Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

OUR RESPECTS TO . . . Ralston Hudson Coffin Ralston H. Coffin, a weekend aviator, is the RCA executive who is steering the company's high-flying advertising promotional campaign to put color tv into high speed this fall. These are hectic days for Mr. Coffin, RCA vice president, advertising and sales promotion, as the company embarks on its most intensive effort to date to effect the so-called "break-through" in color tv. Mr. Coffin, a medium-sized, solidly-built man with a dry sense of humor, is quick to reply to skeptics who question the advances already accomplished in color tv by telling them: "Actually, the 'break-through' in color already is on, though lots of people don't know it." He explains that sales of color sets are increasing all the time, with sales running 20% to 30% higher than last year; dealer cooperation is more ardent than ever, and color programming on NBC and on individual stations is at an all-time high." He adds: "Of course color tv is not going to experience the spectacular growth of black-and-white. Color adds an important and exciting dimension to* tv, but it is not a completely new medium and we cannot expect color to parallel the rapid growth of black-and-white." All But Institutional • It should not be inferred that color tv is Mr. Coffin's sole preoccupation. In his current post, Mr. Coffin is the overseer of all of RCA's advertising and promotional activities (only institutional advertising is out of his bailiwick). The various RCA divisions have their own advertising departments, which are fairly autonomous. But Mr. Coffin is the friendly hand, the guiding spirit, and, at times, the catalyst for a particular advertising or promotional project. It is understandable that as "a man in the middle," circled by other creative executives at the company, Mr. Coffin must exert a discreet but steadying influence. His colleagues say that he performs this task with dispatch and without ruffling any inter-divisional feathers. Mr. Coffin appears to be a modest, matter-of-fact individual, reluctant to discuss his accomplishments. His coworkers confirm the impression that he is a "doer rather than a talker," and describe him as "deceptively dynamic, with a tremendous capacity for work." Colleagues say he has a "phenomenal memory, always on top of details that often escape us." One associate of longstanding paid Mr. Coffin this tribute: "Rollie Coffin is always considerate BROADCASTING, October 5, 1959 of the people who work with him. And when things get rough, you can always depend on Rollie to relieve the pressure with some droll remarks." How He Started • Mr. Coffin has been an advertising executive for more than 20 years but reports that "it was just happenstance that I got into the business." He was recently out of college in 1932 when he learned of a position at the Brooklyn plant of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Jobs were scarce during those depression days; he applied, and was accepted. Shortly thereafter, he advanced from a clerical post with A & P into the company's advertising-merchandising department, and his career was launched. Ralston Hudson Coffin was born in Greenwich, Conn., on Nov. 16, 1908. He attended St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., and Yale U. — B.A. in the class of 1931. He was a hockey and lacrosse player at Yale. His first post-college job with a Wall Street brokerage company blew up after a few months when the company was dissolved. The A & P interlude followed. He remained with A & P for four years until 1936, leaving as advertising manager of the company's Quaker Maid Division. Agency Background • Mr. Coffin acquired valuable advertising and business experience in subsequent years with Sherman K. Ellis Adv., New York, from RCA v. p. Coffin Middleman in the color push 1936-42, where he was a merchandising representative and account supervisor; the War Production Board in New York and Washington from 194244 and McCann-Erickson, New York, from 1944-49. At M-E, he was merchandising account executive for National Biscuit Co., Columbia Records, American Molasses and others. In 1949, Mr. Coffin joined RCA and served as director of advertising for the former RCA Victor Division until 1954. He subsequently was named director of advertising and sales promotion for RCA and in August 1955 was advanced to his present post. The main mission of RCA concerning color tv, Mr. Coffin explains, is to induce stations to expand their color programming and to persuade distributors and dealers to increase home demonstrations and other means of exposure. This fall RCA is stepping up its promotional-advertising activities through presentations to dealer and distributor meetings, underscoring the probable rise in sales that will accompany the accentuating of color sets at the local level. RCA cooperation in advertising and promotional projects is being intensified at the local level, Mr. Coffin points out. A significant area to be exploited this fall and winter, he adds, is NBC's expanded color programming, embracing more than 150 specials. All-important Dealer • Color programming, Mr. Coffin states, is "the force that whets interest." But he acknowledges that the success of the color project rests ultimately with distributors and dealers — "at the point where the sales are made." Mr. Coffin made this meaningful observation: "There is definitely a very high percentage of sales converted from home demonstrations. They run as high as seven out of ten. Many distributors use part of their co-op money for this effort." Only a few weeks ago, Mr. Coffin transferred his headquarters from Camden, N.J., to New York because he discovered he was spending "more and more time" in the latter city. He is now in the process of establishing his home in Princeton, N.J. Mr. Coffin married the former Barbara Bersbach of Winnetka, 111., in 1952 (following the death of his first wife). He has four children — Ralston Jr., who is with Procter & Gamble's advertising department in Cincinnati; Jeffrey, 21, a senior at the U. of Colorado; Bettina, 19, and Christine, 13. He has been active for many years in the Assn. of National Advertisers and is currently a director. Mr. Coffin's other main interest is flying. A licensed pilot for 29 years, he is delighted that there are three airports in the Princeton area. 125