Sponsor (Jan-June 1952)

SPONSOR SPEAKS^ The BOA is persistent, anyway One of the curiosities of media promotion these days is the Johnny-One\ote approach bj the Bureau of Advertising of the American Newspaper Publishers Association. In institutional ad after institutional ad the Bureau keeps harping on the theme: everybody reads newspapers but radio and TV reach onl) "fractions" of everybody's market. The fact that the argument has been demolished so many times obviousl\ doesn't mean a thing to the Bureau. It smacks of the old propaganda dodge that if something is repeated often enough -it will be accepted. The easiest — and laziest — form of disparagement is to use generalities. The Bureau has a plentiful supply of these. But. just to take radio, the facts still persist that over 96' '< of American homes listen to radio and there are at least 30,000,000 out-of-home radios. with about 25.000.000 of these installed in autos. One could go on piling up figures to show: that newspapers have nothing on the broadcast media in the way of coverage and habit, but it's a safe bet that the next ad from the Bureau will play the same old note. The needle seems stuck in the groove. Signs of a turning tide This could be a harbinger of happy things to come. Within recent weeks at lunch gatherings of ad executives from Madison, Park, and Lexington Avenues a frequent topic of conversation has been radio. They tell in many cases of clients who have been out of the medium for a spell suddenly expressing an interest in a radio campaign and asking for recommendations. A radio-TV department head at one of these sessions disclosed that about the busiest man in his section is the fellow checking up on radio program availabilities. Another remarks that he has just asked the timebuying department to give him a memo explaining the operation of the Tandem and Pyramid Plans, or any other similar plans on tap among the networks. The evidences of renewed interest in radio as brought out at these exchanges across the table may not be strong enough for a station operator to start thinking about turning in his Chevrolet for a Cadillac, but no few agencymen are of the belief that the interest could take on lots of substance in the next month or two. One of these is Willson M. Tuttle, v. p. in charge of radio and TV for Ruthrauff & Ryan. Says Tuttle: "Quite a number of our clients have come up with a renewed interest in radio, and I wouldn't be surprised if the radio networks this fall found themselves with a rash of returning clients. It looks as though advertisers haven't given up the old ship (radio) — not by a long shot. Lots of agencies will have to start dusting off the old radio rate cards and put their radio departments to work digging up radio program a\ ailaliilities." Applause "In unity there is strength" "7 like radio because it is my newspaper, my music, my clock, my weather forecaster, my theatre, my sports, my loughs, my cookbook, my friendly companion.' This entry, one of the 126.423 submitted in a three-week contest staged 1>\ seven metropolitan Detroit radio stations, won a Packard sedan for a Detroit secretary For Detroit radio it won much more. The contest, which is part of the continuing activity of the United Detroit Radio Committee, won fresh prestige for radio, built listenership. put across a thought-provoking theme, packed so much wallop that it commandeered newspaper headlines. Throughout the Detroit area advertisers were impressed v. ith the impact of a medium that could draw a tangible response from one out of everj 1') homes in Detroit. 68 The seven stations involved ( CKLW. WEXL, WJBK. WJR, WKMH, WWJ, and WXYZ) demonstrated that "in unity there is strength." When the awards were announced, all stations carried the same program, probably to a record audience. In Rochester, N. Y., four stationmembers of the Rochester Radio Broadcast Management Council, another prime exponent of the "in unity there is strength" thesis, have joined in sponsorship of four consecutive Advertising Research Bureau. Inc. I ARBI I surveys. Projansky, Sears, Roebuck, Edwards, and McFarlin are the four big stores participating; WARC, WHAM, WRNY, and WVET are the stations. The stations, which will compete with newspapers at pointof-sale under the close stewardship of impartial ARBI crews and the stores, are dividing the cost of the surveys on a formula basis. Other enlightened groups, such as the Tennessee Broadcasters which a few years back put across a highly successful "Let's Sell Optimism" campaign under the leadership of WLAC's F. C. Sowell, appreciate the potency of "in unity there is strength." If any one thing can be said to have contributed to the reduced prestige of the biggest advertising medium of all, radio, it is the unhappy habit that broadcasters have acquired of squabbling among themselves. Trying to undermine the other fellow, whether by battling about confusing rating claims, offering a lower bargain-basement deal, or what have you, has played right into competitive media hands. But the signs gather that more city and state radio groups are bandiwg together in common cause. They can benefit from looking at what's happening in Detroit and Rochester, and supporting the fast-growing BAB. SPONSOR