U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

report on NOW . . . Reprints of selected articles and features in U.S. RADIO are available in the above form. Other articles and features in U.S. Radio can be reprinted for your use at nominal cost. For complete details write — Reprints U.S. RADIO 50 West 57th Street, New York 19, N. Y. Fm Radio Gets Results For Hi-Fi Manufacturer "We must make sure thai our advertising tlollar works lor us witli optimum efficiency. It is for this very reason that we have been spcnciin,<> 25 to 30 percent of our ad budget on Im ladio since 1957." riir al)()\e statement was made by (.lilloid Shearer, diiettor of marketin;^ loi liu' Rek-O-Rut (^ompanv, liu.. (lorona. \.^'., manidacturers of liiL^li lidelily tmntables and tone arms. "VV^e began to give serious consideration to using Im radio," lie says, "in 195(). The national high fidelilv (onsiuner publications appeared to have reached the peak of their readership. Our objective was to broaden the base ol our market In reaching a new group of potential customers loi compoiunt high (icielity systems. "We decided that ainone with a strong inteiest in music woidd be a likely piospect for our pioducts. The average im listener seemed to fit nicely into this c^ategory. Another j)lus lactoi, as hir as we were concerned, was that anyone who at least had an hn tuner had already made a stai t in assemblying a component system. Ihis would make om selling job a little easier." Rek-O-Kut put its theory into practice in 1957, and startetl a s|)ot campaign on a station in New York, one of the key markets. Looking for some a|)proach in the spot announcements that would be in character with the company's merchandise, a jiortion of each 60-second message included test tones which would enable the listener to check on the efficiency of his ecjuiiMnent. The campaign ran for 52 weeks, with four spots being aired fi\e clays a week. "We used dealer tags on each spot," Mr. Shearer points out, "and we found that this was a very important and successful way of 'buying' dealer enthusiasm for our products and our promotional efforts. Since dealer loyaltv is especially vital in the highly specialized and competitive component industry, this was by no means an insignificant lact. ■'In 1958, we switched Irom a spot a])])roach and decided to sponsor the ]{rh-()-Kul Hour. We maintained a stiicl policy ol nol inierUring with the content of the program, leaving that to the nuisicologist who acted as the hostess of the show. We also h)und that our commercial message, which was often of a general educational nature, was most elfectively done if we merely lurnished lact sheets and background material and jiermitted the hostess to tell our story in her own words and style." \\ the same time, Rek-O-Kiit decided to use fm radio in the San Francisco market. The same lechnicjue used in New York was lolloAved. A spot campaign was aired initially, and then a .SO-minute show, five days a week. Of cotuse, all announcements carried local clealei tags. "We saw an early and sidjstantial increase in sales in the San Franc isco area," Mr. Shearer says. "Since Im radio was the only local advertising we were doing, we attributed this rise in sales directly to our fm activity." Another major high fidelity component market is Los Angeles. "The situation in this area was a little different, it is pointed out. "The automobile is used extensively, and we felt we wanted to be able to reach this mobile audience. Therefore, we bought time on an am-fm station. In order to get the fullest advantage of this situation, we also decided to broadcast in stereo. "The program was aired five days a week from 7 to 7:30 p.m. And we are convinced that it played a significant role in boosting Rek-O-Kut's 1959 sales by 60 percent in the Southern California area. Incidentally, the show was selected by columnists in the area as the best classical music program of the year." • • • 64 U. S. RADIO • August 1960