Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1959)

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50th STREET IS NOW M-G-M STREET! / i CAPITOL GLENN FORD • DEBBIE REYNOLDS •IT STARTED WITH A KISS ALEC GUINNESS ii.M-G.M-, "THE SCAPEGOAT" urn sur>inC BETTE DAVIS CARY GRANT EVA MARIE SAINT JAMES MASON NORTH BY NORTHWEST" An M G M Piclure . PLUS STAGE SHOW MARIO LANZA .« m g m s FOR THE FIRST TIME" PLUS STAGE SHOW and a few blocks away at 57th St r \ "GIGI" Recent readers of The New York Times saw this unique bit of advertising executed by MGM. The ad called attention to the firm's dominance of the 50th St. theatre area with five pictures. LANZA BONANZA. MGM and RCA have combined their promotional efforts to push Mario Lanza's "For the First Time" and the RCA Victor sound-track album. The result of their cooperation can be seen in this window display in the big Woolworth's, 50th St. and 7th Ave., N. Y., near Roxy Theatre, where film is playing. Stills and the album are featured. COMPO Acts to Sell Majors On Exchange Area Showmanship The COMPO merchandising committee has begun arranging meetings with the general sales managers and advertising executives of the major film firms in the hopes of implementing on the exchange area level a showmanship program already successfully executed by Wisconsin exhibitors. The widespread employment of the plan, according to Ben Marcus, a member of the COMPO triumvirate, "could increase the national attendance at theatres by fifteen to twenty million people a week." The plan calls for special exploitation of individual films on the local level, with radio and television used wherever possible, in addition to newspaper advertising. In Wisconsin, the institutional radio record of jingles distributed by COMPO was tied up directly to radio plugs for specific pictures at individuals theatres. Marcus listed boxoffice figures on pictures that had enjoyed the plan in the Milwaukee exchange area, adding that this individual exploitation resulted in a tremendous increase in boxoffice receipts for both small films and films with established drawing power. But, he cautioned, the operation must be limited to the exchange area level. "Enthusiastic as I am about this program," he said, "I think it would be most unwise to try to put it into effect on a national scale at once. On the contrary, I think we should take it up, step by step, in exchange territories, so that in each area the program would be adapted to local requirements." This, I believe," Marcus added, "is most important, and I am prepared to make great personal sacrifice of time and effort to get it put into operation MGM's 'Kiss' Gets "First National Radio Spectacular' MGM recently launched what it termed, "The First National Radio Spectacular" — a saturation push for "It Started with a Kiss" in the nation's 31 top markets — in New York and Cincinnati, and before it's all over, more than 70 per cent of the radio listeners in the entire nation will have heard the message. Developed with MGM's advertising-publicity department by John Blair & Co., station representatives and Donahue & Coe, MGM's ad agency, the campaign involves 36 leading independent stations in 31 key cities. It will afford the film a minimum of 126 announcements on each station — at least one per hour every day from six a.m. to midnight, from the Monday before opening straight through the first Sunday. In addition, each station will lend full promotional support to the drive, thereby creating intense penetration. The programming structure of each station will be utilized for a substantial number of announcements tied-in with weather reports, traffic bulletins, sports news, women's service shows and similar broadcasts, and station disc jockeys and personalities will sell "It Started with a Kiss" personally to their listeners. 'ANATOMY' OF A CAMPAIGN. (1) Three models paraded through streets of downtown Boston to plug opening of "Anatomy of a Murder" at Gary Theatre. One wore enlarged copy of best-seller later used in tie-up window displays. (2) In Cleveland, this tie-up and promotion plugged film's opening at Allen Theatre. The Seaway Green drug store lent its 22-foot window to this display. At left, two models dressed as "Anatomy logos" flank Allen manager Howard Higley, who routed their tour of downtown Cleveland. (3) A merchandising tie-up with Schenley Affiliates, as seen in this window display in New York's Rosoff's Restaurant, pushed dual engagement of picture at Criterion and Plaza. (4) This window display in Boston's Peck & Peck store was part of national merchandising tie-up centered around wardrobe used in film. 'Devil' Strikes New York I The 16,000,000 residents of the metropolitanNew York area recently were bombarded by a multi-media campaign that touched off the Broadway engagement of United Artists' "The Devil's Disciple." The campaign was focused upon the strong ticket-selling power of the three stars — Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Oliver — the former two appearing in town to spotlight the opening of the picture. Paq» 30 Film BULLETIN August 31, 1959