Ballyhoo (Apr 20, 1956)

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Apr 20, 1956
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Apr 20, 1956) National
Leaf #:
0006
Language:
English
Collection:
Global Cinema, Canada, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Ballyhoo

  • Ontario 'B' District Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1952-55)
  • Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’, editor: Dan Krendel (1955)
  • National Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1956-57)
  • Time Out for Ticket Talk, editor: Norman Barker (1960-61)

Ballyhoo (1952-61) was published by Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a mimeographed internal sales and theatre managers’ newsletter. Editor, Dan Krendel, had been division manager of the Ontario ‘B’ District since 1942, and initially created Ballyhoo in 1952 to circulate weekly updates for a regional sales contest. Ontario ‘B’ District Ballyhoo continued until 1955 as a tool for sharing and incentivizing new sales techniques and publicity methods as the movie business declined in the face of television and the baby boom.

In Fall 1955, Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’ was a nationwide sales contest, named for Famous Players’ president J. J. Fitzgibbons, honouring his 25th year as head of the business. Dan Krendel was made National Drive Captain and edited a weekly newsletter for the campaign.

From 1956 until at least 1957, National Ballyhoo was published weekly with Krendel as editor. He continued the style and content developed earlier for his Ontario ‘B’ District, but now extended vastly for a chain-wide coast to coast scale. Ballyhoo’s sharing promotional tools came at a time of contracting box office as television and automobile ownership became prevalent in the mid-1950s.

By 1960 until at least 1961, Time Out for Ticket Talk continued as a mimeographed newsletter, edited by Norman Barker of the head office publicity department. Time Out was compiled on a less ambitious scale than Ballyhoo. Compared to the earlier national compilation of local publicity gimmicks, Time Out often contained only a single memo or reproduced local story, and was often undated and only informally edited.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Date Added:
April 11, 2024
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FREE GIVE-AWAYS When you have a special "free" deal for the kids, what do you do about it? Toss it at them as a surprise package at the Saturday matinee? That's fine, and they probably appreciate your thought fulness, But it doesn't help you get those empty seats filled, does it? Advertise your special deals guys ... well in advance ... just as you do any 'special! event, Advertise it well in your newspaper space ... on your theatre front ... from your stage at the matinee immediately preceding the special one. Tell the kids what you're going to give them ... glamourize it ... dress it up. Kids love surprises ... especially if they know about them ahead of time. Don!t keep them in the dark ... Tell them about it, and encourage them to tell their friends. If you ain't kidding tem they'll be there ... and they'11 be on the look-out for more such deals IN YOUR THEATRE, Let's do this right ... Let's start doing it now, and not just talk about it when our regional meetings roll around again, huh? Rese soeso2s ese THOSE STUDENT PRICES AGAIN Remember at our last series of meetings when we decided to make student cards acceptable the year round ,,. Saturdays, holidays and any time they were presented? What have you done to tell the card holders about it, eh? Or haven!t you said anything, and just let them find out by sheer accident? It ain't funny guys, and I know several managers who so far have managed to keep it a deep dark secret. Get wise guys ... we need that student business, and the only way we'll get the teeners in is by encouraging their attendance and making them welcome. Some theatres do a whale of a student business ... others ... well, you'd think the theatre was under strict quarantine, the way the kids avoid it. What category is yours in fella? And ... what are you doing about it? et ent ete ccesce HOW ABOUT YOUR 'TEENERS!? So far only two of our men ... Al Hartshorn in Oshawa and Jimmy Gameron in Fort William have taken the trouble to organize and develop Teeners! Advisory Councils in their respective Caves) terene If I haven't been able o stir up a little interest in this very vital subject with my accounts of Al's and Jim's activities so far, I suppose it's pretty hopeless to expect any action now ... It's really a shame, as ‘ere was a challenge to test your skill and down-to-earth showmanship ... with potential benefits far and beyond even your fondest expectations ... and you simply ignored it, Well ... I guess it's easier that way, Keep me informed, Oshawa and Fort William. At this end we!re really interested,