Business screen magazine (1958)

bove: art combines with prod•t pi.x for Remington Rimd. Art and Pliut«»^'riipliy 4>11 RiisincNK EqiiipiiK'iil 'onsor: Remington Rand. tle: Personnel on File, produced by Muller, Jordan and Herrick. oblem: Getting favorable atten)n and holding attention as the oduct is identified, as the sales lint is clinched, is a problem in y sales method. Slidefilm techques facilitate a smooth, appealg sales message. When Refiiingn Rand elected to sell the Kardex rsonnel records system via slidefii, it was decided that the office oduct story would best be told ci^rtoon art. The film was to be ecifically a sales vehicle however d this necessitated actual product ;ws. A presentation was desired ;it would preserve the artistic 3tif. yet show the product to vantage. lution: Using Type C prints in mbination with artwork, the prober incorporated product views a way that maintained the art ntinuity. With this visual tech:jue, the product was "showsed" as part of the attractive lagery. ^ lolivaling' Iht' SalvKiiian ONSOR: Receiving Tube Department, Electronic Components Division, General Electric Company. tle: General Electric Disirihiitor Sales Development Proi^ram. produced by Transfilm, Inc. ow It Worked: General Electric's jceiving Tube Department was termined to increase the sales of tubes and parts by making its dealers better businessmen. The Tube Department wanted to train and motivate approximately 7.000 distributor sidesmen. The problem was to provide a suitable program for this large number of widely scattered distributors. It was deemed impractical to try to contact the distributors with GE factory training representatives. The solution was to package the material in such a way that a highly trained lecturer was not necessary. The program put in use includes a 10minute animated film, six sound slidefilms, three recordings, multiple choice questionnaires and a leader's guide. The training course was designed for six meetings which can be conducted in the field by electronic parts distributors themselves. To stimulate maximum audience participation, the program forecasts the future of electronics and gives case study instruction on several phases of selling. Results: Reported George Crossland, manager of distributor development and trade relations — "The program we have developed with Transfilm has been highly successful. Though it is difficult, if not impossible, to measure precisely the degree of its success in sales or new business, reports of its enthusiastic acceptance have inspired us to plan an enlargement of the program to include additional levels of distribution." (The Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration found this GE program so effective, they requested it for use in their own sales management courses.) I*r4»iliift IiiliM>«lii«*fion Sponsor: General Foods Corporation. Title: Instant Swans Down Cake Mix, produced by Transfilm, Inc. Problem: Many products designed for big sales are too small as product units to be efi'ectively presented or demonstrated to a large group. Solution: A simple, highly portable sound slidefilm which vivified the package, clearly demonstrated the mix being used — the steps in preparing a cake — and showed the delicious looking cakes the mix could make. As a living finale, a Swans Down cake, prepared in advance, was served to the luncheoners from the press. !#■ Left: basic selling principles are shown to GE salesmen . . . Pertinent scene in Textile Workers' film Safe-Guards for Labor Funds ik Scandals involving alleged misuses of labor union funds have been much in the news in recent months, as a result of investigations of certain unions' management activities by Congressional sub-committees. Most unions, however, are wellrun financially. In fact, many of them have set up procedures in handling funds that are considerably tighter than those recommended by Congress after its recent findings. For example, the Textile Workers Union of America recently recommended to its member locals and joint boards that a committee consisting of at least three rankand-file members be elected annually to make an audit of each local's financial records. To help put this program into effect, a 66-frame sound slidefilm in color was produced for the union by the William P. Gottlieb Co. Titled Guarding Our Funds, the film is aimed at training ordi nary union members in auditing the funds of locals and joint boards, and at emphasizing the importance of the auditing function. The union plans to show the slidefilm at locals" meetings to motivate the election of an auditing committee, and at the beginning and end of training courses ip auditing procedures. A training manual has been prepared to complement the slidefilm. First showing of Guarding Our Funds was at the recent convention of the Textile Workers Union of America in Mi^mi Beach, Fla. From "Guarding Our Funds" Slidefilm Aids Personnel Work M A sound slidefilm originally produced to help men's wear retailers solve apparel sales problems is finding new use as a personnel training aid. The slidefilm is A Plainclothes Story, produced by the Chicago Tribune in cooperation with the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Men's and Boy's Wear for use by apparel retailers in counselling their customers on better dress habits. However, Paul C. Dikeman, personnel training manager for the S. S. Kresge Company, reports that the film is now an integral part of the annual training seminars the personnel department conducts for Kresge men undergoing management training. Kresge conducts week-long sem inars every year in its four major sales districts, covering all facets of store operation and including lectures and discussions by company executives and store managers. This year, for the first time, the seminars included a session on the importance of good grooming. Training materials, supplied by the Institute of Men's and Boy's Wear, included a print of A Plainclothes Story. The film demonstrates how men of various heights and builds can select different items of wearing apparel to make them appear to best advantage. Following this year's meetings, trainees were asked to comment on the value of the film. Their reactions were so favorable. Dikeman said, that Kresge has decided to make it a regular part of all future training seminars. l^' BUSINESS SCREEN MAGAZINE