Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1959)

tiorf It v thai fa. & ion Ml ^you'll find a TARIOW TOWIR' from New England to New Orleans is consequently +rv for NEW ORLEANS it's the MARVIN BURAK SHOW sten IN an a of ia M inof S I ' s Op SO' w< ti 0' ff is to. Mr; Yor fuel bur oi It oi M< on Pai sigi ove ine *''aired six nights a week on WJBW and assuredly a departure from both the normal in current radio and from any type of show previously available on a New Orleans station. Burak runs a one-man show, mostly of talk, and his programs have done much to argue that freedom of speech is not dead. Contrarilv, he has tackled subjects of a controversial nature on many occasions with provocative results. Sometimes he interviews a well-known local figure, then lets his listeners telephone in comments or questions on the subject that has passed before them on the air, or to suggest new directions for a line of questioning he is pursuing with his interviewee. Once in awhile, it has occurred that Burak has chosen subject matter well intended to put the listener into a surprised state of shock; he assuredly pulls no punches, but from the times I have tuned in on the show, it seemed that he was merely provoking thought rather than grinding any personal axes. . . . the fact that he is there on the air at a time when one might reasonably expect to find rock 'n' roll being blasted forth from the radio, is one of the pleasant surprises of which radio is not by any means full of any more." *from NIGHT MURMURS by Sim Myers . . . Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La, on .ma vita it tb.? ai tti sul tot b; re. FES: Isiott one star, jlier go, stars tragf this ca'* 25) «b xtk, iar< 'ht B /icon iOrc got her? c o; ired ty's jing Tom tave *ac< M o contf! ferced by qood housekeejHv h<= >|C a TARLOW TOWER stands for TOP AUDIENCE PROGRAMMING TALENT RESULTS ** Associated with WLOB and The Maine Lobster Network, Portland, Me.; WHIL, BostonMedford, Mass.; WARE, Ware, Mass.; WWOK, Charlotte, N.C.; WJBW, New Orleans, La. TARLOW ASSOCIATES SHERWOOD J. TARLOW, PRESIDENT WHIL— National Rep.: Grant Webb Co. WWOK, WJBW, WHYE— National Rep.: Richard O'Connell Co. WARE— National Rep.: Breen and Ward Co. paign and whether spot or network is to be used? Mr. dyne's views: A main factor in whether to use television is the budget. It should total $1 million for tv to be considered at all, he said, and if network is a consideration, a minimum of about $2.7 million for time and talent would be required to sponsor a regular nighttime half-hour program on an alternate-week basis. But an advertiser is advised to budget at least $1 million above that figure. A product with national distribution and with available dollars has met the criteria for network, while a product with regional distribution and which is seasonal can be considered generally for spot. No Budget Limit • Mr. Clyne noted that Bulova's total advertising budget a few years ago was at the $6 million level, all of it in tv, bringing up a question by Mr. Bryant of budgetary limits in network tv. Mr. Clyne said there were none. It was Mr. Clyne's opinion that most products lend themselves to some degree to network tv advertising but he acknowledged that certain products found tv more useful than others. Said Mr. Clyne: Well over 90% of products could use tv profitably. Continuing his primer on tv advertising, Mr. Clyne listed the considerations of influence which motivate entry in network tv. Detergents and soaps aim for the consumer primarily, while auto companies all seek to influence the dealer as well as the consumer. Still others: the go-out-and-buy-it-tomorrow approach for impulse items; the when-ready-to-buy approach, making the viewer aware of a specific brand, so he will turn to it when he does buy. As for "ideal" factors in the selection of network tv, Mr. Clyne said he would list the chief ones in this order: maximum circulation (more homes), dimension (corporate image creation), influence (get more people to buy the product); excitement, newsworthiness and program ability to make the dealer "happy" to be associated with the product or show. Mr. Clyne was explicit in pointing out that in program production no financial commitment is made by McCann, that its normal function is to "contribute creatively" but not financially in encouraging the development of new programming. In specifics, Mr. Clyne noted that the Gale Storm Show had been created originally for Nestle on the merit of script alone and placed in a Saturday, 9-9:30 p.m. spot in its first season on the air in order to reach young people. Said he: It was tailored and produced for Nestle. He also cited this program as an example of a show created for its appeal to the client and the advertising objectives of the sponsor. Pilot Parade • Mr. Clyne snapped the audience to attention with his estimate that McCann in the pre-season period views 225-250 pilot films proposed for production as series. And, he reckoned, about 90% of this number "were new investments" at a production cost of $50,000-$70,000 per pilot. About 25 of these pilots, Mr. Clyne estimated, were episodes of programs already shown on networks but re-offered as ideas for new series. He gave as an example The Rifleman on ABC-TV, which was an outgrowth of an episode in Zane Grey Theatre. He said the agency usually wants to see scripts or storylines of other episodes beyond the single pilot in a proposed series. Of live shows, Mr. Clyne noted that the situation was different except that often a kinescope is available. The Buying Method • As to buying procedure, Mr. Clyne said that by the June and July period preceding a new network season the agency has already seen in pilot, script or idea form threefourths of all film product available and that by March or April it has had 50% of all pilots presented to it. In discussing program approval, Mr. Clyne noted that about 95% of network programming (nighttime) has dual sponsorship, which, he said means each program is subject to three "approvals" — by the two advertisers who seek to share in the show, and by the network which must consider how the program fits in with its lineup for that night. He acknowledged Mr. Bryant's assertion that the agency must be able to determine the position of a show on a network before recommending it to a client. He thought, too, that the high incidence of dual sponsorship increased the possibility of disagreement on the time period but felt the networks were understanding and had an "open mind." Other estimates by Mr. Clyne: At McCann, the casualty rate of network shows is considered to be at 70% ; agency-producer joint program creativity has been representative of 25-30% of the McCann network lineup in the past three years, and the contract length for new shows on the network has changed from a "condition of sale" of 39 new shows and 13 repeats to a less stringent requirement. Mr. Clyne said there are situations now where the agency contracts for 13 new shows only with renewal options, which he considered an ideal procedure although producers resist it because of the economics and the belief that 13 shows do not allow enough exposure for realistic appraisal. How much authority do agencies exercise over program content in independently-produced shows? Mr. Clyne said technically his agency 34 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, July 13, 1959