Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1963)

Lorillard rides three television trends The P. Lorillard Co. currently is "riding the crest of three major moves in television," consisting of big-name performers, sports presentations and color tv, Morgan J. Cramer, Lorillard president, told the company's annual meeting in New York last week. He prefaced this statement by pointing out that in the tobacco business particularly, effective advertising plays a dominant role. Sales rise and fall, he said, in direct relation to the effectiveness of a company's advertising. In the planning of campaigns, Mr. Cramer added, Lorillard is guided by prevailing trends and preferences. The use of star names in tv, such ps Jack Paar, Ed Sullivan, Dick Van Dyke and Joey Bishop, provides Lorillard with "a proven attraction . . . and tremendous audiences," Mr. Cramer stated. The stars fre ported it picked up between $25,000 and $35,000 extra each week during the period of the strike and probably made a modest profit on added business, a spokesman said. He was optimistic that advertising obtained in the entertainment area — motion picture and legitimate theatre — might continue to some extent. Added news and feature segments will be retained. An official of WNEW-TV expressed the view that added advertising obtained during the strike "just about compensated for our extra expenses in added coverage." The station plans to continue some of the news segments introduced during the newspaper blackout. WOR New York had a lift in broadcasting profits this year, a development attributed at least in part by Thomas F. O'Neil, chairman of RKO General, which owns the station, to the newspaper strike. Mr. O'Neil, who spoke at an annual meeting of RKO General in Akron (see story, page 102), said the strike contribution was significant to WOR's increase in audience and revenues. WMCA's sales manager Robert W. Mazur reported billings 55% ahead of the same period one year ago, but less than half of it directly to the newspaper blackout. The station pointed to auto dealers, motion picture distributors, real estate operators, a fuel oil firm, and department stores as among the categories of advertisers which stepped up their radio use. Though revenues were up, not all the gain went into profit for expenses rose directly to the rate of added radio 34 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) quently deliver the commercials, he pointed out, and added: "Surveys tell us that when a star performer, Jack Paar, for instance, recommends Kent on his show, the viewer's retention of that message is increased 50%." He reported that sports programming appeals to both men and women and networks are supplying more programs of this type than in the past. Lorillard has used sports programs for many years, he said, but "is placing greater emphasis than ever" on such television shows presently. Color tv, Mr. Cramer declared, is expensive but is especially useful for its built-in values. He reported that surveys show that a color commercial is at least twice as effective as one in black-and-white. Consequently, all of Kent and Newport commercials currently are being shot in color, Mr. Cramer said. services needed. In round estimates, WMCA figured its overall news and public affairs expansion during strike time to be up 40-50%. Expanded Everything ■ WINS during the strike expanded news and features as well as its special advertising, promotion and publicity at an estimated $45,000 in costs. Arthur Harrison, sales manager, said business had increased 60% in December compared to that month of a year ago, and though advertising revenue directly traced to the strike fell off sharply in the past two months, the station expects to be well in the black after the strike business. WINS plans to carry over major portions of its expanded news coverage in the post-strike period. WINS says it had increased weekly newscast time from 17 to 35 hours and its staff from 16 to 32 full-time newsmen. WHN reported business up approximately 25% during the strike. A "representative but not complete" list of new advertisers on the station as a result of the strike includes retailers: Bonwit Teller, B. Altman, Lord & Taylor, Masters, S. Klein, Saks 34th, Alexanders and Abraham & Straus. Macy's and Gimbels, who had been buyers on the station before the strike, continued to use the outlet during the shutdown. A station official described new advertiser reaction as "extreme satisfaction in many instances." The strike has had no permanent effects on the WHN news format. New York Times-owned WQXR expanded its coverage to include 21% more news than it had before. WLIB, a Negro-oriented station which initiated a five-minute newscast on the hour in addition to its regular five minutes on the half-hour, is continuing the practice. During the strike, WLIB started special events coverage of interest to its Negro audience, and it too, will continue. New York City-owned Municipal Broadcasting Co., which operates WNYC-AM-TV, increased its news coverage substantially. Though it is cutting back on most of this added service to revert to normal programming, the stations are retaining, in part, their financial news coverage. WJRZ Newark N. J., will make one permanent addition to its programming as a result of the strike, Celebrity Column, an interview show conducted by newspaper columnists. Two metropolitan stations — WWRL New York and WHLI Hempstead — added to their coverage during the strike but will return to pre-strike programming now that the strike has ended. Special Aspects ■ And two local stations took on special aspects during the strike. WNDT (TV) Newark (N. Y. C. area) educational station, reported itself as "hurting badly — as a result of the newspaper strike." The station, which depends on private contributions, had its fund raising campaign seriously hampered with loss of the papers. Only permanent effect of the strike on programming, reported by the station concerns its World at 13 news analysis show. Prior to the strike the show had been fed two nights a week from WGBH-TV Boston. Since December 8, it has been presented live from WNDT (TV) studios five nights a week and will continue on this basis. WHOM programs principally in Spanish and since the city's Spanish language papers continued operation throughout the strike, the station picked up no "media switch" accounts attributable to the strike and anticipated no loss of business with the settlement. SUCCESS STORY Advertisers learn radio-tv do produce Radio and television demonstrated they could provide results for advertisers during the long newspaper strike in New York. There are indications, of some advertisers intending to stick at least for awhile with radio and tv, though before the newspaper strike they had never used broadcast before (see story, page 32). Healthy for Herman's ■ It took the spring thaw to bring newspapers out of a deep freeze in New York, but the BROADCASTING, April 8, 1963 ^5