Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

TV’S BIG PUSH FOR RETAILERS TvB says increased retailer ads inevitable The Television Bureau of Advertising last week emphasized that a decided increase in local retailer use of television is inevitable. To explore tv’s status with retailers, TvB President Norman E. Cash and Howard P. Abrahams, vice president in charge of retail sales, met with newsmen in New York and talked retailing and tv. Mr. Cash predicted the area he was concerned with — a $280 million local retail business in 1959 — will grow to $1.5 billion in 1970. Media in 1970, he noted, should be billing about $22 billion a year of which “better than” $12 billion will be in national advertising and nearly $10 billion in local retail. For some time, tv’s growth in local retailing has been a touchy matter. The large retail chains, for example, didn’t feel the need for tv nor did they consider it as they have newspaper ads. But the migration to the suburbs is starting some changes. Stores now compete more strongly for customers in the city areas and branch outlets in the suburbs cannot rely on newspaper circulation to any great extent (tv, covers both general areas, TvB notes). Mr. Cash noted that local advertisers historically don’t react as quickly to tv as do national advertisers. Local advertising in all media increased by only 83% in 10 years (1950-59) but its share of the whole advertising pie declined (from 42.9% of the total in 1950 to 38.5% of the total in 1959). Tempo Up ■ At work now, according to Mr. Abrahams, are such factors as an increased tempo of retail advertising on tv and ground work underway to orientate retailers to tv. He noted that with the National Retail Merchants Assn., TvB is preparing a manual for retailers to show them how to use the medium. An NRMA survey reveals that 2 out of 3 retailers using tv started with the medium since 1955, that the average retailer’s tv budget comes to about 10% of his total ad expenditures and 43% of retailers surveyed are using tv. On the how-to in tv, NRMA already has found that one out of five retailers thinks he is not able to use the medium because of a lack of existing tv facilities or a limited marketing pattern. As a main technique, most retailers tend to slides and live commercials. A few retailers are using tv tape. TvB and stations are now tackling the problem of orienting the retailers to the use of tv. Talks and demonstrations are made before retailer groups, store tests and clinics are held, while stations are presented details on how they should contact and sell retailers on tv. Mr. Abrahams said TvB at present recommends that retailers allocate 15% of their total ad budgets to tv (including saturation schedules for key events and year-round promotion). This percentage, however, is very flexible since various factors including store volume and type or size of market could effect wide variances in suggested percentages. Shell Oil dropping Thompson for Ogilvy Some $16 million in advertising for Shell Oil Co. will be scheduled by a new agency next year. Effective Dec. 1 , the account, which spends perhaps nearly half its budget in broadcasting, moves to Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, New York, terminating a 30-year association with J. Walter Thompson. H.S.M. Burns, president of Shell Oil, said the change was not easy to make after a “long, pleasant and productive relationship” with JWT, but that Shell was undergoing a general marketing reorientation. After the announcement last week, Standard Oil of New Jersey, which had placed corporate advertising through Ogilvy, ( Play of the Week in Washington and New York and magazine campaigns), announced it would withdraw from OBM. At week’s end no successor had been appointed. Shell sponsored professional football on CBS-TV last fall but puts most of its money into spot, mainly for strip news-public service show sponsorship in about 75 markets, supplemented by seasonal announcement schedules in 20 or so additional markets. The sponsor follows the same pattern in radio, using more than 100 markets. Toni switches two from T-L to Frank The Toni Co., a division of the Gillette Co. and a top network television advertiser, pulled out an estimated $1.5 million worth of billings from TathamLaird in reassigning two products to Clinton E. Frank, another Chicagobased agency. Beyond the switch of Prom home permanent and White Rain shampoo, which T-L had serviced for 10 years, there were rumblings of further account switches involving Toni’s agency group, though none of the agency and client principals involved would comment Thursday. Toni, one element in the sprawling Gillette empire, spends an estimated $7-10 million in broadcast media annually, leaning heavily on network tv. Its products are cross-plugged in participations on Gillette’s network properties. Gillette itself is a $20 million broadcast client, spending about $13.6 million in network and $2.75 million in spot tv in 1959, plus an additional $1.07 million in spot radio. Termination of the Toni and TathamLaird association was officially announced by the agency Thursday noting the separation is “by mutual agreement and with complete good will on both sides.” Toni followed up Friday with virtually the same announcement, adding that Frank had been reassigned the two products accounts. The switch was announced by Stuart K. Hensley, Toni president. North Adv. Inc. and Clinton Frank handle the bulk of Toni’s business, which is primarily in network tv and lesser in spot tv and print media. The lineup: North — Toni, Tonette, Silver Curl, Deep Magic, Hush, Adorn, Colorcade and experimental products; Frank — Pamper, Tame and Bobbi. It also has agencies in Honolulu and Toronto, Canada. Thus, the bulk of broadcast billings remain with North, despite the defection of Prom and White Rain to Frank. Initial inkling of rumbling in the Toni camp came earlier in the week with North’s announcement it had hired away executives from Lanolin Plus and Foote, Cone & Belding as account directors on Toni products. ARBSTRON'S DAILY CHOICES Listed below are , the highest-ranking television shows for each day of the week June 16-22 as rated by the multi-city Arbitron Instant mm • 1 | ratings of America Research Bureau. Date Program and Time Network Rating Thur., June 16 Untouchables (9:30 p.m.) ABC-TV 21.0 Fri., June 17 77 Sunset Strip (9 p.m.) ABC-TV 24.1 Sat., June 18 Gunsmoke (10 p.m.) CBS-TV 25.0 Sun., June 19 Alfred Hitchcock (9:30 p.m.) CBS-TV 21.8 Mon., June 20 Emmy Awards (10 p.m.) NBC-TV 25.8 Tue., June 21 Red Skelton (9:30 p.m.) CBS-TV 20.4 Wed., June 22 Wagon Train (7:30 p.m.) NBC-TV 22.5 Copyright 1960 American Research Bureau 38 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, June 27, 1960