Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

COMING TO NEW YORK ? Stay at the only Inn in town run the old-fashioned way! (Only IV2 blocks to the Coliseum) The brand new 600-room luxury Inn with every modern feature: spacious air conditioned rooms and suites, superb restaurants, smart cocktail lounge, free roof top pool, free indoor garage, small and large meeting rooms with banquet facilities — even closed circuit T.V. — and old fashioned, old world Innkeeping service— on/y IV2 blocks to the Coliseum! INNKEEPER ■^oCAxfiai\ SvUA.OF N. Y. C. 57th ST. WEST of 9th AVE. Phone (212) LT 1-8100 Report Three big days with the BPA I guess I'll always be a promotion manager at heart. Which reminds me that I have a date on Nov. 16 to attend the annual seminar of the Broadcasters Promotion Assn. at the Pick Congress in Chicago. This is one meeting that I always try to make. Every year I find myself captivated by the enthusiasm of the participants, their desire to learn, the attentiveness and attendance at the many shirt-sleeve sessions, the originality and usefulness of the subject matter. This year, judging by the agenda, will be no exception. The first day (Monday) will be devoted to discussions of ratings and research, what's right and what's wrong with radio audience promotion, tv audience promotion, syndicated promotion materials, tv sales promotion, radio sales promotion. The second day will explore graphics in broadcast promotion, how to save money on print, how to make an ad, what's right and what's wrong with award entries. The windup day will cover ideas that work in print publicity, ideas that work in merchandising. The seminar concludes with a "from the floor" potpourri of problems and suggested solutions. Naturally, the acid test of this three-day workshop is the degree to which the participants can focus on key facets of the individual sessions that don't often extend over a single hour and generally are less. This takes a considerable forbearance and concentration on vital aspects of the subjects. Almost invariably at any meeting there's somebody who eats up time with extraneous remarks. When your time must be counted in minutes that's a latitude that can't be allowed. In a word, I'd like to see longer sessions — even if not so many could be covered. But with this single caution I can hardly think of much more to be concerned about. Last year the BPA met in record-breaking attendance in captivating San Francisco. They won't have quite the same incentives to wander in Chicago. But I was impressed in 1963, as in 1962, 1961 and the many other years when I sat in on the BPA seminars, that the conventioneers stay close to home base. It isn't always that way at station managers' meetings — and I concluded some years ago that promotion people come to work. I don't mean to imply that they don't want to play, too. But I get the impression that they get so wrapped up in exchange of promotion information, in the meetings and outside, that the playtime takes a backseat. That's why over a period of some years I've recommended to stations with promotion managers that they make certain they attend this annual seminar. I find that a growing number of station managers, sales managers and agency people come, too. Good promotion is a valuable tool to all station executives involved in the battle for audience and billings. I'll be in Chicago on the 16th. Maybe I'll see you there. T7-t^^c/ I 10 SPONSOR