Broadcasting (Apr - June 1950)

llalLnjoaJU Qet a BantU Selling Good-Will and Traffic Too By J. FRANK BEATTY | ONE of the greatest industrystories ever sold — the story of I the nation's $28 billion railroad network — is producing Jan unexpected bonus for its ij narrators, the Assn. of American Railroads, sponsoring ! The Railroad Hour on NBC. This bonus, gratifyingly enough, is highly mercenary. , It consists of an identifiable inj crease in rail traffic despite the i fact that the two-year-old broadfj cast is designed purely to acquaint 2i the public with the railroads' role in the national economy and to hold the friendship of the citizenry. In a critical phase of the industry's 120-year-old career, its organized directorate has been utilizing the power of the spoken word ONE YEAR ago the Assn. of American Railroads knew it had hit on a successful public relations formula in its 30-minute versions of operettas and musical comedies. Having just completed an exhaustive study of the program, AAR now has discovered that a year ago it really didn't know its own radio strength, though it began to suspect this power when some 600 listeners went to the trouble to mail Christmas cards to the association. AAR has developed a tremendous entertainment enterprise. Is it paying off? The answers are supplied in these columns. to gain intimate contact with 150 million Americans through their 90 million radio receivers. Via these loudspeakers the railroads are routing entertainment plus the friendly story of the service they provide and the problems they face. It's a story that is told, and sold, every Monday evening to an audience of 15 million select and intelligent citizens who listen because they want to hear the show and, perhaps surprisingly to some of the carriers, because they want to hear what the railroads have to say. The first year of railroad broadcasting produced an outstanding example of goodwill building by a large industry [Broadcasting, Oct. 3, 1949]. Approaching the end of the second year, the men who man the Iron Horse have stopped to take stock. What they have found is good. Reduced to capsule form, they have learned: 0 This institutional program is starting to sell passenger traffic, Advertiser, Agency and Network Evaluate the Program's Effect WILLIAM T. FARICY President Assn. of American Railroads ANOTHER year's experience with I1 The Railroad Hour has served to confirm our original impression that such a program offers an effective connection between the railroad industry and the public it serves. |j This is evidenced by the public response both to the program and ,the favorable reception of its commercial messages as indicated by the literally thousands of unsolicitjed letters we have received from 'listeners who had no other reason Jto write than to express their appreciation. We believe the program is definitely helping to accomplish our major objective of a better public understanding of the railroad industry, its progress and its problems, and that it is serving as a stimulus to traffic. JOSEPH H. McCONNELL NBC President fT is particularly appropriate that the Railroad Hour with its splendid portrayals of famous operettas and light operas should be 'the springboard for NBC's two hours of good music every Monday light. We are looking forward to p long association with the Assn. }f American railroads. The popularity of the Railroad Hour is the best possible testimonial BROADCASTING • Telecasting to its worth. We are very proud of this fine program, and it is, of course, an additional source of pride to us that the Assn. of American Railroads has chosen the facilities of NBC to reach the American people. CLARENCE B. GOSHORN President Benton & Bowles ALTHOUGH there are innumerable records of the effectiveness of radio in product selling, this story of The Railroad Hour is perhaps unique in it sthorough documentation of the power of radio to com municate ideas and win friends and customers for a whole industry. While we speak of The Railroad Hour as "institutional," its purpose is essentially no different from that of other programs — to enlist the attention of a selected audience, provide an appropriate atmosphere to tell people about ourselves and, if they feel we deserve it, gain their approval and support. We trust them to pass on their confidence to others, because they know why they are our friends. Its accomplishment should be stimulating both to other industries and to those associations with commodities rather than brands to promote. and showing signs of selling freight business. © The audience growth is swift — not skyrockety but steady. e Radio's flexibility was used in an emergency to bring a message to the public within a few minutes of a major development. © The audience is of high quality and friendly, and the association can prove it. ® It's a consistent audience, with new people coming in every week. 0 In less than two years the carriers have built up one of industry's most powerful public-opinion instruments. 0 The closing 20-second commercial has amazing potency. The commercial side of this purely institutional broadcast is getting, a lot of attention at the Assn. of American Railways headquarters in Washington. First of all, the program is designed to tell the railroad industry's story, not to sell rail traffic. The association doesn't peddle goods off a shelf to buyers, so it can't measure sales as easily as a single-company sponsor. Since the main goal of The Railroad Hour is to convince the public that the roads are doing a good job and can do a better one, the original institutional theme is still followed. But something quite new, and effective, has been added to the basic theme, a reminder slogan with a touch of financial pastel: "It's Good Business to Do Business With the Railroads." Don't get the idea that this vast service industry is adopting the LS/MFT technique of hammering over and over, and then over some more. On the contrary, it has adopted a quasi-institutional way of inserting a use-our-facilities (Continued on page 42) Mr. FARICY Mr. GOSHORN Mr. McCONNELL May 8, 1950 • Page 25