U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

Letters Win Respite For Deserving Spouses Time ofl ior deserving spouses has been promised by KXOK* St. Louis to winners of the station's combination "Worn Out 'Wife" and "Goldl)rick" contests. Time out from Iiome routine for the little woman; time off from daily toils for the overworked husband. To the wife of the man who writes in the best letter on why his wife deserves a night out on the town, the station has offered a reward of flowers, candy, chauffeur dri\'cn limousine, dinner, theater, dancing and baby sitter. For the husband of ihe woman A\ho writes in the best reason why her man needs a rest, will come a whole day off. The station has said it will reimburse the winner's employer for a complete day's wages. Prettiest Locks of Hair Auctioned Off for Charity A search for the prettiest lock of hair in central \'irginia led to a drive in behalf of the Richmond T.B. Association over WLEE Richmond. After the Avinner was chosen, some of the best looking locks were auctioned off as mustaches. The station held 14 auctions for the locks at the rate of one a night. .\t the end of that time, the station reports, over $300 had been pledged for the T.B. fund. Single pledges ranged from the station 25 to SI 00.25, according: to Built-in Listener Interest Livens Rose Bowl Promotion \Vhcn the University of Washington was invited to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 23 years, KOL Seattle staged a tie-in promotion. Local enthusiasm and a scarcity of tickets provided a built-in listener interest that the station utilized in two ways. First, it held a treasure hunt. For 10 days before the Bowl, the station hid six miniature footballs in the Seattle-Everett area and broadcast clues on the air. Each football was worth two tickets and two round trip air passages to the game. Secondly, the station served as a clearing hous(^. It provided tickets for fans bv notifviu" them of ticket holders who, tor one reason or another, couldn't go. To make sure there was no scalping, the station bought tickets which would have gone imused and sold tliem at cost. Over 100 ducats were ()l)iained in this way and turned over to University of Washington fans ready to take the 2,400-iTiile round trip to Pasadena, the station reports. In two instances, entire families waited, their luggage packed in cars outside tiie station, until tickets turned \\\>. according to KOL. Sponsor Contest Reveals People Listen At Night When the DiuKan Coffee Co. promoted a contest for its Admiration (olfee label over 60 stations in Texas and Louisiana, KS.\M Huntsville, Tex., went all out to win. Its heavy promotion helped win top prize for its ".\dmiration Queen." It also exposed, says the station, a whole new segment of its audience— the nighttime listeners. One of the most popular promotions, according to the station, was a nighttime quiz with prizes worth no more than a dollar. The quiz was subsidized by local merchants in exchange for air time on that program. In order to qualify, winners had to present an Admiration label as well as the correct answer. The station admits it was a bit dubious about this promotion. "Few would want to answer a question for only a dollar's worth of merchandise" it thought. Listeners, however, were enthusiastic in their response. The first night 40 calls came in, states KSAM, with succeeding nights bringing in an even greater response. During the course of the final quiz, 89 calls were recorded, says the station. "All of Avhich proved to us that we had a much larger nighttime audience than we thought. " More encouraging still was the favorable reaction of the merchants (ooperating in the qui/. Captain Wins a Car In Lucky Snowball Drop .Among the several thousand snowballs that fell from the sky above the listening area of KF.\B Omaha was one containing a prize winning slip of paper. It was picked up by the son ol an Air Force captain, who turned it in for a new Corvair for the family. Tlie snowball drop was part of a week long promotion to attract attention to the station's new programming format. Some of the snowballs contained lucky slips. They were carried aloft in a helicopter that roamed the skies, dropping them on the metropolitan areas of Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., and Council Bluffs, la., as well as on 25 smaller Nebraska and Iowa communities. The station kept listeners posted on the position and progress of the 'copter about every 15 minutes. As people gathered along the helicopter loute, the snowballs were dropped. .Among the prizes promised by the slips in the huky snowballs were transistor radios, bicycles and portai)le tv sets. Distribution of the lucky snowballs was made on a population basis. Guess the Weather Contest Promoted by Pop Music The contestant who sent in the closest estimate of the date and time that the thermometer in the Twin cities' area would fall to 15 below zero won $150 in savings bonds. Called Radio Radar Weather, the contest was held by KSTP St. Paul, Minn., over several of the station's popular music shows. About 2,000 separate entries were reported by the station. • • • *Denotes stations who are members of BPA (Broadcasters' Promotion Association) 50 U. S. RADIO • February 1960