Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1953)

How One film Company Makes a Sales Force Pay By John Osbon IS IT time for bearish retrenchment or for bullish expansion in the film syndication field? The reports out of New York and Hollywood in recent weeks paint a confusing picture. There has been a noticeable trend toward cutbacks in some syndication activity, and even toward consolidation or purchase of some companies. Out at Kling Studios in Chicago, its executives think they see the handwriting on the wall: Some firms are selling out, others are dropping valuable properties, and still others are cutting back actual production. One reason: Cost of maintaining an adequate sales force in the field. To executives at Kling Studios, which maintains studios and offices in Chicago and Hollywood — and sales branches elsewhere — the reason is not surprising. Frederic A. Niles, vice president in charge of its tvmotion picture division, sums it up this way: "The cost of keeping a sales force on the road is so tremendously high these days — despite the valuable syndicated packages offered — that many firms are having to dig deep, and unless a salesman can really produce with a volume of syndication sales, they face a delicate financial position." Two Dozen Salesmen Kling itself maintains a force in excess of two dozen salesmen, all of whom can fall back on a variety of other services if they fail to sell its syndicated programs. Kling Studios is convinced that it has the right approach to the high costs of salesmen on the road — arm them with a number of services which can either be sold as integrated packages or separately. "A sales force should pay its own way" is its credo, and evidently it's paying off. Kling maintains some 14 salesmen operating out of Chicago, three out of Hollywood, three out of Seattle, two out of San Francisco, and one out of cities like Detroit and St. Louis. A Kling salesman, functioning against the backdrop of this philosophy, goes into the field fully briefed on all services Kling has to offer, as well as with samples of its syndicated programs and commercials, industrial films, manuals, brochures, etc. If it's the type of market where new tv stations are about to take the air, or where independent stations are operating with maPage 90 • December 14, 1953 jor dependency on film, a Kling salesman will call on the local telecaster with an assortment of packages stressing kitchen, children, sports and other formats. He also will arrange for audition prints if requested. If it's a fairly large city where there's a heavy concentration of advertisers and where agencies operate on a large scale, he will establish liaison with agency timebuyers and account executives. They will discuss the media and advertising plans of the particular client in terms of his needs and any campaigns he may have in mind. The salesman passes on to the agency executive direct contacts at Kling with respect to the division that handles one of the required services. An advertiser might order, for instance, as did Admiral Corp. this summer, a series of aids including industrial training films, manuals and assorted short spot commercials. Kling is set up to handle each of these services in its mushrooming departments. Unlike other studios, Kling does not distribute or syndicate everything it produces (like the Old American Barn Dance, which until recently had been handled by United Television Programs). And yet, heavier emphasis will be placed on syndicated activities as the future unfolds. In doing so, its executives point out that Kling does not consider itself a competitor with firms like Ziv (which syndicates mostly dramatic programs). Furthermore, Kling has a variety of services to offer the advertiser, whether it be institutional commercials or industrial films. Kling turns out a number of special film shows and packages which are available to new tv stations at special rates, under the so-called station starter plan, with certain modifications. Its most prominent syndications are Uncle Mistletoe, a series of 26 15-minute programs for Christmas usage. The cost may be as low as $25 per unit, with a 10% discount for a 26-unit contract. Others are: Old American Barn Dance, 26 30-minute shows as low as $40 per unit; Boxing from Rainbo, 26 30-minute programs with rental as low as $35 per unit; Paradox, 26 three-minute episodes, and File Facts, 10 three-minute shows, at $10 per unit. These prices were quoted this past summer. Its most successful have been Boxing from Rainbo, Uncle Mistletoe, and Old American Barn Dance, some of which have enjoyed repeat runs in many markets. Just recently Kling started shooting on The Referee, a series of 52 half-hour sports shows, with 13 up for immediate scheduling, and it also has completed Bert & Elmer. Still another package is Music With the Hormel Girls. Kling commercials, now well established for syndication, can be institutional, too, as attested by an impressive group list that includes potato chip processors, electric light and power companies, appliances, beer, ice cream, banking and bakeries. All these are designed for the firm's syndication plan. Kling maintains offices in New York and Detroit, as well as Hollywood and Chicago, and representatives in San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis. It also maintains contacts in Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and other cities. An example of the syndication plan is a series of 52 half-hour kitchen shows now being produced by Kling for the television division of the Electrical Information Publications in Madison, Wis., with primary sponsorship on individual stations by electric light and power companies or electrical appliance firms. Purpose of the syndicated commercials plan, according to Mr. Niles, is to make it possible for the television advertiser with a limited budget to "get the same high quality in creation and production in his commercials as the big advertiser." Kling's main Chicago studios are located at 601 N. Fairbanks Court, on the city's near north side, just across from the celebrated Chez Paree. This modern structure houses everything that is peculiar to the Kling operation — space for art work, photography, public relations, film shootings, production of technical manuals and a host of other purusits. New Quarters Soon Newer quarters on Washington Blvd. — the building formerly was a roller-skating armory — will be put to beaverish use. Mr. Niles envisions some commitments for the filming of daily homemaking or dramatic ("soap opera") programs, which fall within the range of the new, out-of-the-way, small city station operator who can't afford the more elaborate presentations offered by the networks. The building will be utilized also for smaller tv productions and to house the art departments. Occupancy is slated for Dec. 15. Kling Studios Inc. is headed up by Robert Lirinberg, as president, who attributes the expansion to the "vast growth of the use of films in television and the unprecedented amount of industrial, public relations and sales training films Kling has been producing." Kling's operations actually antedated television by over 10 years. Kling cut its teeth in photography and other pursuits. Today, with enlarged production facilities in Chicago and Hollywood and mushrooming sales offices elsewhere, and between 700 and 1,000 accounts, the company is flexing its competitive biceps to the point where television accounts for perhaps 35% or 40% of all its revenue (which is in the millions), thanks to an aggressive and expanding sales force. Broadcasting • Telecasting