U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

Farm Radio Advertiser Case Histories The following capsule success stories are reported by stations to U.S. RADIO. Cas -Pyrane Gas Co., a local Benton Harbor, Mich., distributor, used mostly weekly newspapers and direct mail in its advertising until 1959. Il then bou»ht on WHIP, a fiveminute weather program at 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for 20 weeks. When the contract expired, the client renewed lor a lull year at a < ost of $^12.50 a week. The company lias just renewed a second time for anothei year and claims his business has increased in three counties despite additional competition and extension of natural gas lines. Direct mail has been chopped and weekly newspaper ads have been cut clown. Farm Buildings -Customcrafl [nc. last fall contracted for a campaign on \\ s, hene< tady, \ Y . to i un from October 10 through January 6 on the Farm Paper of the Air (12:15 to I p.m.). Using a one-minute spot, Mondav through Friday, the client after seven weeks received more inquiries and effected more sales than il could handle thai it had to change copy to sell anothei procluc t. Livestock Dealer lhm\ Conklin & Sons. Plain City, ().. fust bought time on the farm programs ol WLW Cincinnati to promote a cattle sale that was to start in January 1960. As part of the station's follow-through, Jack Conner, manager of WIAY's Everybody's Farm, attended the sale lo check on the turn-out of farmers. Pleased with the results in terms of the crowd and sales volume, Mr. Conklin later telephoned Mr. Conner from Plain City (100 miles away) expressing his satisfaction with the part radio played. The result? The firm bought six spots on Choretime (6:10 to 6:45 a.m., Monday through Friday) one week per month to promote its 12 monthly sales of the year. Henry Conklin & Sons started their second year of advertising on WLW January 6. Last year, the firm spent S4,400 with the station. Equipment — Coushatta Farm Implement Co., an International Harvester dealer, sponsors a 15-minute program per week on KWKH Shreveport, I. a. One example ol the success the company has had was the sale of five used mechanical cotton pic kers .is ,i dire< i result of the sponsorship. A one-minute commercial was used in each of two programs ' ailing attention to the sale. Feed — Ralston-Purina (..<>. has been advertising on WJAG Norfolk, Neb., for over 15 years, according to Howard Murphy, district manager. The company now sponsors Purina Market Time, Monday through Friday, a program aimed especially at livestock feeders. During the years it is reported that Ralston-Purina has scored a 500 percent increase in business. Chemicals — The Stull Chemical Co. of San Antonio had never done any radio advertising until it bought five minutes on the WOAI Farm News (6:25 a.m.) three days a week. The campaign started about a year ago with a 13-week buy. The campaign lor the remainder of the year was renewed each time for 13 weeks, until recently when the company ordered a 52-wcek contract. Increased sales coupled with the "realization that the farm editor represented a highly respected 'travelling salesman' " are the reasons credited for the cont inning radio use. Rodenticide — The Lowman Co., Waterloo, Ind., manufacturer of Acorn Cheese Rat Killer, recently finished a campaign on WOWO Fort Wayne. L. L. Lowman last month commented on the results of the drive: "Even though our advertising budget was small, our early morning and Jay Gould's Notebook times were most effective. Without revealing any figures, we can say that WOWO was responsible for increasing our business 50 percent over last year. You can rest assured that we will be back on the air again next fall." Construction — Atlantic Aluminum & Supply Co., Staunton, Va., bought one spot daily on WSVA Harrisonburg, Va., to promote the construc tion ol farm buildings. The spots, heard between 6:16 and 6:45 a.m., were done from the advertiser's fact sheet with the content entirely the farm direc tor's choice. In less than two weeks, 12 inquiries were received; three definite sales totaling $7,500 were directly attributed to radio. The client has reportedly requested the assistance of WSVA in using other radio stations with the spots to be done by its farm director. Feed — Ralston-Purina Co. for its Purina Chows has been a continuous advertiser on KCMO Kansas City since January 1954. At a weekly cost ol S330, the company uses six 10minute programs a week, Farm News with George Stephens, farm direcioi. \Ionda\ through Saturday, 12:10 to 12:20 p.m. Ralston Purina reports tonnage increased each year since the start of the program. Tobacco Market — For the first time, Faquay-Varina Tobacco Market last year scheduled daily minute announcements on the 6 to 6:15 a.m. farm program of WPTF Raleigh, N.C. The announcements ran from opening day of the market in September until it closed in November. Announcements reported sales volume for the previous day, the average price paid to farmers and listed several sales by individual farmers. Tobacco market credited WPTF for making it the best year, with more tobacco sold than ever before at higher average prices for farmers from a wider area than ever before. Services — LTtah State Farm Bureau candy recipes were provided recently on This Business of Farming on KSL Salt Lake City. In one brief mention, Jeanne Lesson, ladies day director, stated that these candy recipes could be had by writing to the program. The next two mail calls brought nearly 150 requests from the station's coverage area. Implements — Balster's Implement & Parts Co., Scotch Grove, Iowa, which sponsors Tomorrow's Agriculture on WMT Cedar Rapids Sunday 30 U. S. RADIO • January 196J