U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

PET MILK conducted a gospel singing contest on the 64 Negro stations used in the current schedule. The finals were held in a Chicago high school auditorium and drew large crowds. Pet Milk Thrives on Radio Diet Steady user of medium for well over a decade, Pet Milk finds radio best way to reach the Negro consumer g "... W'c use radio because nr it seems the best way to l\ reach the Negro consumer. " This statement from Ray Morris, evaporated milk advertising manager of the Pet Milk Company, St. Louis, gets to the core of why the firm has been heavily involved in Negro radio for some 12 years. Initially starting out in a relatively few markets. Pet Milk has steadily increased its use of Negro-appeal radio based on Ijoih ihc development of this specialized aspect of the sound medium, and the satisfactory results, explains Earl Hotze, account executive for Pet Milk at the Gardner .\dvertising Company. Cinrently, the evaporated milk product is being advertised in 64 Negro markets on a year-round schedule. "This concentrated use of Negro radio," Mr. Hotze says, "is in keeping with Pet Milk's vertical market a])pn)a(h. The three vertical markets which arc i)cing given the most attention bv Pet are the Negro, Spanish and farm. Of these three," Mr. Hotze continues, "tlie Negro market gets the largest share of the promotion budget." "The main reason Avhy we l)uy Negro-appeal radio," explains Mr. Morris, "is because ihrouglioui the coxMitry this group pmchases oneand-onc-hair times as nuich of our ])i()duct as do whites. And in the Souiheasl and Soulhwcst, this pur( base rale goes up to twice as nuich. Another favorai)le marketing factor is that the Negro, on the average, spends more on food than docs the A\ lute." (Changes in the .Negro market are making it more diffic lUt to check the effectiveness of media, Mr. Aforris says. "Our buying, of necessity, has to be done on faith to a large degree. One reason for this is that store checks are more difficidt to take than e\er because the su])ermarket revolution has also hit the South. Ihis means that (here, loo. the 'mom and pop' stores are dwindling, and that Negroes are moving out of their own neighboihoods to shop in larger stores which whites also patronize. Educational Job "In addiiion lo trying to kee]> up with the shilling Negro market," he continues, "we ha\e a major educational jol) to do in getting people to use the dry evaporated milk. Consmnpiion still (ends to be higher on the licjuid form. Radio helps us to do this. And we use radio because it seems the best way to reach the Negro consinner. Circulation in print is more difficidt to match with our ads than in radio. .\nd television is just beginning to make an impact in this maikel." Otlier media em]jloyed by Pet Milk lo reach the \egro audience in(lude newspa|>eis and GO-second films shown in motion jjictuie theaters. However, Robert W. Vanasse, a Negro market specialist in the Pet Milk advertising department, states that the selected list of 04 radio stations nciw carrying the Pet announcements covers a potential of 90 percent of the total U.S. Negro population. Also discussing the rapidly shifting elements that make up today's Negro market. Mr. Vanasse says, 36 (Supplement p. 20) U. S. RADIO No vein her 1960