Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

May 4, 1918. MOTOGRAPHY 833 Get a Third More People In Your House F. B. WARREN SAYS LOCAL ADVERTISING WILL DO IT "S" OME day the rank and file of exhibitors will learn that inefficient local newspaper exploitation is the weakest spot in the amusement mechanism and by correcting this will enlarge their gross patronage anywhere from fifteen to thirty per cent." F. B. Warren, vice-president of Goldwyn Distributing Corporation, is speaking, following his return to New York from a five weeks' tour of the west. He makes the statement after a thorough canvass of Seattle and Los Angeles, which he considers are first and second respectively, from the standpoint of S. R. O. publicity. Found West Flourishing Mr. Warren found the west flourishing. Pointing out that Seattle was gaining 10,000 a month in population, Portland, 6,000 to 8,000; San Francisco, 8,000 to 12,000 and San Pedro, 6,000, he declared exhibitors were filling their houses at every show despite advanced prices. "I found of course, that exhibitors from Omaha westward had escaped the rigors of our eastern fuel situation during the early months of the present year," said Mr. Warren. "They had escaped our severe winter weather and the ice and snow. They did not suffer as the east did, and now that spring has opened up, business is at flood tide. "In Los Angeles, J. A. Quinn, Grauman's, Mr. Kehrlein's Kinema, Tally's Broadway, the two Clune houses and Miller's two theatres are all doing record business and already there is in contemplation by outside interests another big first run house as pretentious and splendid as the Grauman. "Miller is building another theatre that will be ready in the summer months and J. A. Quinn has taken under long time lease the theatre adjoining his successful Rialto, where he will open soon. "Los Angeles exhibitors have risen to the realization of the growing importance of music in the presentation of pictures and much of the drawing power of their houses is attributable to their excellent orchestras. Says Advertising Fills Houses "It is my belief that the tremendous and well-conceived advertising employed by Los Angeles exhibitors is the vital element that keeps the population of that city so well keyed up to attendance. The newspaper exploitation is tremendous and the major portion of it is conceived and prepared by a special local organization, the System Advertising Company, which shows great originality and sales power in its retailing of pictures to the public. There are at least eight large users of newspaper advertising space. "Personally, I should rate Seattle exhibitor advertising as being the most effective sales copy in the United States. It has an atmosphere and value all its own and it fits its community like a glove. Los Angeles I should rate as second in advertising efficiency, with Cleveland third and Toledo fourth. "Exhibitor advertising in most of the larger cities of the east lacks distinction, individuality and selling power, and I believe that an improvement in Eastern exhibitor advertising would increase patronage twenty per cent, at least. "In San Francisco, Turner & Dahnken's Tivoli is enjoying its usual tremendous patronage and Eugene Roth's California, a wonderful new house, has been tremendously successful from its opening day, without in any way lessening the popularity of his long established Portola, next door to the new million-dollar house. Messrs. Sheenan and Lourie are doing excellently with their Rialto. Mr. Sheehan's knack of excellent promotion and advertising has given him a distinctive place. Shipbuilding Cause of Boom "Like the other coast cities I have mentioned, San Francisco's recent and future gains in population are due to the Peggy Hyland, star in William Fox productions. heavy shipbuilding program of the coast yards in an effort to meet the government's demand for tonnage. Seattle is booming. Portland, Oakland and San Pedro, Los Angeles harbor are in active shipbuilding competition. There is a surplus of work over human labor and wages are high. These payrolls make themselves at once felt in the mercantile and amusements channels. "Near Spokane and Los Angeles are large military camps where there are thousands of soldiers and these numbers will be increased by the successive drafts. These camps are contributing a heavy military patronage to the houses in the adjacent large cities and in addition exhibitors have built theatres beside these camps with thousands of patrons within sound of their voices and are playing 'first run' pictures. Boom in Wyoming, too "The sudden boom in the Wyoming oil fields has brought a great influx of population to two score of towns in Montana and Wyoming and exhibitors in both states are enjoying heavy patronage. Our eastern conception of Idaho and Wyoming is that they are snow-bound states, but the fact is that Cheyenne, Laramie and all that territory enjoyed virtually a snowless winter. "In Denver, Samuel L. Baxter of the Isis, a pioneer Colorado exhibitor, has had a remarkable winter for patronage and his spring business is now at flood tide. Mr. Baxter is one of the outstanding figures of his region, an excellent showman who never deserts his house from its morning opening until its midnight closing. He watches his audiences more closely than any exhibitor I have ever seen and in this lies the secret of his success. Prosperity in Denver "Mr. Ellison of the Rialto and Princess theatres feels that patronage was never better assured in Denver than at the present time and Mr. Talbot of the America, the other big new house of the town, says his patronage is at its high water mark. "It will be good news to his many friends among both exhibitors and producers in the east that Jim Clemmer, owner of the Clemmer Theatre, Seattle, has come back on the high tide of success. His musical program, which is inseparably linked with his picture show(Continued on Page 86$)