Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

V 52 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD November 8, 1930 Exploiting an M G M comedy in Toledo. The Loew's Valentine worked a good street stunt by distributing 3.000 fresh weiners, each tagged ivith copy reading "Don't miss 'College Hounds' world's funniest Barkie. They talk; they sing. It's a bow wotv. Loew's Valentine." The girls distributed the weiners, which came gratis through a tieup with a local packing firm. Louisville Observer Tells What Theatregoers Say and Think What does the theatregoer think and talk about? theatre that you don't read about in the papers describes some of these things in the following story: Operators of suburban theatres develop telephones, with numerous good ideas from time to time for enlarging volume of business, but there are also a number of places in which they are falling down. For instance a woman remarked recently that she had trouble in getting her small daughter to go to bed on Friday night, and the child was afraid that she would dream about a scary picture she had seen that evening at a neighborhood showhouse. Pick Bill Carefully, He Says In view of the fact that Friday and Saturday nights are big nights for the children, especially in the suburban or neighborhood theatre, it would seem that the managements should be very careful in picking bills for the week end of school holiday nights, with an especial appeal to children, or at least pick them carefully so that there would be nothing in them to scare children. The writer recently heard a 14-year-old boy complaining that he didn't like the shows at a certain suburban theatre, because they were all "blamed love pictures." Of course such pictures would probably have been looked upon in a different light by the 14-year-old girl, but children don't need triangle pictures, etc. Good comedies appeal to both boy and girl. Action pictures go over big with them, even Westerns. Many suburban theatres fail also to have And what goes on at the 9 A Louisville observer "BUILDING THEATRE PATRONAGE" $ ^r (Only $5. 20 mailed to your door) CHALMERS PUBLISHING CO. 516 Fifth Avenue New York City Get this big money-making book for showmen written by John F. Barry and Epes W. Sargent. An essential in every theatre. the result that it is impossible to find out what the bill is, and whether it has been seen before, without going to the theatre. The policy of distributing handbills, carrying the shows for a week, or two weeks, throughout the entire neighborhood is of course good, but in this day of autos, the bills frequently are not distributed nearly as far as patrons cdme from; are often misplaced, and there is many a time that the phone in the box office can be used to advantage, and in making extra nickels for the management. He Asks Patrons' Opinions Some smart managers, one in particular, who made a big sucecss of a suburban house, before he went into the downtown bigtime, used t© station himself in the lobby in the winter, or at the door in the summer, and talk to a lot of his patrons as they were leaving, ask them their ideas regarding the bill that had been shown, and ask them for suggestions. He received many good ideas, not only from parents and young folks, but even from the children. He knew their likes and dislikes, and how certain bills appealed to them, and this in turn greatly aided him in booking his bills. There are always people of high intelligence in the neighborhood, and who are excellent critics. Some of these not only think of how the bill suits their own tastes, but give it consideration from every angle, and especially from the angle of the child. The manager remarked that he got some very good information from a newspaper woman, who would candidly tell him that a picture was too heavy, too fluffy, or what not. She was married and the mother of several children, and highly intelligent. Her advice meant a great deal to him. Putt-Putt for Show Juveniles A miniature golf course will be installed in the Kaypee theatre, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, for the use of children only. Griffith Granger, manager, plans to feature match games for juveniles and expects to draw added patronage by this new divertisement. Flower Shop, Book Store and Jewelry Tieups Exploit Film The Publix publicity staff in Detroit utilized the feminine angle in Norma Talmadge's "DuBarry, Woman of Passion" to exploit the picture when it came to the United Artists theatre there. Tieups were obtained with flower shops, book stores and jewelry stores. A display of silverware, valued at $10,000, was displayed in the windows of Warren and Company, jewelers, together with fitting 8 by 10 black and white stills from the film. Each photo had been faced, calling attention to the fact that "DuBarry" was being shown at the United Artists. Two dozen roses, especially named "The DuBarry," were displayed in the lobby of the theatre, with a credit card for Breitmeyer. the florist, who changes the flowers daily to keep them fresh. Five thousand sample boxes of "DuBarry" face powder were given to women patrons as they left the theatre, together with a small folder on "DuBarry" preparations. The outside back cover called attention to the next attraction at the theatre. Half a dozen book store windows carried special book displays, with fitting card announcements. Each tieup was affected without cost to the theatre. This included the printing of the announcement on the back of the small "DuBarry" folders. Joe Franklin Promotes Cooperative Ad Section Joe Franklin, manager of Keith's theatre, Ottawa, Ont, tied up with local merchants in promoting a cooperative ad page in newspapers for the picture "Good News." The "Good News" message appeared in each ad. A contest was included in the stunt, whereby readers were invited to find scattered italic letters throughout the page. Town Asks Talking Films; So Theatre Installs Sound The Oxford theatre, Oxford, Ohio, has installed sound equipment after Edward E. Keene, manager, was for a long time besieged with requests for it. The town's population is made up almost entirelv of college student?. Keene's theatre is said to be the smallest in Ohio to have sound equipment. KM)