Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

medals and store officials told guests the program had carried coffee sales to an alltime high. Kroger's faith in radio was emphasized by its expenditure of nearly $9 million in the medium between 1941 and 1948. Since the commercials had been system-wide instead of local, many of the division and store managers weren't sold on this type of selling. They liked to look at a specially priced item in a full-page newspaper ad and think in terms of customers who came in for a special and left with a loaded cart. This local sentiment was taken seriously in Cincinnati and the thought developed that maybe Linda, Miss Foster and Hearts had seen their most effective days. Obviously radio had established a place in the headquarters' heart. But these aggressive sellers began to watch another new advertising technique — selling by television. The three serials were replaced by a live audience show, Share the Wealth, with transcribed segments used on radio stations around the Kroger marketing area. The account left Jones during this period, winding up at Ruthrauff & Ryan. The programs were staged around Kroger territory. Quiz programs, of course, were the radio rage at that time. In searching for a radio formula that would bring back the chain's account, the Jones agency came up with a revolutionary plan of saturation spots. This was designed to take advantage of local radio's hold on the community, give divisions a chance to advertise their own specials on a flexible basis and reach a large audience throughout the broadcast day at the peak selling period late in the week. This idea appealed to Kroger headquarters and the account returned to Jones in September 1951. The saturation spot idea caught on with the divisions and it's now popular all around the circuit. Concentration on Buying Days At the Jones office in Cincinnati, a complete organization was set up to do the complicated processing job. Local units promoted items exclusively on radio and finding quick results, began to regard it as an important part of the advertising program. Since Friday produced 40% of the week's sales, and Thursday-Friday-Saturday about 80%, radio spots were timed to reach housewives during daylight hours in the latter days of the week. Division managers went along with the novel saturation idea, featuring one or two items in a series of spots. Sometimes two stations were used in a single city and a good share of them were in the lowerpower category. Frequently the Jones timebuyers ran into problems. They would go to a station with this approach, "We want to buy saturation spots 52 weeks a year. You have no saturation rate. We know your coverage and ratings. Let's see if we can get together on a rate." Usually they could, and many stations started adding saturation rates to their rate cards. Currently the Jones agency is buying spots on 160 radio stations, running from 10 up to 90 and averaging around 25 a week, mostly daytime. It's getting tougher, week by week, to buy good daytime radio spots, according to James M. Nelson, Jones vice president-account executive. Radio was and remains a bargain when evaluated at listeners-per-dollar, Kroger officials are convinced. The millions of homes reached and impressions made in the course of a week are important factors in the growth of the chain. The impact of saturation radio spots dwarfs that of the threeserial campaigns of the last decade. One of the exciting events of that decade had been the announcement in October 1947 of a $500,000 Kroger advertising campaign embracing radio, newspapers and magazines. The radio effort had included 1,790 spots on 33 stations with Fred Allen, Al Jolson and Amos 'n' Andy transcribing announcements for their respective, sponsors' products. These closed with a suggestion to buy the products "at your nearest Kroger store." Television's early years were observed with interest at Kroger headquarters and around the divisions. As stations took the air in the marketing area, Kroger decided to enter the new visual medium with a splash. This consisted of a kine of the Alan Young Show, starting in September 1950. The series cost more than a million dollars before it was cancelled at the end of 1951. Again a major media decision was strongly influenced by division opinion. Managers and store owners couldn't get overly excited over this deluxe advertising so Kroger started exploring local shows, but with caution. In 1952-53-54 the company bought local tv on a modest scale. Gradually the divisions accepted these local programs and by 1955 Kroger was known to be in the million-dollar tv bracket — all of it local. One of the secrets of Kroger success in using radio and tv is based on the skillful way it adapts its merchandising methods to the special advantages of each medium. Since it considers radio a low-cost and multiple-impression device in each community. it successfully sells special items and service features to the daytime audience in an effort to attract traffic. Local tv programs, with high-standard local commercials, provide a greater opportunity to tell a complete story, it's believed at Kroger, which regards tv as a hardsell medium. "You can sell on radio; you can sell and demonstrate on tv. Actually, you can do everything but eat the food," one official explained. One tv commercial often brings immediate sales results the same week. In the case of radio, Kroger counts on repetition or frequent exposure. Most of the tv programs are at night whereas radio spots go from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Starting nearly 75 years ago, Kroger stores have used heavy newspaper space regularly. Newspaper advertising was retail price listing in the 1880s and it hasn't changed too much. The newspaper advertising copy is prepared locally and the chain feels an advertising agency isn't necessary, as in the case of radio-tv, since most retailers are newspaper-minded. One thing about newspapers, Kroger advertising men say — it's easy to check newspaper circulation. Each division has its own newspaper advertising department. Magazine Used Sparingly The only Kroger magazine advertising campaign is based on a special edition of Family Circle, sold in the stores and containing live editorial inserts and color spreads covering the chain's products and services. Every store is keenly aware of what's going on around its community, particularly on the electronic media. Dump or endisland displays carry signs announcing the time of broadcasts. If bread is to be featured in advertising in Dayton, the manager will order enough so that he doesn't run out by early afternoon. This coordination of advertising and sales promotion has achieved one particularly important internal effect — the division people who are paying for these radio-tv campaigns believe in the Page 122 • May 6,_ 1957 Broadcasting • Telecasting