Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

Publisher's There's no mystery about SPONSOR At least once a year every business paper publisher ought to tune his advertisers and readers in on his progress. My first attempt along these lines was titled "One Year in the Life of Sponsor." We made history in those early days and 1 was eager to tell about it in simple, behind-the-scenes fashion. The reaction I got encouraged me to continue these personal commentaries. The peak was reached, 1 think, when 1 wrote one headed "The First Ten Thousand Pages." Soon thereafter 1 received a flood of phone calls and letters not only from readers but fellow pubMshers as well. It developed that the redoubtable Edgar Kobak, then president of Mutual Broadcasting System but a publisher at heart, had brought it to the attention of the Business Paper Publishers Assn. convention with the remark that it was lamentable that more publishers didn't let their advertisers and readers in on the inner workings of their magazines. This particular column fills you in on what we've been doing S.O. S.O. means Since Ojibway. Ojibway Press bought Sponsor last December after many months of negotiations. As always happens, the air before and after the sale was charged with rumors and predictions of what was ahead for Sponsor. But Sponsor and Ojibway knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish. We had devoted numerous sessions to agreeing on objectives, goals and procedures. When Sponsor was sold, the old management and the new owners were in full agreement. We would work to turn out a book that offered so much to the busy agency and advertiser executive involved in broadcast advertising that we must become one of his reading favorites. We would work to mesh hard news, confidential news and useful articles into one fast reading package. We would work to make Sponsor indispensible to the national spot timebuyer. We would work to expand our 4900 ABC-Audited agency and advertiser circulation to 7000 by the end of 1964. We would work to achieve Monday morning mail delivery of Sponsor in every section of the country so that the reader could count on a regular reading habit. Have we succeeded? Editorially, the hard news, confidential news and articles have blended into one smooth package. That they did blend is a miracle — a miracle that our reader response has acclaimed throughout 1964. We've added editorial color, added newsletters, improved the staff. Our circulation goal was met and passed with our issue of Sept. 28. By that issue our agency and advertiser circulation, aided by a hardhitting promotion effort, was 7793. That's by far the highest of any ABC-Audited book of the broadcast field. The U.S. mail, with minor exceptions, is working for us. We're in mail sacks late every Friday night and on your desk Monday morning. We're told we're the only broadcast book to get good distribution that you can count on every Monday morning. I expect to have more to add soon. You can expect to be kept posted. T7-Z^-t/ November 9, 1964 COVERAGE; WHAT IS IT? A few years ago the A. C. Nielsen Company made its last attempt to measure effective coverage. In spite of the abuses perpetrated upon these figures by advertisers and stations and in spite of the techniques w/ith which many found fault, the idea of measuring delivered audience rather than signal strength had much merit. Better coverage by a station must mean more people or it doesn't mean anything. 50,000 watt WPTR has a 50,000 watt competitor along with lesser signal stations yet look at the figures: 10 County Outer Survey Area (Pulse, July '64) 6AM-6PM, M-F Station Per Per Per 1/4 hr. V4 hr. 'A hr. Aver. Aver. No. Share 24 Rating 4.3 Homes WPTR 6609 X 14 2.7 4150 Y 12 2.3 3535 Z 2 .4 615 So you see, signal strength alone does not determine effective coverage. Ask your East-man for a complete analysis, and remember this is just a measurement of the ten counties Immediately adjacent to the metro area. The further away you get the greater is WPTR's relative lead and the MORE PEOPLE PER $ WPTR DELIVERS THAN ITS COMPETITORS! Coverage: More people per advertising dollar on WPTR Ask your Eastman about . . . WPTR Represented by the Robert E. Eastman Company fifteen forty PTR 50,000 Watts 1540 KC ALBANY TROY SCHENECTADY Perry S. Samuels Vice President and General Manager —WPTR »•>««'<> •><>«•>•> J II