U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

FALL OUTLOOK (Cont'd from p. 23) workers are traveling to or from their jobs. Some 10 percent are shifting from 8 p.m. to midnight, another five percent from midnight to 4 a.m. Peters, Griffin, Woodward Inc. is releasing this month portions of a special study conducted for it by A. C. Nielsen. Among the many things it will show is the strength of weekend radio. The study will point out that weekend radio ranks on a par with the coveted traffic times in terms of number of different homes reached and nmle audience composition, while the weekend cost is only 70 percent to 75 percent of prime time. Another special study timed with the start of the fall season — this one by Trendex on behalf of Broadcast Time Sales — is designed to illustrate some of the pressing problems in the way time is bought. "It is a growing feeling in the broadcast industry," states Carl Schuele, BTS president, "that agencies have not fully tapped the creative buying abilities, knowledge and experience of timebuyers . . . a greater reliance on buyers' judgment would make the media profession even more efficient and able to contribute more heavily toward attaining an agency's goals." The survey was conducted among four groups: Timebuyers, media supervisors, account executives and client executives. One question asked, "Should timebuyers be consulted more frequently on marketing and copy approaches?" Trendex found these answers: 90 percent of the timebuyers voted "yes;" 80 percent of the media directors and a like percentage of account executives also saw value in the idea. Only 50 percent of client management, however, thought the added functions had any merit. A second question asked, "Should timebuyers have a greater voice in media selection?" According to Trendex, 70 percent of the timebuyers said "yes." And response from media directors and account executives indicate that serious thought may be given to expanding the timebuyer's role: 60 percent of the media heads and 80 percent of the account men stated athnuatively that buyers should have a hand in scrambling the media omelette. Client executives once more showed their conservative leanings, with 50 percent of them voting "yes." Single Rate With an eye on the new advertising season and in an effort to make spot radio more appealing to clients and agencies, many radio stations have responded favorably to the SRA urging for a single rate. The question of who qualifies for what rate under a dual structure has led increasingly to hard feelings among many national agencies. The headlines of the past six months in this regard have not been pleasant to read. The situation reached a climax when N. W. Aycr R: Son called in all representatives for a conference urging that something be done to restore confidence in rates. To this end, many stations seem to be going along with the SRA proclamation of last month that a single rate be iirgently considered by as many stations as possible. Lawrence Webb, managing director of SR.A, has received an overwhelming resjjonse from stations. Many of them using the single rate Iiave commented on its success; others have stated that they plan to make the switch. The comments of a few others are summed up in this terse remark by a skeptic: "I don't lielieve it." One example of a station impressed with the importance of the SR.^ single rate stand is WEJL Scranton, Pa. Cecil Woodland, general manager, told Mr. Webb: "Your letter was a most persuasive one and it dispels the last vestiges of indecision on our part. While the change to a single rate will produce a great many problems, we feel as do you and many others in the industry that the eventual gain will far outweigh any losses. "One point which seems to make sense to us is that with the mobility of people today, even the smallest local merchant can profit from customers coming to town from our entire coverage area. "We have always felt, additionally, that trying to determine exact ly what criteria justified selling at the local rate was more difficult than having a single rate." Mr. Webb believes that the establishment of a single rate will go a long way in winning new national business for radio. "It establishes confidence in the rates and makes it easier for a national buyer to estimate the cost." Among the many single rate stations that have told SRA it has worked successfully are the Balaban Stations, KJEO Fresno, KHO^V Denver, WHBC Canton (O.), KOOL Phoenix, KFSC Denver and WITZ Danville, 111. Others, like KPHO Phoenix, state that they are making the changeover. One of the letters Mr. Webb received in opposition to the single rate clearly states the case for the dual standard. Henry Clay, KWKH Shreveport, La., states: "It seems to me that this is a case of trying to manufacture a pattern to fit the cloth rather than 'cutting the ; cloth to fit the pattern.' The real problem involved here is not with the 'retail' and 'general' rates, but rather with the administration of these rates which in my opinion are based on logical reasoning . . . "Such practices as double billing, special package deals, together with a number of different rates entitled regional, local, national, distributors, brokers, etc., resulted from pressure induced by prospective advertisers. They discovered that radioTnanagers would make a deal . . . One cannot correct this problem by making a single rate. It's analogous to passing a prohibition act in order to stop people from drinking . . . "When a listener in Carthage, Tex., hears Chesterfield cigarettes advertised on KWKH, he can go next door and buy a package if he has the inclination. If he hears about a sale at Selber Brothers department store in Shreveport, he has to corae 75 miles to make the purchase. Obviously, the national advertiser benefits more from the coverage than a local advertiser." The positive steps being taken by the radio industry in better selling its product and in attempting to set its house in order, brings promise that the fall market will be a bright one for radio. • • • 50 v. S. RADIO • September 1960