Exhibitor's Trade Review (May-Aug 1925)

Page 50 Exhibitors Trade Review SCREEN BULLETINS INCREASE BOX-OFFICE RECEIPTS WITH all the advertising and publicity that_ is being given to individual motion pictures and people who have part in the making of pictures, it is surprising that so little attention is, given to what is qrdinarily called "institutional" publicity, designed to promote motion picture entertainment as such and to tell the public many: Radios v>Mat THIS ENTIRE THEATRE Is Cleaned and Dusted Daily Most Carefully With a VACUUM CLEANER The Thermometer in the Theatre Will Show You That . it is 20 Degrees Cooler Than Outside is the Stationery of the Screen IS on-melting — Non-inflammable Screen Bulletins by . the Exhibitor There are many things done for the comfort, safety and pleasure of your patrons that they never hear about. A flash with a Radio-Mat daily will make them realize to what lengths you often go for their benefit. Radio-Mats are indispensible for "T ie-ups" and Teasers. 10,000 Typed Daily! RadiO Mat THE WEATHER Increasing Cloudiness and warmer Probably Followed by Raiu Tomorrow Much Warmer Wednesday NOTE— -'This Theatre is ALWAYS COOL! is the Stationery of the Screen pertinent facts which ought to be told about the houses in which pictures are shown. A large part of the public, even of the picture-going public, still thinks of pictures as a sort of substitute for '"legitimate" drama. To a considerable extent this trend of thought is encouraged by the low admission prices prevalent in this business. It is not surprising that people wTho are accustomed to paying three, four or five dollars for a seat in a legitimate house should feel that the motion picture show which sells for fifty cents or less must be entertainment of an inferior order. i nPO meet this impression, the motion picture industry as a whole must convey to the public certain facts about motion pictures and motion picture theatres. For example : Motion pictures as. made today offer a tremendously broader scope of entertainment than is possible with the legitimate stage. In respect to numbers of people, scenic values, costuming and the general lavishness of production, the motion picture is capable of things that would be utterly impossible on the stage. Motion picture theatres, on the average, are far superior in construction, equipment, and all of the factors that make for audience comfort to the theatres presenting drama, vaudeville or any of the other forms of theatrical entertainment. These points ought to be hammered home through every conceivable channel of publicity. Only by driving them into the public consciousness will motion picture entertainment come into the appreciation it deserves. Only by creating a definite understanding of these facts will the motion picture industry be relieved of the tremendous adverse pressure exercised by the professional reformers who today regard it as one of the most profitable of their targets. Only in this way will the public be educated to a fair appreciation of motion picture values which will make possible the higher admission prices to which exhibitors are entitled. IF this sort of campaign had to be conducted through costly paid space in magazines and newspapers, it would be altogether beyond the province of the exhibitor. But it happens that the exhibitor has under his own control, from one end' of the year to the other, one of the best possible channels through which such publicity can be handled with telling effect — his own screen. Through screen bulletins devoted to the dual purpose of boosting motion picture entertainment, without mention of any particular picture, and bringing out. pertinent facts about the motion picture theatre, any exhibitor can go far toward selling his customers — those who come occasionally and those who come regularly — on a new appreciation of the entertainment he is providing and the house in which he entertains them. RELATIVELY few exhibitors today have a fair appreciation of the potential value of screen bulletins used for this purpose. They can be used to create tremendously valuable Gpod Will. They can be used to build bu'siness ' that will show in tangible increase of box-office receipts. And their use involves little effort, little cost and no complications. To assist in this development of screen propaganda, Exhibitors Trade Review will publish, in its Modern Theatre Numbers dur ing the next few months a series of articles outlining specifically how any exhibitor may utilize his own facilities in this direction. Copy for promotional screen bulletins will be provided and practical suggestions on local contests and stunts of various kinds that will be aimed, in every case, at strengthening the institutional standing of the theatre and increasing its hold on the people who ought to be regular patrons. Watch for this feature in the Modern Theatre Number next month. NEW EFFECTS IN SPOT AND FLOOD LIGHTING The era of novelty presentations to stimulate greater movie attendance has become the vogue, and today we find more and more houses going in for special lighting and color effects. Colors stimulate the imagination. Why not put your patrons in a beautiful mood every time they leave your house? If you do, they are bound to come and come again. One way to make more money at your theatre is to spend a little -more money for the worthwhile apparatus, which keep on working for you long after their initial expense has been earned at the box-office. The Brenkert Combination Projector, used by theatres and motion picture houses, produces marvelous colors efifects, such as the passing of clouds in the sky, moonlight water ripple and other realistic panoramic effects which greatly enhance theatrical presentation. The Combination projector is easily and quickly moved in any direction, giving to the theatre owner results that have never before been obtained in spot and flood lighting with moving colors, as well as he other features of scenic effect and lantern slide projection. When using the projector as a spot and flood lamp, any size area can be illuminated from a full stage opening down to a onefoot spot with clear cut edges and an absolutely white light, or with a blending of colors. The projectors are manufactured in double type and triple type. The general practice in de luxe houses is to install two of the double type, side by side in a booth, or if there is not sufficient room for two, one of the triple type. Recent installations of the Brenkert have been made a,t the Piccadilly Theatre, New York ; Palace, Lockport ; Loew's Palace, Washington ; Cataract, Niagara Falls, as well as many theatres in the Chicago territory, which have been installed by dealers of the Brenkert Co. Foot Comfort I ft Foot comfort is a prime necessity. \ Manytheatres expend a great deal of money in their choice of rugs and carpets. JEs the years go by, this expense begins aW over again, because constant wear has p»bably deadened the luster as well as*haviBg destroyed the fabric. Carpet and ruJTcushions are a remarkable aid in keepinjdown this overhead expense. The carpels and rugs invariably last much longer. Elinton Carpet Co., of Chicago, has built up fa very fine clientele for their Ozite cushions.