Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

UA Charts Promotion Program for 1957 . . . New York meeting of field men hears stress on company's very vigorous merchandising policy as responsible for grosses Max E. Youngstein, vice-president of United Artists, stating that there is no limit to his company’s potential growth, said the goal of U.A. was “to maintain the rate of expansion achieved since 1951 under the Arthur Krim-Robert Benjamin executive group.” Mr. Youngstein offered an optimistic picture at the company’s first national field men’s convention at the Warwick Hotel, New York, November 29-December 1. The conclave, taking the general form of a workshop seminar, was aimed at blueprinting a 1957 promotional program that “will rank as the best and most comprehensive in the company’s 37-year history,” he said. Stress Merchandising Stressing the importance of the company’s vigorous merchandising policy in its successful operations over the past five years, Mr. Youngstein added that he is confident that the next 12 months will demonstrate more clearly than ever the ability of United Artists to sell and presell its product. “Over the past few years,” he told the field men, “we have developed a series of multiple-picture agreements with the top stars and producers and directors. As of today, we have 96 pictures completed, in production, or being prepared for production. The ace-in-the-hole that has helped us attract so many of the best people is our proven ability to merchandise a picture.” Appraising U.A.’s position as it faces the future, Mr. Youngstein declared that the company is uniquely equipped to meet changing market conditions and new problems. “We have the flexibility, the manpower, and the credit,” he said. “Today we are a valued customer, not only of the banks, but of the big talent agencies as well. Our ability to achieve this kind of a position is a wholesome sign for the entire industry.” Staff Faces Challenge Mr. Youngstein paid tribute to the work done by the company’s exploitation men. “Today, more than ever,” he said, “the emphasis in selling and pre-selling must be on the local level. The best creative efforts of our home office staff are meaningless unless they are intelligently and aggressively carried into the field. The work of you field men in translating ideas into action has been a vital factor in U.A.’s performance as the Number One merchandising company.” Mr. Youngstein declared that the 48 features indicated for release during 1957, represent an investment of $42,000,000. “The development of the widest possible market for this superb product lineup is the challenge that we face in the next 12 months. This convention will create the tools that will help you get the job done.” During the three-day conclave, field men saw screenings of forthcoming United Artists releases, and a number of TV featurettes. They also examined ads, posters and special accessories that will pre-sell upcoming product. Ad Policies Are Defended By Youngstein Max E. Youngstein, replying to recently published charges that motion picture advertising is “lurid,” told a convention of the company’s field men in New York last week that the yardstick for film advertising should be the same as that applied to other industries. Attacking the “ holier-than-thou-compounded-by-stupidity attitude of the film industry’s critics,” Mr. Youngstein declared that “we are the direct descendants of the circus and we will continue in that vein. The policy at U.A.,” he said, “is that ads must meet our own standards of good taste, which we feel are equal to anyone’s. But it is our decision to make and our’s alone. “We are a circus business, a ballyhoo business that depends on excitement and vitality. It is absurd to compare our advertising to the Cadillac ads and the dainty displays in Vogue. Sustaining this vitality and excitement is the key to our whole promotional plan. We don’t intend to be deflected by prissy and irrelevant considerations of elegance or tone. “The proper gauge of an ad,” Mr. Youngstein said, “is how many tickets it sells. We and we alone are the authorities on this. We don’t condone or employ vulgarity, but on the other hand we don’t expect to become defensive, humble, weak or furtive. When there are decent sex elements in our pictures, we intend to say so in our ads. If there’s rough action, our ads will tell about that, too.” Thomas Heads Rank London Distributors LONDON : Frederick L. Thomas, managing editor of The Cinema, has been named general manager of the J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors, it was announced here. Mr. Thomas was in professional stage management and worked for Lloyd’s insurance prior to his appointment in 1930 as publicity manager of Western Electric Company. In September, 1935, he was named director of advertising and publicity of Paramount Film Service, Ltd., later becoming general manager of Cinema Press. EXECUTIVE array: the speaker, Max E. Youngstein, vice-president; with him, sales chief William Heineman, and advertising-publicity-exploitation director Roger Lewis. 28 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 8. 1956