U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

HOW we can offer you RESULTS report from wirh rhese /N H a r t f 0 r (CONNECTICUT) /N Kansas City /N Los Angeles (SPANISH LANGUAGE MARKET) /N San Francisco ;SAN MATEO -ATOP RATINGS IN AUDIENCE *MORE LISTENERS PER DOLLAR -^SPONSOR PREFERENCE AFTER TRYING "BOTH' STATIONS For facfs < figures CALL A TELE-BROADCASTER STATION WPOP KUDL K A L I KOFY BECAUSE WE PROGRAM TO PLEASE LISTENERS AND TO PROMOTE SALES W^COL has SOUND INFLUENCE In Columbus, Ohio Advertising is a true investment. It must be based on sound judgment. In Columbus, you get maximum returns on your investment when you advertise on the New WCOL! The New WCOL offers the largest listening audience at lowest cost*. Don't speculate with your dollars. Invest in New WCOL Blue Chip advertising for greatest returns. *(You invest in the largest share of audience for less than half the cost per thousand listeners of other media. Ratings and CPM figures on request.) 24 hours a day broadcasting 1230 AM 92.3 FM The New o The Capital Station Columbus 15, Ohio# Represented by: (^^robert e. eastman * co., ^ Station Merchandising Studied In NBC Spot Sales Survey The role station mere Iiaiulisin^ does andor shoiilcl play in Ijioadc asiini^ has been explored by the NIU! Spot Sales Tiiiiebuyer Opinion Panel. A questionnaire was sent to a groajj oi agency people covering a variety of siii))ecis. Iiuhided were (jiiestions about the iniportaiue ol nierdiandising, how merchandising should be paid lor, the most valuable merchandising activities and reporting the results of merchandising efforts. A(coicling to the rejjresentative fnni. 62 percent of the respondents were employed by agencies whose billings are in excess ot .Si million, with the remaining .S8 percent woiking for agencies with billings inider that amount. Discussing the importance ol station merchandising, the study showed that "Appaicntly, merchandising services offeied by radio stations have a greater impact on agencies billing uiuler .SI million. . . . More than three out of four respondents in this category stated that ihev afways or fiecjuently consider t heservices offered by stations when setting schedides. Six out of 10 (6.S percent) respondents liom agencies billing over SI njillion always or fiecjuently consider station merchandising when buying." Probing the attitudes of the respondents as to how the costs of station merchandising should be handled, (he survey revealed that only 10 percent felt that a station was justified in asking an advertiser to pay at cost. Some 57 percent indicated that there w'as justification in asking the advertiser to share the cost. The panelists were also asked to list the merchandising activities which they considered most valuable in the order of their importance. The results were as follows: 1. fn-store cHsjjlays 2. Calls on trade .H. Mailings to trade 4. On-air tie-in spots 5. Media tie-in ads G. BiUbcjaids, posters tie-ins "Since the panelists rank 'calls on the trade' as the second most \aluable activity a station can engage in," the report stated, "it stands to reason that they would be in favor of having a merchandising specialist on the station staff. Almost eight out of 10 (78 percent) stated that they Avoiild lecommend that stations employ such a person to make trade calls. HoAvever, only slightly over half {bb percent) did not object to having a station merchandising specialist contact their clients with regard to a schedule. And l.S percent definitely did not want to liave their clients contacted." .\n important area in which many ol the respondents felt stations were being remiss was that of reporting on merchandising. Only 56 percent of those replying said that radio stations do an adecjuate job of reporting assistance. "The importance of sid)mitling a comprehensive report ol merchandising assistance," the report staled, "is underscored by the iact that over 90 percent of such reports are turned over to clients and acccjunt executives — the very people that station management wants most to impiess." One aspect of station merchandising which brings out a difference of opinion among broadcasters, as Avell as advertisers, is the tjuestion of whether or not the ];ractice might l)ec()me a primary rather than a sccoiidaiy reason for ijtiying time on a station. One of the questions put to the )janelisls was, "fn order to increase distribution (or for any leason), have you ever bought on the basis of merchandising first, audience second?" Over one-thircf (38 percent) of those replying said that they had made a j)urchase on the basis of merchandising. In offering the results of tlie survey, NBC Spot Sales pointed out that they were "not meant to be projected to the total of several thousand persons engaged directly, or in directly, in the purchase of broadcast time." • • • 60 U. S. RADIO November 1960