Motography (Jul-Sep 1916)

August 12, 1916. MOTOGRAPHY 387 Paramount Launches New Policy BEGINS PLAN FOR CO-OPERATION WITH EXHIBITORS AS the ultimate outcome of the publicity convention that was held in Chicago during the week of the National Exhibitors Convention by the publicity and advertising directors and managers of the exchanges of the Paramount Pictures Corporation, the heads of the departments of the corporation's office in New York and the representatives of the producing companies making pictures for the Paramount Program, there has been launched one of the most complete publicity campaigns that has ever been conceived of in the motion picture industry. Every exchange in the Paramount organization was represented at the publicity convention at the Blackstone Hotel, where every publicity problem of the Paramount family was discussed. The members present represented the Paramount Pictures Corporation, Famous Players Film Company, the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, the Oliver Morosco Photo Play Company, Pallas Pictures, the Famous Players Film Company of New England, Famous Players Film Company of Boston, Mass. ; the William L. Sherry Feature Play Co., of New York ; Famous Players Exchange, of Philadelphia, Pa. ; Famous Players Exchange of Washington, D. C. ; Famous Players Film Service, Inc., of Pittsburgh ; Famous Players Film Service, Inc., of Chicago, 111; Kansas City Feature Film Company, of Kansas City, Mo. ; Famous Players Star Feature Film Cervice, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Famous Players Film Service, Inc., of Cincinnati, O. ; Southern Paramount Pictures Company of Atlanta, Ga. ; Famous Players Film Service, Inc., of Detroit ; Texas Paramount Pictures Company, of Dallas, Texas ; Southern Paramount Pictures Co., of New Orleans, La. ; Notable Feature Film Co., of Salt Lake City, Utah; Progressive Motion Picture Company, of Seattle, Wash. ; Notable Feature Film Company, of Denver, Colo. ; Progressive Motion Picture Company, of San Francisco, Cal., and the Progressive Motion Picture Co., of Los Angeles. It was an unusual conference in every respect. With the beginning of August, when the plans for the great campaign will be put into play, there will be given a very complete exhibitors service. With the progressive ideas of the newly elected officials of the Paramount organization, President Hiram Abrams, Treasurer James Steele and Vice-President Wm. L. Sherry, backed by the determination of the producing companies represented by President Zukor, Messrs. Lasky and Goldfish of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, and Oliver Morosco and Frank A. Garbutt, of the Morosco and Pallas Pictures interests, to give the exhibitor not only the best pictures that are producable, but a service and co-operation that will aid the exhibitor to present his pictures to the public in an attractive manner and advertise them in an efficient way. The first move towards the perfection of the plan has been the establishment in every exchange of a publicity-efficiency department where there has been none in the past. Every want of every exhibitor will be given serious consideration and no matter what form of publicity is desired by the exhibitor it will be furnished. President Hiram Abrams of Paramount has sounded the keynote of the campaign in stating that Paramount has determined upon a policy of absolute and consistent co-operation with the exhibitors, which was to include a sincere effort for the further unification of the various interests interlinked in the Paramount plan ; that no stone would be left unturned to bring this about and that there would be no stone wall existing between producer, exhibitor and distributor, for in Paramount there would be naught save the most Paramounters in conference at Chicago — Left to right, top row. Wallace Thompson, editorial director, Paramount Pictures Corporation; Geo. K. Robinson, publicity manager, Famous Players Film Service, Boston; L. D. Balsly advertising manager, Kansas City Feature Film Co., Kansas City, Mo.; John C. Flinn, publicity manager, Lasky Features Play Co.; Ben. F. Schulberg, publicity manager, Famous Players Film Co., New York; Carl Pierce, publicity manager, Morosco Photoplay Co. and Pallas Pictures; John Stevenson, representative Paramount Pictures Corporation; Geo. E. Carpenter, publicity manager, Notable Feature Film Co., Salt Lake City. Left to right, second row: J. W. H. Cohn, branch manager, Notable Feature Film Co., Denver; J. W. Allen, assistant manager, Progressive Motion Picture Co., San Francisco; W. F. Seymour, manager, Famous Players Exchange, New York; R. C. Schmidt, manager, Famous Players Film Service, Inc., Pittsburgh; Harry Ashler, manager, Famous Players Film Co. of New England, Boston; C. E. Tandy, general manager, Southern Paramount Pictures Co., Atlanta; Bert Barnett, general manager, Famous Players Star Feature Film Service, Minneapolis; John S. King, advertising manager, Famous Players Film Service, Inc., Pittsburgh. Left to right, third row — A. D. Flintom, president, Kansas City Feature Co., Kansas City, Mo.; Moe Mark, proprietor of Strand Theater, Lynn, Mass.; W. E. Green, treasurer, Famous Players Film Co. of New England, Boston; William L. Sherry, vice-president, Paramount Pictures Corporation, New York; Hiram Abrams, president, Paramount Pictures Corporation, New York; James Steele, treasurer, Paramount Pictures Corporation, New York; Herman Wobber, general manager, Progressive Motion Picture Co., San Francisco. Left to right, bottom row — 5". /. Stoughton, manager. Win. L. Sherry Feature Film Service, New York; D. Lee Dennison, manager, Famous Players Film Service. Inc., Detroit; F. M. Brockell, manager, Famous Players Film Service, Inc., Chicago; W. C. Bachmeyer, manager, Famous Players Film Service. Cincinnati; Oscar A. Morgan, publicity manager. Famous Players Exchange, Philadelphia; L. Marcus, Notable Feature Film Co., Salt Lake City.