Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1954)

at deadline Y & R To Get Portion Of Ford-Mercury Account LINCOLN MERCURY account with an advertising budget of $3 million effective Jan. 1 will be split, with Mercury portion of account remaining with Kenyon & Eckhardt while Lincoln advertising budget will move to Young & > Rubicam, N. Y. About $2 million of overall Lincoln advertising budget is in radio and television. K&E will continue to handle Toast of the Town, presently sponsored by both Lincoln and Mercury. Agency is also expected to get additional revenue when the Mercury ad budget increases after first of year, B»T learned. ABC-Theatre Guild Pact EXCLUSIVE, long-term agreement between ABC and Theatre Guild being announced today (Mon.). ABC President Robert E. Kintner said Guild "with its facilities, talents and energies" will be engaged by ABC "as consultants in our continuing effort to firmly establish our leadership in the broadcasting-telecasting field." Mr. Kintner and Lawrence Langner, Guild president, cited ABC-Guild success with U. S. Steel Hour on ABC-TV. Two Join McCann-Erickson EDWARD B. NOAKES, senior vice president and chairman of the executive committee of Cecil & Presbrey, N. Y., joins McCann-Erickson, N. Y., as a vice president and group head. John P. Beresford, vice president of C & P, also joins McCann-Erickson as account executive. PRESENT system of distribution for tv network and station time "is archaic and unworkable," Ohio Assn. of Radio-Tv Broadcasters sales clinic at Columbus was told Friday (early story page 52) by Kenneth Flemming, chief timebuyer of Leo Burnett Co. He criticized complexity of both network and spot time clearance methods. Over 150 broadcasters attended. Allen L. Haid, WSPD-TV Toledo, presided at Friday tv panel on network vs. spot. Other participants were John Heiskell, advertising manager, Ohio Bell Telephone Co., and Norman Gittleson, WJAR-TV Providence, R. I. Mr. Gittleson said advertisers prefer network adjacencies over film shows and urged tv stations to use "live action programs." Radio panel was moderated by Victor A. Sholis, WHAS Louisville. It included Mort Watters, WCPO Cincinnati, Bert Charles, WVKO Columbus and Harry Hoessly, WRFD Worthington. Mr. Sholis said price-cutting is radio's worst enemy and called for improved service. Mr. Watters traced change in radio listening habits, including 400% increase in auto radios in recent years. Mr. Charles said radio must be a service medium, supplying news, weather, road, lost-found and similar information. Other speakers included Gordon Eldredge, FOOD PROMOTION FOOD merchandising plan called "TeleSell Merchandising" tailored to meet needs of 110 major food stores in Twin City area presented to advertisers and agencies by WCCO-TV Minneapolis. Three plans offer advertisers minimum weekly outlays of $350, $500 and $1,000, respectively. Help extended to products rather than manufacturer or distributor, with qualification based on advertising schedules. Plan involves personal appearances of tv stars, newspaper tie-ins, point-of-sale promotion and in-store displays, all directed by Don Gilles, WCCOTV merchandising head. Hazel Bishop Stock Offering Quickly Over-Subscribed HAZEL BISHOP Inc., major television advertiser, became publicly owned company last week and on Oct. 21, first public offering of stock was instantly over-subscribed, according to firm's business bankers, Hayden-Stone. Stock opened at $8 per share Oct. 21 and rose to $9Vz and then $10V2 per share Friday. Raymond Spector, board chairman of Hazel Bishop Inc. and controlling stockholder, estimates that company sales for fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 1954, will be in excess of $12,500,000, and that net earnings after taxes will be in excess of $1,200,000. Hazel Bishop currently sponsors alternate weeks of This is Your Life on NBC-TV; part of Sunday spectacular Show of the Month on NBC-TV and Martha Raye Show every fourth Tuesday on NBC-TV. Ford Motor Co. advertising manager; Terrence Clyne, of Biow Co. and soon to be vice president of McCann-Erickson, New York; Robert C. Fehlman, WHBC Canton; Earl Moreland, WMCT (TV) Memphis. Luncheon speaker Friday was Charles F. Rosen, executive vice president of W. B. Doner Co., Detroit agency. His topic was "Our First 5,000 Commercials." Robert D. Thomas, WBNS-TV Columbus, introduced Mr. Rosen, who showed film commercials and cited advantages of humorous copy. Mr. Rosen said man who writes commercial also produces it at Doner agency. Mr. Moreland suggested salesmen should be sales technicians rather than mere time peddlers. Mr. Heiskell said Ohio Bell prefers locally produced shows and buys large amounts of time. Mr. Clyne said there is plenty of time to prepare for color, anticipating slow development of color circulation. Mr. Eldredge said Ford Division of Ford Motor Co. watches its tv cost-per1,000 figures as closely as readership and poster traffic. He said Ford Division prefers sound, interesting program to serve as carrier for commercial messages whereas Ford Motor Co. uses institutional messages. Two resolutions were adopted. They urged consolidation of industry meetings and support of NARTB Television Code. • BUSINESS BRIEFLY U. S. STEEL PROJECT • Radio-tv active in "Operation Snowflake" campaign of U. S. Steel Corp. as part of project promoting sale of appliances for Christmas. Firm using tv on Mary Kay & Johnny and other commercials are being sent to radio-tv outlets to aid local time sales. About 40 tv stations have pledged support to campaign, backed by appliance manufacturers, with merchandising and advertising helps. Among firms reorienting sales programs are DuPont, Frigidaire, General Electric, Kelvinator, Philco, Thor and Westinghouse. RCA's Nine-Month Sales Set All-Time Record ALL-TIME record volume of $660,345,000 in sales of products and services of RCA and subsidiaries was achieved in first nine months of 1954, Brig. Gen. David Sarnoff, RCA board chairman, is announcing today (Mon.). This represents 8.4% gain over $609,428,000 total for same period of 1953. Earnings for first nine months this year were $56,423,000 before federal income taxes, as compared to $53,651,000 for corresponding 1953 period. Net profits after federal income taxes amounted to $27,557,000 for nine-month period, up 9.6% from $25,152,000 total for first nine months last year. After payment of preferred dividends, net earnings applicable to common stock for January-through-September period were $1.80 per share, compared to $1.62 per share in same nine months of 1953. Sales for third quarter also reached record high, totaling $215,976,000 or 8.7% increase over last year's third-quarter volume. Earnings before federal income taxes in third quarter of 1954 were $16,820,000 (13% over same quarter last year) while net profit after taxes was $8,289,000 in this year's third quarter (up 19%). Attendance Gain Recorded At NARTB Coast Session ATTENDANCE at NARTB District 15 meeting in San Francisco reached 95 Friday, far surpassing figure of 72 last year and 50 year before. William D. Pabst, KFRC San Francisco, district director, presided at meeting (see early story page 48). Resolutions adopted Friday followed pattern of past meetings. Resolutions committee comprised C. L. McCarthy, KROY Sacramento, chairman; C. O. Chatterton, KYOS Merced and George Greaves, KNBC San Francisco. Harold P. See, KRON-TV San Francisco was chairman of Friday tv roundtable. Participants included Donald H. Telford, KIEM-TV Eureka; A. E. Joscelyn, KOVR (TV) Stockton; George Mathiesen, KPIX (TV) San Francisco; Perry Nelson, KMJ-TV Fresno, and Vince Francis, KGO-TV San Francisco. Bennett Given RCA Post MARTIN F. BENNETT, with RCA since 1946, most recently as manager of its West Coast region, named to newly created post of director of regional operations for RCA, supervising operations of company's eight regional offices. RADIO-TV USERS URGE EFFICIENCY Broadcasting • Telecasting October 25, 1954 • Page 7