Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1955)

people/ wiove^u4"o UUocJj TfajjVfej part of ike, yotu^f K DUB-TV LUBBOCK, TEXAS NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES: AVERY-KNODEL, INC. PRESIDENT AND GEN. MGR., W. D. "DUB" ROGERS' THE EAR HAS AN EYE By Henry B. Clay Exec. V. P. & Gen. Mgr., KWKH Shreveport, La. Chairman, NARTB Radio Board Radiovision is a word which Webster describes as "television by radio." I don't know where Webster got the idea. Most people would tell you there's no such thing. Actually, such a thing exists, and its essence can result in greater impact for advertisers on radio and better business for the radio broadcaster — Author. FROM the chaos wrought by television from Madison Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard there is gradually emerging order. The original impact of tv on the advertising world is now being felt for what it really is — a profoundly significant force in the life of the buying public, but not the quietus of radio and the newspaper. The first alarms of the latter two media have given way to the silence of studied concentration on the applied and applicable force of the triumvirate which is newspaper, radio and television advertising. The radio broadcaster cherishes the hope that television will be the same tonic to advertising generally that radio was a generation ago. He recalls that earlier chaos which he himself had created in the publisher's mind when it became apparent that radio was not a toy but an efficient tool. He remembers that many advertisers, with the dumbfounded consent of some publishers, were ready to ring the death knell of profitable newspaper business. And he recalls that the bell didn't toll; the funeral was postponed due to better business all around, an increased awareness of advertising generally by the man with something to sell. But the renaissance of radio will not arrive by simple reliance on repetition of history. Like the publisher of the 30's, the radio broadcaster of the 50's must come up with some specifics. "Radiovision" is one of mine. It involves a simple maxim of psychology— posthypnotic suggestion. An advertiser on television uses both sight and sound to capture the two most vital senses of his audience. The viewer hears the sound, sees the animations, and the impression is made — at relatively high cost to the advertiser. Virtually the same impact can be obtained on radio at much, much less cost per thousand by using the same television sound track on radio spot announcements. When the listener hears the message his mind recreates and visualizes the animations he's seen on television. Whether he's in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, on the beach or in an automobile, the listener's association and imaginative mind accomplishes television impact at radio cost. If the tv spot has been successful at all, then its soundtrack success on radio is assured by the listener himself. The phenomenon of suggestion and association is in the first place the foundation of modern advertising. The subject's attention is drawn and fixed, the message is delivered with the MR. CLAY admonishment "the next time you see, or need, buy . . ." If the advertisement succeeds it cocks the mental trigger that says "buy" hours or days later. "Radiovision" is by no means solely for the advertiser wishing to expand his impact at low cost; it is for the advertiser now in radio and the advertiser-to-be. The former, casting about for an entry into tv, may on advice of his agency take a new tack entirely in the visual medium and a new message. Or he can tailor his radio spot carefully, selecting his key words, building a message that will be recognizable immediately to television viewers who are also radio listeners. The advertiser-to-be, the man with a new product and a modest budget, stands to benefit especially from "Radiovision." He can begin his campaign in the effective, low-cost medium of radio with a soundtrack readily convertible to animation, quite possibly with the animation all worked out in anticipation of that time when his budget can afford the higher-priced medium with a practical frequency. He too will then be able to utilize the impact of television and "Radiovision." That silent study which has replaced the original frenzy is already pointing out the fields where radio is at its best, news heading the list with music and discussion close by. And radio can do a better job cheaper: the listener does half the production job and gladly. If the radio broadcaster improves and polishes his own product, he can rely safely on the judgment of a maturing and more selective audience. And that audience is not only thinking, it's moving. America has moved from its kitchen to the backyard barbecue pit on weeknights, from its living-room to the lake on weekends — to the thousand and one places where only radio can conveniently go. Statistics show a steady incline in tourist travel. Airlines and railroads are making it easier to haul the family cross country on liberal terms. The nation's government is planning to speed movement with longrange highway programs. And automation is giving the leisure time in which to go. There is no time for leisurely depression in the radio industry, however. Now is the time for the broadcaster not only to improve his product but to expand his scope from selling the audience to selling the advertiser as well. The fundamentals he knows. The new applications and directions must be sought out. "Radiovision," I believe, is one. There are others waiting to be found. Page 192 • September 19, 1955 Broadcasting • Telecasting