audience completely, the kids cinch the deal with the luscious noises made by anyone when eating something he likes. During the show the four guests answer the questions with quick quips and eat at the same time. Emily Post might not approve of this social error but the way teen-agers do it, you want a bit of refreshment yourself. As for the straight commercials, they are short and to the point. The show opens cold with a ten-second plug on some Arden product. Midway in the airing there is a one-minute spiel, no more, and often less, on an Arden special. During the last ten seconds of the broadcast there is another concise and distinctive Arden hitch-hike. That long commercial in the middle varies from a straight delivery to an amusing dialogue between Bill Bozarth, the annoiuicer, and Bill Mesmer, the emcee. AV^ithout promotion, the Hi-Teen Quiz caught listener interest when it was first aired last March. After a few weeks, ads were started on the radio page of the local newspapers each Wednesday. The DECEMBER, 1946 next step was an eye-catching street car card. The ballyhoo of the program has been limited to this extent. It has paid off in a good audience which appears to be growing as the weeks pass. STRICTLY YOURS Here is a local show, featuring local talent, and aimed directly at the local audience who buys a local product. Radio waves aren't completely harnessed. The secondary coverage of KFSD reaches into one of the metropolitan areas of the southwest where top talent is available and used on many local programs. Listener response to the Hi-Teen Qiiiz shows that the calibre of this local production has a good drawing appeal for those keyed to network quality productions. Then comes that often fatal question which occurs naturally to the gentlemen who foot the bills on radio programs. "As the sponsor, does this show meet my needs?" The idea behind the campaign has been to build good will with the consumer and to get before him the names of the products supplied by the Arden Dairy Farms. Every time the students from two high schools in San Diego are featured Wednesday night you can be sure an excellent percentage of the enrollment in these schools will be listening. That means Mom and Dad listen with their off-spring. During the series many homes will be reached directly with intense interest when the young members of the family are "on the radio," DOES THE TRICK Ihis statement is put in cold print while knocking on wood. There is nothing but praise reaching the Phillips Company radio department in regard to the program. The parents of the students are grateful for the opportunity of having their boys and girls on the Arden HiTeen Qiiiz. The sponsors products? Well, when you come to San Diego we hope you will be lucky enough to be able to get one of Arden 's frozen specialties plugged on the program. • 407 •