Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1949)

AD CLUB PROTEST Fears Spread of Ark. Tax SPREAD of the Little Rock, Ark., $50 tax on radio salesmen to all persons engaged in the selling business, and even to every person who v»"orks for a living is conceivable under the city's ordinance, according to the Advertising Club of Little Rock in a challenge to the disputed tax. U. S. Supreme Court action is awaited on a, rehearing petition by KARK and KGHI Little Rock from a court ruling refusing to hear an appeal from the Arkansas Supreme Court, which had upheld the city's tax [Broadcasting, Nov. 14, 28]. The Little Rock Ad Club has adopted a strong resolution protesting the tax. Its parent organization. Advertising Federation of America, has taken the matter under consideration. The AFA concern centers around the feature of the tax law by which individual salesmen are taxed. The city ordinance also places a $250 tax on the generation of electromagnetic energy for broadcast purposes. Petition to intervene in the Supreme Court proceeding as amicus curiae (friend of the court) was filed Nov. 22 by NAB. Tax Termed Unfair Phillip G. Back, head of the Little Rock agency bearing his name and president of the local Ad Club, said the $50 tax on station salesmen was studied by a club committee which drew up the resolution for club action. "We in the advertising profession do not believe that we are entitled to any special tax burden and feel that the enforcement of that ordinance will work a hardship on all persons selling advert'sing services in Little Rock or any other place in the United States," he said. "We feel, too, that the tax is unfair and unjust. "There is no more reason why the City of Little Rock should tax a radio time salesman than they COLESON NAMED Is Ad Council Represent-ative ROBERT C. COLESON, one-time manager of the Hollywood office of NAB, has been appointed Pacific Coast representative of The Advertising Council. Mr. Coleson managed the NAB western office from 1946 to 1948, and recently has been the Council's radio representative in Hollywood on a part-time basis. His new, fulltime duties embrace all media. His new office for The Advertising Council will be in the Taft Bldg., Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. Mr. Coleson would impose a special tax on newspaper advertising salesmen or shoe salesmen who work in a department store, or gasoline salesmen who work in service stations, or beauty operators who work on commission or straight salary basis. "This ordinance could have the effect of setting up a pattern that all salesmen will have to pay a special tax, salesmen to sell tickets at the movies, soda fountain employes and millions and millions of others who earn their living selling. And the tax of $50 a year can be just a 'starter' for each year it can be raised to $100 or $200 or perhaps $1,000 a year. There's no limit once the tax is impossd. "Because 'special advertising salesman's tax' was instituted in Little Rock, and because statements have been made by certain tax officials who are spreading the word to other cities that, 'Here's a new source of tax money, boys,' the Advertising Club of Little Rock has decided to take the lead in combatt ng this unfair tax law. "I have been directed by the club to enlist the aid of our parent o ganization, the Advertising Federation of America, and have today telegraphed a copy of the resolution to Elon Borton, president of AFA." Text of the resolution as adopted by the club follows: WHEREAS, the City of Little Rock has announced that it will levy a special tax of $50 per year against radio advertising solicitors, and WHEREAS, the Advertising Club of Little Rock, Ark., feels that such a tax on advertising solicitors is really a tax on advertising, and WHEREAS, advertising is merely a tool to increase sales, and not an end product in itself, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Advertising Club of Little Rock goes on record as being wholeheartedly opposed to any tax of any kind assessed against advertising salesmen or solicitors who are employed by established radio stations, newspapers, magazines, advertising agencies or other businesses selling advertising, and that a copy of this resolution be delivered to our city officials and other interested parties. THE Hollywood Ad Club celebrated "CBS Day" on Nov. 21 with key executives in the new administrative setup for the network's West Coast operations attending. L to r are Merle S. Jones, KNX Los Angeles and CBS Pacific Network general manager; Ed Wynn, CBS television star who was guest speaker; Howard S. Meighan, vice president and general executive and the network's chief executive officer in Hollywood; Harry Ackerman, vice president and director of network programs, Hollywood; A. E. Josceiyn, director of CBS operations, Hollywood; and Kenneth Yourd, network program department business manager. MBS RENEWALS Include Two Top Shows MBS announced last Wednesday the $1,300,000 renewal for 52 weeks of Bill Henry and the News by Johns-Manville Corp. The program, heard from 8:55 to 9 p.m. Mon.-Fri. will continue over more than 400 Mutual stations. The contract, effective Jan. 2, was through J. Walter Thompson, New York. The same day, MBS also announced renewal for 39 weeks effective Jan. 1 of Juvenile Jury sponsored by General Foods in behalf of Gaines Dog Food. This program is heard Sundays, 3:30 to 4 p.m. Benton & Bowles is the agency. ^^)^)P^f^ Adds Sales Impact Ratings to Service C. E. HOOPER, Inc. last week announced a new service. Sales Impact Ratings, designed to measure relative proportions of product use among listeners and non-listeners to any given commercial network radio program. The measurement is intended to reveal the effectiveness of any program in encouraging the use of products advertised on it by listeners as compared to use of the same products by non-listeners of a nation-wide sample matched with listeners on a geographic, economic and community size basis. The method is "out of the laboratory and has been applied to 80 network radio programs," C. E. Hooper, president of the firm, said. Technique of the measurement is first to distribute listener diaries to a cross-section sample of radio homes, selected in proportion to distribution of radio homes by geographic areas, community size and socio-economic levels. After the first mailing a second questionnaire is sent to the same sample. It contains questions as to what products in .several categories are used. The second questionnaire is designed to avoid association with the diary in the respondents' minds. No x-eference to radio listening is made in it, and it is presented on a different letterhead with a different return address from the diary. When the diaries and subsequent product — use questionnaires are returned, the responses to the diary are broken down into listeners and non-listeners and these two categories in turn adjusted so that each class will be propoi'tionately distributed in respect to geographic area, community size and economic level. Credit to Radio An analysis of the responses to the product use questionnaire can then be made and applied to the two matched samples of listeners and non-listeners. "Other significant factors having been matched in the tow samples," Mr. Hooper said, "any greater use of the product by listeners, as compared with non-listeners, can be attributed to the advertising effectiveness of that particular program." BROADCASTING • Telecasting Sales impact ratings are currently available only on the 80 network radio programs which last winter were sponsored by frequently purchased products and which had audiences of better than average size. It is the Hooper plan, however, to expand its report in the future. "The method . . . will permit almost infinite expansion on sample, and thereby can provide effectiveness material on most sponsoring products and services, if demand for reports on smaller audience programs warrants," Mr. Hooper's announcement said. The method can be applied to network television, local radio and local television, he said. In the announcement Mr. Hooper included a sample sales impact rating report on a daytime serial, broadcast five times a week, sponsored by an unidentified soap company for a household cleanser. The introduction to the sample report, written by John Lyman Bogert, Hooper vice president and technical (Continued on page 32) December 5, 1949 • Page 21