Broadcasting (Jan - Dec 1935)

rhe Road to Success in Radio Advertising By LOUIS A. WITTEN Director of Radio, Hanff-Metzger, Inc., New York Take Some Horse Sense, Add Liberal Portions of Proper Programming and Mix With Efficient Merchandising irHERE is no royal road to success in any field of activity. Certain fundamentals must be considered to steer clear of failure but as far as you and I are concerned as individuals, we will be outstanding successes or go to hell in our own way. With that attempt at philosophy, I state there are two schools of thought in setting up a radio department in an advertising agency. One school, as practiced by several of the large agencies, requires every man in the radio department to be a specialist in radio. There is an expert musical director, an expert continuity writer, an expert commercial writer, an expert radio time buyer, an expert this and an expert that. My school of thought is this: How can a musical director be an expert in the popular field and the opera, too? How can a continuity writer be an expert at comedy and drama, too? In an agency you find men and women copywriters who do their best job at writing cereal ads, typewriter ads, etc., so why shouldn't that be true of radio? It looks as though I've torn something down. The question naturally arises — what do I do? It's this: When I plan a radio advertising show I analyze the situation with the advertising manager, account executive and the copy men working on the specific account. What is the product? What is the price ? How frequent is its purchase ? To what sex must the appeal be directed? To what age group ? Has it a seasonal market ? Where is its distribution ? Under several of these headings there are further subdivisions on which we decide morning, late afternoon or evening time. Planning the Program BASED on this knowledge we plan a show calculated to accomplish our primary objectives — appeal to sex and age group. Now if we decide there must be popular music in our show my opera expert would be a dead loss. If we decide on a romantic script show an expert comedy writer is also of no use nor would I want to be plagued by an expert blood and thunder mystei'y writer. So it's all very simple. I don't have any difficulty putting my finger on a musical expert who has proved himself as a popular music conductor. Nor do I have any difficulty locating a man who has made all the lovesick women of America cry over his romantic creations. In other words I am not limited by my knowledge of popular music or romance. My only limitation is judgment and ability, and information to decide who is successful in his given field and where I'll find him. There's no mystery or black magic about it at all, at least in my opinion. A digression for just a moment. Some of you may wonder why I am heard on the air with certain of our radio programs. Because MR. WITTEN after an early experience in selling and a later experience as an announcer, I feel that I bring to our clients on the air a greater sympathy and understanding of their products than a station announcer, and a little greater comprehension of sales psychology. In addition (and this is very important to me and our organization), on a radio solicitation I am recognized and accepted more readily as a result of the air publicity. Here is a fact which has been proved by the theatre and the movies. Practically anywhere entertainment is presented there are several types — script or speech, which might be drama or comedy; and music, which might be popular, semi classical or classical. Every radio entertainment is made up of one or more of these elements. It's a matter of proportion. Despite the vaudeville theatre's passing even we remember its popularity. The de luxe picture house, while it features a comedy or dramatic movie, gives you the time proved variety show, including news reel and a stage show with a master of ceremonies to set the feminine hearts going pit-a-pat, a comedian or comedy team, dancing girls for the bald head row, and so forth. It is fortunate for many of us radio executives that television is not yet here. Many of us would lose our jobs. The smart ones are those who are studying enough of the theatre to hire the George Whites and the Earl Carrolls and the Belascos for sure as fate the theatre and its trained actors and actresses and its producers must and will come increasingly into radio. It also is true that when an advertiser enters radio he is entering the show business. I said you have at your disposal for a radio show, speech, drama, comedy and music. Put all three together and you have a variety show. Of course, in the vaudeville theatre they could throw in a juggler or a quick change artist or things of that nature, but not for radio — yet. Among the most popular variety programs is Maxwell House, with Captain Henry, a lovable master of ceremonies. You have music, of course, popular; you have comedy in Molasses and January, and you have drama in the love problems. The show is a variety show with permanent cast. Then there is the Fleischman Hour. The master of ceremonies is a crooner who captured the romantic interest of our women. We have Rudy as master of ceremonies with his popular music and singing. He usually introduces a comedian or a comedy note in skit form and a dramatic playlet or reading. This variety show differs from Maxwell House primarily in that it has a changing cast, Rudy Vallee being the continuity value. Popular Series NOW to substantiate my earlier statement that "there is no royal road to success", I'll enumerate several of the leading popular programs and analyze their entertainment factors. 1. Joe Penner and Ed Wynn are what might be called "out and out gag comedy programs with musical support". 2. Phil Baker, Fred Allen, Burns and Allen, Eddie Cantor — situation comedy employing several stooges and musical support, either orchestral, or orchestral and vocal. 3. Will Rogers — humorist with musical support. 4. Walter Winchell — America s greatest gossip with musical support. 5. Sinclair Minstrels — as it suggests, another type of comedy with musical support. 6. Amos and Andy — script, comedy and pathos. 7. Red Davis — script, sketch of American life. 8. Grand Hotel — drama of life as it flows through a grand hotel. 9. Roses and Drums — Civil War drama. 10. Lowell Thomas — news commentator. 11. March of Time — dramatization of news with mood music. 12. First Nighter — -out and out dramatic show presented in typical theatre manner. 13. Fred Waring — a musical variety show wherein the comedy and drama are supplied by song lyrics and musical arrangements. 14. Guy Lombardo — popular dance music. 15. A. & P. Gypsies — concert music. , . , 16. Paul Whiteman — symphonized popular music and guest stars. Success Formula THERE is only one program type which, in broad terms, has not captured wide popularity. That is classical music, and we don't have to be mental giants to comprehend the reason. I have enumerated more than a dozen programs which are among the 25 most popular shows on the air. And remember these out of a probable thousand shows a week broadcast by WEAF, WJZ, WABC and WOR. No one type indicates a monopoly on success and in the list we have successful shows of every type. Emphasizing the thought in another way, you can't take a successful formula and duplicate it with certainty of equal success. Yet you can take any formula properly handled and have a chance of success. All of the shows I mentioned are successful as viewed from the standpoint of attracting large numbers of listeners. And yet among them there may be one or more which are not successful when viewed from the standpoint of cost (Continued on page 38) THE FIVE "W's" of journalism — who, what, where, when and why — are well known to every newspaperman. They are just as important in broadcast advertising. In this article, written at our request, the author provides a liberal education in the finer points of radio merchandising. He knows whereof he writes, for his own "Fire Chief" program is an epic of successful broadcasting. His experience in radio goes back a decade, the last seven years of which have been spent as radio director of one of the largest agencies. March 1, 1935 • BROADCASTING Page 7