U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

grace line mai ki i an a. I Ins area in< ludes New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Mass achusetts, Maryland, District of Columbia, northern Virginia and eastern Ohio, including Cleveland. "These slates are closest to our point-of-departure," Mr. Sands explains. "It is possible lor persons living in this area to get to New Yoik in one da\ In eithei (.11 01 train. Sixty-five percent oi the cruise business comes from this primary markel area. "Our sec ondai v mai kct au a lies in the north central states and the adjacent portion of Canada. Twenty percent ol oui cruise business emanates from this area. For people to reach a point of departure in New York from this region it is necessary to travel by air to get there within a day's time. The only citv where we advertise on fm in this region now is Chicago," he explains. "A tertiary market area covers the western and Gulf Coast states. Although we have done no radio advertising in this area, it is undei serious consideration." Mr. Sands points out. Stations Added Last fall's campaign used five sta tions in additon to the QXR Network. They are \VK[F Pittsburgh, WFMF Chicago, WJBR Wilmington, WGHF Brookfield, Conn, and WLOB Cleveland. On the QXR Network, Grace sponsors a half-hour program once a week. The program opens with a 30-second announcement, is broken half-way with a 60second commercial and ends with a 90-second closing. In addition to the half-hour program on WQXR New York, Grace takes three one-minute announcements per week on the Jacques Frey program. On Brookfield's WGHF Grace sponsors two half-hour programs per week. On WKJF, WFMF, WJBR and WLOB, the company sponsors one half-hour program and six spots per week scheduled during the evening. One factor behind Grace's enthusiasm for fm is related in Mr. Sands' recall of an early promotional oiler on WQXR. "We offered a kit oi literature on Caribbean cruises. A booklet called 'Caribbean Vacationlands,' giving travel tips on what to wear, what to see and do, was offered il the listener would wide in for it. Over 1,000 requests were received in two weeks. Response was so high that we had to withdraw' the offer before we ran out of booklets," he recalls. Seasonal Campaign I In ( .1 ac e I ,ine aclvei tising c am paign Inflows the seasons. 1 he spring campaign, which runs for 15 weeks in Man h, Apt il and May, is designed to encourage spring and summer navel. The campaign is heavier than the 13-week fall campaign because travel business is usual lv light er in winter and fall. Although basically a newspaper advertiser, Mr. Sands explains thai Giace is not s.iiisliecl with newspapei advertising alone, because of the limited coverage based on cost. Fm, therefore, is an important medium for Grace in several ways, Mr. Sands explains. "It has greater selectivity than other media, and enables us to reach a prestige audience that we feel is likely to be more interested in cruises than a broader audience. "The medium gives us greater flexibility in our advertising, because the travel business depends on fluctuations in the weather," he continues. "We can start special campaigns for unseasonably good weather as it becomes apparent." Prestige Medium "Fm has the additional value of being a prestige medium. So do the class magazines and some general magazines, but with fm radio we are able to concentrate our advertising toward a single audience in our primary market area." As time goes on, Mr. Sands points out, the fm advertising may very well be expanded to cities other than Chicago in the secondary area. Detroit is a possibility. More immediate, however, is the prospect of buying either spots or programs on stations in Florida* • • • SELECTIVITY, flexibility and prestiqe are qualities Frederic P. Sands, Grace director of adver+isinq, likes about fm. Kelly Nason Inc., New York, is firm's aqency. PRIMARY MARKET area, where fm is used, accounts for 65 percent of cruise businss. Above is Godfrey Macdonald, vice-president of the passenqer division. 4 U. S. FM • January 1961