Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES continued HOW researcher and creator should work together to insure the success of a new tv program was set forth by these men at a New York symposium staged by Academy of Tv Arts and Sciences last week. L to r: George Abrams, Revlon Inc.; Arthur Wilkins, Benton & Bowles; Donald W . Coyle, ABC-TV; Hendrick Booraem, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, and Dr. Ernest Dichter, Institute for Motivational Research. Research, Creativity Both Needed, AT AS Told • How to pick right tv show • Takes cooperation, say experts How does an advertiser and his agency pick a winner in a program before it is slated to go on the air and, once it is on the air, how does it stay a winner? According to a number of industry executives — representing advertiser, agency, network and research — program research by itself is part of the answer but alone it won't suffice. To predict a show's success accurately, the researchers must work hand-inhand with the creators of new tv programs. This point was stressed Tuesday evening in New York as the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (New York chapter) staged a symposium on the vital topic of research and creativity at ABC-TV's executive headquarters. Moderating the panel discussion was ABCTV's research-sales development vice president, Donald W. Coyle, and participating were George Abrams, advertising vice president, Revlon Inc.; Hendrick Booraem, tvradio vice president, Oglivy, Benson & Mather; Dr. Arthur Wilkins, creative research director, Benton & Bowles, and Dr. Ernest Dichter, president, institute for Motivational Research. Mr. Coyle noted that researchers and creators do not necessarily have conflicting interests. Rather, researchers can help the creators by pointing out to them certain areas of audience receptivity. At the same time, the researchers would be helpless without having something to research, ergo, the place of the creator, he said. This is how the panelists felt: • George Abrams: Even experts can be fallible. He cited some notable "sleepers" among tv programs that have turned out to be "blockbusters"; for example, ABCTV's Maverick. A distinct "rating history," he felt, helps the sponsor. "When the creative approach is applied to a successful rating history," he contended, "the result is successful programming." As to the foibles of ratings in television, Mr. Abrams added, "people tend to forget that tv is a new medium" that must grope its way into maturity. • Hank Booraem: There are two ways of researching a program — (a) by counting noses and (b) by using the qualitative method. The former method is that of the rating services, the later that of the motivational researchers and "subject to more arguments." Creative people, Mr. Booraem felt, resent "half-digested" research statistics. Qualitative research is needed for the sake of believability. It is axiomatic, he went on, that when ratings are high, advance research was good, and vice versa. Yet, without the advance research, the show still goes on. • Arthur Wilkins: He agreed in part with Mr. Booraem, but defended research's importance by saying that it "weeded out" the negative factors, the "waste" of programming. Both researcher and creator, he implied, have vested interests. The researcher, working for the advertiser, must make sure that the advertiser will be popular with his audience. On the other hand, the artist or creator is thinking in one term only: Will the show be a good one? Nonetheless, the economics of the tv business dictates that the creative man is subject to a set of standards that determine what will and what will not sell. • Ernest Dichter: He reiterated Mr. Abrams' contention that an agency views research as being necessary to predict success and if success is lacking, "why?" Another way in which research can play a more important role than it has to date is in probing the psychology of the viewer. Since the sputnik, Dr. Dichter opined, "people need to feel that they can justify watching television. They have guilt feelings about not doing enough to alter world conditions and future tv shows must absolve this guilt ... by giving their audiences a sense of participation in the world about them . . . while being entertained." Donneson Emphasizes Growth Of Negro, Latin Audiences Agency timebuyers were urged Tuesday to consider radio stations which program for the Negro audience, the Spanish-speaking people and other foreign language groups in their media plans. According to Selvin Donneson, sales manager of WWRL New York, growth of the Negro market has been rapid in urban areas since the end of World War II. In a talk before the Radio & Television Executives Society timebuying and selling seminar in New York, he traced via statistics the marked expansion of the Negro market in such cities as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Los Angeles. He noted, for example, that in numbers alone, the Negro and Spanish-speaking populace in metropolitan New York is greater than the combined populations of New Orleans, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Denver. The birth rate is up and the median age of both groups quite young (about 22 for Puerto Ricans and about 25 for Negroes); thus, he asserted, the groups are at their "peak earning power" and will be for some years ahead. The tenor of his detailed analysis of these expanding markets: Is the advertiser missing a direct route to penetrate the area of potential customers for his product by bypassing or otherwise failing to make use of specialty stations? At tomorrow's (Tuesday) seminar session, Benton & Bowles' Executive Vice President Brown Bolte is slated to speak on "Why Clients Seem Peculiar" — a topic that will cover client relationships, sales and distribution problems and other matters bearing on an advertising campaign. The seminar's "first semester" ends tomorrow and the second part picks up Jan. 7. Beirn, Ruthrauff Resign As Senior V. P.'s at EWR&R F. Kenneth Beirn and F. Bourne Ruthrauff, both senior vice presidents of Erwin Wasey, Ruthrauff & Ryan, New York, have resigned, it was announced last week by David B. Williams, president of the agency. Mr. Williams had "no comment" to make on reasons for the resignation of the two key men in the organization, other than "to wish them well." Mr. Beirn had been senior vice president of the agency since its merger several months ago. Prior to that he was president of Ruthrauff & Ryan. Mr. Ruthrauff was a vice president of Ruthrauff & Ryan. Mr. Beirn prior to joining Ruthrauff & Ryan was president of Biow Co., which later became Biow-Biern-Toigo and is now defunct. Mr. Ruthrauff's comment following his resignation last week: "When we first merged I was most delighted with the Williamses. But running agencies is like running banks, some do it one way and some another. The Williamses planned to run the agency one way and I another. I wish them success, but I disagree with their way and have resigned." (Howard D. Williams is chairman of EWR&R's finance committee.) Page 32 • December 16, 1957 Broadcasting