Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

68 Motion Picture News November 2 2 , 19 SO MANAGE-'!?!' I?CUND TADLE CLUB BOOST BUYING!!! Co-operate with all local movements to Boost Buying! Incorporate it in all your advertising! Tell 'Em To Loosen Their Purse Strings ! Money Spending Means Good-Times Ahead! Help Yourself To a Share in Prosperity! More General Spending Means More Ticket Buyers ! BOOST BUYING!!! Granite Monument Was Given Irwin For Lobby Display A showman who takes a great deal of pride in his town is George D. Irwin, manager of the Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud, Minn. He secured a granite monument in the i^^^^^=^=^^=^^^^^= form of a vase, valued at a thousand dollars, at no cost to the theatre and placed it in the lobby to typify St. Cloud's largest and most prominent industry. We are showing a photo of the vase. The thought behind the monument display is the fact that a great many tourists visiting St. Cloud attend the theatre and are impressed at that time with the main industry from which the City of St. Cloud has got the name of being called "The < iranite City." Since the placing of the case in the theatre lobby, business men and visitors have praised it as a superb bit of granite craftsmanship, and have warmly commended Manager George D. Irwin for his initiative in having a local concern place it in the lobby. It is another step in Irwin's career in St. Cloud as theatre manager to make his institution an integral part of the city. A two-column cut of the monument appeared in the front page of the local newspaper together with a description of the vase monument as well as mention of the theatre and manager. It is certainly a pleasure to see that showmanship of this sort continues to be displayed in St. Cloud. Keep up the good work, George, and let's hear some more from you very soon. And include your photo, too, will you? mm n s£ ' *-****,. /dHB ^ ' .Wi< m% j« 1-uwf * mmm m -^ 3p^IW >m v| departments of department stores. The records were also given a plug. Window displays were secured in a number of sporting goods stores, poster sheets being used to effect the tie-up. The sheets showed football scrimmages. A tie-up with the National Family Stores was obtained. They sent out 12,000 letters to their customers. In the downtown store, 100 tickets were given away to the first 100 persons correctly solving a certain puzzle. The puzzle stunt was also landed in one of the Milwaukee dailies. A wire to the M-G-M studios was productive of a telegram from Nick Grinde, director of "Good News," and a former University of Wisconsin graduate. The wire was presented to the manager of the Western Union, who had duplicates made and mounted on boards. The boards were placed on display in the windows of 25 Western Union offices. The heading read: "GOOD NEWS" From the Director of "GOOD NEWS." Marquette College, to whose publication was given an ad, permitted the stuffing of heralds in the three thousand copies sold to the students. The move was a corker, the students all expressing their intentions of witnessing the picture. Meyer Had A Great Campaign For Selling Of "Good News" Film "Good News" meant good news to the box-office of the Alhambra Theatre, Milwaukee, Wis., the house managed by Fred S. Meyer, when it played there recently. What a campaign Fred turned out! Every angle that he could grab hold of was covered and re-covered by Fred. The orchestrations of the theme songs were placed with both radio stations in the city, the numbers and theatre being announced when played. Every prominent dance orchestra in town was given a set of orchestrations. The local Davidson Theatre in the city opened with road shows for Sundav. The leader of the orchestra played the picture's song hits for an overture. Title pages and streamers were secured from the music publishers and placed in all of the music stores and music A collegiate Ford, photo of which we are showing, was driven about town by students from Marquette College. It parked at busy streets, with crowds gathering about it to read the notices on it. The Ford was on the streets for three days, attracting comment all the time. One of the local papers had been giving out a season football schedule. Through a tie-up with the advertising manager, Meyer sold him the idea of giving out a score card for the opening football games. He liked the idea, and printed up a quantity of the score cards. The cards were numbered. A notice was placed on them to the effect that if the number corresponded to any published in the paper, the holder of the card would receive a free ticket to the theatre. An excellent front display was turned out by McDaniel, the house artist, and, in no small measure, it tended toward the success of the film. On the newspaper advertising angle, a double truck ad was landed in the Milwaukee Leader. Soda fountains were covered, streamers being supplied them for the mirrors back of the fountains. Ten miniature golf courses were tied-up arid furnished with score cards, the back of which carried a plug on the picture. Printing cost was borne by theatre and golf courses. With so complete a campaign, it was no small wonder that Meyer had the town flocking in when the film unreeled. KURLAND RUTTING KAPERS! Reports drift into Club headquarters that some excellent showmanship is being displayed by Irving Kurland at the Fox Cross Bay Theatre in Ozone Park, Long Island. Let's have some of the work, Irving, so that we can pass it along to the rest of the Club.