Broadcasting (July - Dec 1941)

WDSU NEW ORLEANS soon will be 5000 WATTS Day and Night WEED AND COMPANY National Representatives New York • Detroit • Chicago San Francisco Larger Crowds at Lake Compounce 5000 WATTS at 570 kc. COMBINATION''. BUY LOS ANGELES' FIRST; CHOICE TO SELL THE NATION'S THIRD MARKET i Los Angeles is the nation's third largest market. To sell this market buy KHJ, the radio station that leads all other Los Angeles network stations in sales by more than two to one. MUTUAL DON LEE KHJ LOS ANGELES, CALIF. nnn H'B'C BLUE Your greatest opportur>ities are open in Jacksonville over WJHP. Try and be convinced. K C WUU. It, COBni MM>tti VH. L DOMUL Hp. M ' Radio Is Responsible For Amusement Park Gains JBy JULIAN NORTON General Manager, Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn. A FEW WEEKS ago our amusement park renewed a contract for the 1941 season with WDRC, Hartford, which called for the heaviest radio appropriation in our advertising history. Ours is almost wholly a spring, summer and early fall business. That's when peoplf go to an amusement park to dance, to ride the roller coaster, the speed-boats, the scooters, the play automobiles, and to swim, bowl, have picnics, and frequent the shooting galleries. That's when they come to be amused, to have dinner parties, to eat ice cream, and other refreshments. We appeal to the great middle class, and those under and over — in other words, almost everybody. It Worked in 1940 How could we bring to this great middle class population what we have to offer? How could we tell them that Lake Compounce, in the heart of Connecticut, was just what they ordered if they wanted to have fun? The answer, of course, was radio. We tried it hard in 1940, exclusively over WDRC. It worked. We had the second best year in our 96-year history. It worked so well we're back on WDRC again this year with our greatest radio appropriation. And we're on our way to a banner year, probably our best. The crowds are bigger than we've ever had before, and they're spending more money. The response from our radio advertising has been excellent, and we feel radio is doing us a lot of good. Naturally, we're more than pleased with our results, and our experience with WDRC has been over a period of 11 years. We have a planned schedule over WDRC. One of the programs we sponsor is a street interview broadcast, which we believe has a tremendous audience — a type of program which the whole family listens to. That's what we want, whole families. And they come out here to picnic and to play. Then we sponsor the popular Saturday Strictly Swing Club show, which has more than 13,000 members. Here our appeal is to the music lovers, the swingsters, the dancers. Each week we have a name band at Lake Compounce, and attendance is always high after sharp plugging on the radio. On two other days we have special spots on WDRC calling attention to the attractions at the park, and inviting all comers. The spots and programs begin on Wednesday, and from then on through Sunday SIGNING A REVIEW for the 1941 season is Julian Norton, general manager of Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn., with officials of WDRC, Hartford. Left to right are WDRC Salesman J. Erie Williams, Mr. Norton, and WDRC Commercial Manager William F. Malo. Show Won't Go On WWL, New Orleans, made special arrangements to carry a broadcast by the winner of the band contest held as part of the International Lions Convention late in July. Everything was set. The Parkersburg, W. Va., High School Band was present, special lines strung, special engineer on hand. But as broadcast time approached, the bandleader hadn't shown. And despite frantic pleading and cajoling all 105 members of the band refused to play a note without their leader — he didn't appear, and the show had to be cancelled. there is mention of Lake Compounce every day in some manner. Our biggest crowds, of course, come on week ends and our radio advertising is arranged to keep the name of the park out in front during that period. They Hear About It We feel that young people, especially working people, listen to radio a great deal, and pay more attention to the advertising than they would if they read it in the newspapers. They don't read the papers very carefully. They don't notice the ads, unless they want to go some place and then they go looking for it. But when they're listening to a favorite program on the radio, they also listen to the announcer — and that's where Lake Compounce comes in. Radio definitely impresses Lake Compounce on their memories. They hear about it, again and again. And then when they think of some place to go. Lake Compounce jumps to their minds. We've been getting some huge crowds this year. Business is better, and the people are spending more. We know radio is responsible for this attendance, because we're getting people from places oui newspaper advertising never hits. Our advertising on WDRC ha; been well repaid. Radio advertisini is really a nice asset for us — it': good business. Our particular lim of business works in very well wit^^ radio, which reaches just the typi of person we desire to attract. An average Sunday will fin^ more than 10,000 persons at th< lake, and a good Sunday will se< more than 15,000. On holidays, lik( July 4, we'll get 25,000 to 30,000 And they keep coming back, bring ing new faces with them all th( time. Our WDRC set-up is extremelj satisfying to us, or we wouldn'l be doing it. We're grateful for th( cooperation of the station's program department, and to Commer cial Manager Bill Malo and Sales man Eric Williams, who handles our account for the station. All in all, we're tickled about th( way radio is working for us. Whc wouldn't be ; watching those crowds roll in! Student Exchange Series To Be Started Aug. 15 FIRST student exchange progranbetween North and South America has been arranged by the Par American department of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System New York, for shortwave Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC's international stations, WRCA and WNBI The quarter-hour program in Portuguese will salute the U of Sac Paulo, Brazil, as the first Soutt American member of IBS. At the completion of the United States program, the University will answer in English. At intervals of two weeks during August and September, the series will continue, the second program scheduled for Aug. 29, when IBS salutes the National University oi Bogota, Columbia, for its progress in technical and scientific education. Each program is a cooperative venture between the students ot the two nations and is prepared with university authorities in South America. Besides the series of exchange programs, the IBS Pan-American Department is producing a series of America Folk Music programs with the Library of Congress for broadcast on WRUL, Boston station of the World Wide Broadcast Foundation. McBride on WEAF MARY MARGARET McBRIDE, who for seven years as Martha Deane, conducted one of radio's most successful participating shows for women on WOR, New York, starting Sept. 2 will bring the same type of program back to the air on WEAF, 1:45 p.m. EDST, Monday thru Friday. Since leaving WOR, Miss McBride has conducted a Column of the Air on CBS for the Florida Citrus Commission, on a' sustaining basis and under sponsorship of Bohack Stores, New York. Page 42 • August 11, 1941 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising