U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1959)

OUTLOOK '59 RADIO BOX SCORE 1958 1957 Change (December I I December) No. of commercial am stations on air 3,315 3,180 ; 135 No. of commercial fm stations on air 571 537 , 34 Total radios in use 145 million 140 million ^ 5 mill. Car radios 37.8 million 35 million : 2.8 mill. Illlllllllllllll \\rilcis (ihc Inst lime this liiiii liiinecl to spot i;i(li<) in important elfort) . liy way ol advertiser nsc, R.\H lor the first time has just issued a list by dollar expenditnre of the lop 15 spot radio advertisers in 19.58 — as well as 31 others (see chart p. 56) . General Motors Corp. with $5, lOO.OOO and Ford Motor Co. with $5 million occupy fiist and second place, respectively. In addition, the hnrean has this past year — also lor the first time — issued regnlar reports on the top spot and network advertisers. Competitive information of this sort is expected to do more to stimulate advertiser radio outlays than many other standard research projects. The way that many agencies have re-evaluated their use of radio is illustrated by Guild, Bascom 8c Bonfigli Inc., San Francisco. According to Gil Burton, vice president and general manager, "When we were asked by u. s. radio at the close of 1957 to report on the extent of use of radio by GB&B's clients, we found that a trend toward increased radio time in comparison with tv time had started late in 1955. This trend has continued: In 1957, we bought one dollar of radio time to every four dollars in tv; for the first 10 months of 1958, the ratio was one dollar to every three. "Spot radio," continues Mr. Burton, "gets most of the money we spend in radio by far. With ovn heavy emphasis on humor in advertising, we've found that radio spots can give our creative writers greater opportunity for full rein of their imagination than any other mediimi. "According to reports we've received, the results of this have been evident in radio commercials we've done this year for national advertisers like Ralston and Nucoa, and regional accounts such as Mary Ellen Jams, Mother's Cookies and Heidelberg Beer," he states "Spot radio has proved itself of great value," Mr. Burton concludes, "wherever we have used it." In a survey of spot advertisers, the following is a sampling of the way radio will be used by them in 1959: C>anada Dry Corp., investing about $400,000 in spot radio in 1958, will be using spot solely in 1959. About 120 markets will be used, the company states, preferring 3 to 5 p.m. times. Bristol-Myers Co., devoting about 12 percent of its budget to radio, is altering its network-spot ratio from 65 percent network and 35 percent spot in 1958 to 55 percent network and 45 percent spot in 1959. Robert Hall Clothes is investing 20 percent of its budget to radio in the coming year on spot. About 100 markets will be used, the firm states, ■\vith the preferred times between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eskimo Pie Corp. reports it is increasing its radio use 10 percent in 1959, already devoting about 50 percent of its budget to the medium. About 181 markets w-ill be used with frequency varying from 20 to 25 times per week. This firm has been a heavy radio user since 1928 ("Radio has had a marked effect on the purchase of Eskimo Pie, especially on the food shopping days.") Chap Stick Co., devoting 60 percent of its budget to radio, will use network and spot in 1959. The netv/ork portion will involve Morgan Beatty news on NBC Radio while the spot drive will involve 42 markets with announcements preferred in the "before 8 a.m." time periods. And two regional accounts report increasing radio use for 1959. Colonial Stores (super markets) will be using radio in 125 primarily southeastern markets. Ehlers Coffee is devoting 50 percent of its budget to local news in northeastern cities. Part II What 1959 has in store for the radio industry is in general not easy to forecast. What makes looking ahead so difficult is that 1958 contained a shoe box full of ironic surprises. Network radio, through a host of re-organizalions and alterations, showed stability in gross volume. Spot radio, T\hich has in large measure led the radio medium back to the forefront, just about maintained the same volume it scored in 1957 (some observers believe a slight increase while others expect the final total will show a slight decrease) . Major Objective One of the major objectives of radio sales forces in the coming year will be to tell the medium's story to top level decision-makers — both on the agency and advertiser sides of the fence. As outlined by Jack Hardesty, vice president and general manager of RAB, the bureau has many new sales approaches being readied. One is called the "120 Plan." Mr. Hardesty explains that during the first six months of 1959, a special campaign will be aimed at 120 important national advertisers (in most cases those with multi-million dollar ad budgets) "who are not giving radio U. S. RADIO • January 1959 27