Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

SPO>fSOR WEEK Ad VP Calls for More Local Product Promotion Ted Bates' Severn urges stations to supply profile information to agencies, is critical of many trade ads Chicago — Stressing the need for steppedup promotion and merchandising on the local level, particularly where new products are concerned, Donald W. Severn, vice president in charge of media relations. Ted Bates & Co.. last week urged broadcasters to "exploit yourselves by telling your audience, your merchants and dealers about products that are coming into your market." Addressing t h e Broadcasters Promotion Assn., Severn said, "One of the most productive things you can do with your local merchants is to make personal calls on the merchandising and advertising manager of your grocery and drug stores. As you well know, the major manufacturers of this country pour millions of dollars each year into cooperative advertising funds. You are the ones who can go to the advertising managers and say 'Here's a schedule that we just received for national product X.' and ask that they spend some money to back the promotion on that brand." Severn continued: "You can be just as helpful as we in developing a $500,000 local allocation into a national expenditure of over .$4 or $5 million. So when you hear of a new product just being introduced into your market, I say jump! Do everything you can to help get the news of this product to the public, whether your medium has been chosen for advertising or not. This may sound like a far-out suggestion to you — but it's not, because a new product is news." The reaction by BPA members who daily tussle with the definitions of what is commercial as against news and public services was by and large negative. Corridor and entertainment suite conversation was far from kind to Mr. Severn. Some old hands at artful use of the air for merchandising as a sales department aid, were even more vitriolic in their reaction. To hear Vaden of Triangle Named BPA President Chicago — H. Taylor (Bud) Vaden is the new president of the Broadcasters Promotion Assn. Director of promotion and advertising for Triangle Stations, Philadelphia. Vaden replaces Clark Grant of WOOD-TV Grand Rapids, Mich. Named as first vice president of BPA at its ninth annual seminar was Casey Cohlmia, WFAA-AM BPA Brass: Cohlmia, Vaden, Choler FM-TV Dallas. Judd Choler, KMOX-TV St. Louis was elected second vice president. Elected to the board of directors were: Fred Birnbaum, WCAU Philadelphia; Dick Paul, WAVYAM-TV Norfolk, Va.; Mel Grossman, H-R Representatives, New York; Arnie Kuvent, WGAN-TV Portland, Maine; Jack Townsend, KELO-AM-TV Sioux Falls, S.D.; W. A. Jones, WSIX Nashville, Tenn. A proposal was passed at the seminar making the association's immediate past president chairman of the nominating committee. Serving with Clark Grant on the committee will be Clayton Kaufman. WCCO Minneapolis; George Rodman, KGO-TV San Francisco; Doug Shull, KYW Cleveland. them tell it, Mr. Severn will have little success with such requests. Severn also underscored the need for "profile information" from stations. "And 1 don't mean numbers," he said. "I mean about new programing, new sound, new audience appeal. To make it short and sweet — and that's the way we'd like you to make it — wc want to know the sound and picture you project and therefore what the nature of your audience is at given times of day. Especially radio." Declared the ad executive; "Radio today has no definite ' sound. You can turn the radio from top to bottom, market by market, going everywhere from hillbilly music to Haydn, without being able to tell who's listening." Severn continued by pointing out that agencies have easy access > to all figures. "What we're vitally interested in is your audience composition from hour to hour so that we can select the best time to ' expose our advertising messages." In addition, he said, "we need ' new and pertinent marketing in: formation, such as the opening of new plants, new housing, the op1 ening of new chains, and so forth. Has there been a population shift in your town? What is the average age of the new influx of population? Their educational level?" Severn pointed out that stations can interpret their markets better than anyone, that "trade ads could ; be a primary source of information for buyers. If you insert some1 thing over and above your call i letters that tells us something we didn't know before about your market and your station, then we'll stop and read." Trade ads are necessary and vital, Severn declared, "but in too many instances they are momentary eye-catchers, quickly forgotten. That's because too few of them tell us what we need to < know: what is pertinent, what is new and what is unique about your station and your market. In other words, why we should schedule advertising with you." 18 SPONSOR