U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

report from Agency Teams Up with Sound Medium on Public Service Campaigns Agency cooperation in the area of |)iil)li( service broadcasting is well exemplified by the Ted Bates 8c Co. volunteer participation in the Radio Free Europe campaign. The agency works hand-in-hand with The Advertising Council, organ i/er ol the RFE and similar ( ampaigns. "Since RFF itself is a broadcast operation," says Allen Patterson, a Bates vice president and head oi the agency RFE task forte, "radio is one of the most important media £01 disseminating information on its activities." The basic operation follows the general pattern applied to any client with the exception that there is. ol course, no fee involved. The campaign is developed by Jeremy Fury and Norman Metcalf copywriters in the Bates creative depart ment. Patterson then submits the plans to the Advertising Council and RFE for approval. When this is accomplished he turns the formal over to the radio-tv production department which prepares RFE Radio Kits containing spot copy for 15 oneminute, 20-second, 10-second and two three-minute spots, plus .1 radio fact sheet of general information on the campaign. Transcriptions and tapes are prepared from recordings of well known personages such as Benny Goodman and Eleanor Roosevelt, endorsing RFE. Once the production is completed, the Ad Council assumes the task of distributing the packages to every radio station in the country. "Our work load reaches its peak in the summer and fall," continues Mr. Patterson. "At this time we research and create our copy platform. In 1958, I spent a month in Europe inspecting RFE installations in order to gather material for our next campaign. This year, our chief source of copy came from no less a PR man than Nikita Khrushchev. His antics at the UN this past sum >>><'• pio\ed to he excellent source material. In fad our lead phrase "Your grandchildren will grow up under communism!" is a direc t epiote Irom the Premier. Since we began servicing this account three years ago, oui <o|u approach has remained nnc hanged, but we have varied the slant each year. The basic aim is to educate the American people, in their own self-interest, to the needs ol the oppressed nations behind the iron c in tain. The need loi an understanding of freedom and democracy. "Our campaign then offers answers to these three questions: "What is it? . . . Does it work? . . . What is it's significance? The slant will vary in order to poini up the various techniques applied by one side or the other in the cold war. Last year we broach ast letters from R IT listenei s and exhibited posters ol the fight against communist propaganda, this year we utilized the Khrushchev speee lies. Bui in e\ ei \ instam e w e try to impress upon the American public that RFE can only exist through dollar support." In its annual report, the Advertising Council points out that their 1 3 major campaigns over the past year were fully supported by broadcasters and their advertisers who contributed their time and talent to the worthy causes. (A few of the Conn cil's campaigns are: Better Schools, Red Cross, Mental Health, Savings Bonds.) Over a billion and a half radio home impressions were made for these and other causes, according to the A. C. Neilsen Company. John M. Lyden, vice chairman of the board for Bates says, "The American people too often take their own free radio for granted. They are unaware that many areas do not have this same privilege, but our campaign can bring home this point through the combined efforts of network and local broadcasters." • • • HOMETOWN [Cont'd from p. 43) lar items, rd provide a belter "cli mate," the station might also consider insetting some programming into iis schedule that would appeal directly to ihis segment ol its audi ence. On the subject ol programming, more and more stations are modifying oi completely changing theii formats. Qualitative research has been helping to cheek on the results ol these changes, and indicate areas that might require additional change oi study. An example ol this type of research is a survey conducted l>\ Pulse for a station in Seattle that had changed its format. The study was designed, in part, to show the likes and dislikes ol the respondents ae e ol cling to SCX. The results showed that, in general, the format had greater appeal to males than females. For example, 16.2 percent of the males said they like the station's personalities while only 6.3 percent of the females expressed the same opinion; lb. 7 percent e>l the males liked the news oi weather programs, and 12.6 percent of the females. It is interesting to note, however, that only 3.8 percent of the males said they liked the general programming, while 4.9 percent ol the females held a similar opinion. Additional Light Shed A recent Pulse study in Philadelphia throws additional light on the kind of data that can be developed to provide a complete picture of a radio station's image. For example, the study brought out some revealing facts about the radio audience in terms of expenditures for food and groceries. According to the survey, only 19 percent of one station's audience spent less than S21 per week for food. However, this same station showed that 50 percent of its audience spent $30 to S35 per week for food and groceries — nine percent above the average — and 9.8 percent spent $40 or over — almost two percent above the average. This information could be of considerable interest to grocery chains and advertisers of food products. In this same category, the survey showed that the station with the highest percentage of listeners spend 50 U. S. RADIO • January 1961