Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

BPA Some stations can't afford better. Some managers don't know better. But it seems strange that only nine years ago the greater number of promotion men in broadcast media were regarded by too many station managers as "that kid who also gets out the press releases." In those days, of course, "the kid" was wearing an assortment of duty hats. There were a surprising number of founders and charter members among the more than 400 Broadcaster Promotion Assn. members from ail over the country and Canada at the Ninth Annual Seminar of the BPA in Chicago last week. I was pleased to meet again with most of those who toiled through a long Chicago night almost a decade ago to draft a constitution for the BPA. There were those who were bootstrappers — hungering to raise the stature of the promotion man — and there were those whose driving motive was to secure recognition for promotion as a functioning arm of the broadcast industry. That was it. Get management to realize the importance of promotion. Most of them knew what they could deliver. Stature would take care of itself. In less than a decade it has come to pass. Responsible agency, client and research leaders — among others — brought incisive management perspectives, problems and solutions to a BPA forum that had only a mature look about it. The few very young faces belonged to aggressive practitioners of the promotion art who can tussle effectively with the practicalities of getting the most out of a budget. And the faces that belonged to top management men from stations, groups, networks and other industry services were not condescending. They were attentive. The promotion man and his craft have come a long way in broadcast advertising since 1955. And the future promises even more. 'Cum, seto^ Article Is Sales Aid Bruce Johnson's article in the Sept. 21 issue was outstanding. Material from his article has been incorporated in our sales presentation, and with success. . . . Charles E. Hughes Account Executive WMAK Nash vilk', Tenn. Happy with Coverage We are very pleased with your coverage on the Schick "Hot Lather" campaign, which we produced for Compton Advertising, Inc. . . . MicHAix Cowan A dvcrtisuii; Manager Fihnways of California, Inc. Hollywood No Fads, Please I couldn't agree with Sid Berry more in his thesis that radio should avoid vocal freaks . . . that people should sound like people and neither calliopes nor screech owls ["Are You Paying for Debit Decibles," Nov. 9]. However, I wish that he had illumined the subject more by remembering these points: 1. The ear hears only what is meaningful at the time, otherwise we'd be driven mad by the torrent of sound in which we wallow. 2. The ear is selective. If you play a bass viol you will tend to hear more pronouncedly the bass viols in any symphony recording. Other instrumentation, by some metaphysics we don't understand, is actually diminished in the consciousness. 3. The ear is an emotional and subjective instrument. The eye may be the skeptic. The ear is the easy convert. 4. No two people hear sounds precisely the same way and I doubt that there is any "perfect" sound range for commercials ... or any other program fare. I fear two things from Berry's remarks: that advertisers will think that it is some other factor than good copy that motivates sales; that advertisers will sit in judgment on who is "bearable" and who is not, though they are generally by experience and predisposition unable to make such a decision. There have been too many fads in broadcasting already, though each in its day was supported by apparently valid scientific information. I hope we're not in for another one. Art Rorerts Instructor in Broadcasting; Butler University Indianapolis, Ind. Program for Everyone Thank you for your very kind words about the Broadcasters Promotion Assn. in your Publisher's Report of Oct. 26. Our program this year was geared for everyone — radio and television, small market and large. I think you will also find even the sessions were longer, so we could all accomplish much more which is, as you know, the important thing about BPA seminars. And even though, as you mentioned, San Francisco was a captivating town, we again have had a record-breaking attendance in Chicago. Clark Grant President BPA New York ED note: BPA president Clark Grant is right. Attendance in Chicago to the BPA seminar reached a record of over 400. Response Noted May I take this opportunity to thank you for your kind consideration in running our "Passport to Paradise" story in the Oct. 5 issue. We have had terrific response to this article, and frankly I had no idea that Sponsor was so well read here in Canada. Dick Lennie General Sales Manager CKWX Radio Vancouver, B.C. 12 SPONSOR