Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

business, labor, education and government who met last spring under the auspices of the American Assembly of Columbia U. and agreed that America should continue to strive for dynamic growth, while holding price reasonably stable and creating the maximum number of jobs. Robert M. Gray, advertising manager, Esso Standard Oil Co., has agreed to serve as volunteer campaign coordinator of the anti-inflation and growth campaign, with McCann-Erickson as volunteer agency. Arons charges media research goes unused Media researchers are working at a lonely and often thankless job. An example of research that has gone almost unheeded was offered at an American Marketing Assn. discussion group in New York by Dr. Leon Arons, research vice president of Television Bureau of Advertising. TvB over the years has done a series of studies tying media data to market information on specific product groups such as gasoline, appliances, automobiles and some package items. Continuing information based on the Nielsen national tv audimeter panel was offered advertisers and agencies. "How many advertisers," Dr. Arons asked, "do you suppose took advantage of this service? Hardly a handful." He concluded that "this is one more, among other indications, that all too frequently the media user himself doesn't realize too clearly what he needs to know to get done the job of informing and persuading." Dr. Arons' print counterpart on the Oct. 29 program presenting "The Case for Media-Sponsored Research" was Morton M. Lenrow, research director of American Weekly, who agreed that "media look to advertisers and their agencies for guidance in the kind of research that is wanted." It is a paradox, he said, that many millions should be spent for product research and advertising and so little for research to evaluate the efficiency of media used for sales messages. Dr. Arons touched on the need for data to make inter-media comparisons. The Advertising Research Foundation committee assigned to the problem made a good start, but now, he said, "I have the impression . . . [it] has softened in its revolutionary zeal. I hope I'm mistaken. In the meantime, many media users will continue to utilize current indirect and essentially non-comparable media information for making media decisions, after going through the appropriate incantations." MORE ADVERTISING MONEY IN '60 Increase of 10% in budgets indicated by ANA survey The average advertising budget will be 10% higher in 1960. That's the word for members of the Assn. of National Advertisers, which includes almost all of the top 100 advertisers along with relatively modest spenders. An ANA survey of its members, being released today (Monday) at the start of ANA's annual meeting (also see below), brought replies from 290 members representing 33 industry classifications, and spending collectively more than $1 billion a year for advertising. Highlights: • Among 266 companies reporting 1960 plans, 80% said they would spend more than in 1958; 12% said they would spend the same, 8% said they would spend less. • Of those answering this question, 61.6% said their advertising budgets this year were higher than last; 22.8% said 1959 spending was at the same level as 1958 and 15.6% said they were spending less now than last year. • Seven of the 33 industry categories represented in the survey "show a very strong upward trend in advertising expenditures": ale, beer and wine; confections and soft drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, drugs, electronics, metal fabrication and public utilities. • Seventeen other classifications show an upward trend "among the majority of companies in the group" and nine categories "show variations with no consistent trend for either 1959 or 1960." • A total of 70 advertisers said their 1959 budgets exceed $5 million and 74% of these said this year's allotment was higher than last year's. In the $l-$5 million group there were 119 companies, with 63% of these saying they increased budgets this year. In the under-$l million group there were 88, with 52% reporting increased spending in 1959. • In the $l-$5 million category 71% expect next year's budgets to be higher than 1959's. In the other categories 68% of the companies look for bigger budgets next year. ANA president Paul West, releasing the results, said they "continue to bear out the increasing importance of advertising in members' marketing operations and the reliance placed on advertising What the quiz scandal has done to the status of television programming and of advertising will be explored today (Monday) in the radio-tv workshop of the annual meeting of the Assn. of National Advertisers. Officials said this look as the probe's effects was expected to highlight the workshop, one of three running simultaneously as ANA's three-day meeting gets under way at the Homestead, Hot Springs, Va. John Crosby, New York Herald-Tribune columnist, Rod Erickson of Warner Bros., Alfred Hollender of Grey Adv. and Don Durgin of NBC-TV are slated to participate in the appraisal. Howard Eaton of Lever Bros, is moderator of the workshop, to cover the gen as a major tool of management." Of 1 70 companies reporting increased spending in 1959, the report continued, 165 gave estimates for 1960. Of these, 127 (77%) will increase spending again: 28 (17%) will continue at the 1959 rate and 10 (6%) will cut below the 1959 rate. Of 63 companies reporting appropriations this year unchanged from last, 27 (47%) plan to increase in 1960; 28 (48%) again foresee no change and 3 (5%) will cut back. Of 43 companies reporting lower budgets this year, 32 (74%) expect to increase in 1960; 6 (14%) see no change and 5 (12%) expect another cutback. eral subject of "Television and Radio Advertising Problems." The workshop session, to be held this afternoon, will be closed. So will the two others: One on "How to Shape Your Advertising Department and Agency Organization to Meet Your Needs" and one on "Merchandising Your Advertising to the Sales Force and Trade." Some 600 ANA members and staff executives are expected to attend the meeting, which continues through Wednesday morning. The opening session this morning will hear William Hesse, executive vice president of Benton & Bowles, on "A New Way to Measure Advertising Effectiveness." At the same session a panel will ANA: HAS SCANDAL HURT TV? 68 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, November 9, 1959