Ballyhoo (Apr 20, 1956)

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Apr 20, 1956
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Apr 20, 1956) National
Leaf #:
0007
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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BETTER REFRESHMENT MERCHANDISING In our last issue of NATIONAL BALLYHOO I mentioned Bob Harvey of North Bay as being one of the winners of a merit award issued by M.P. HERALD. A few days later the magazine came in, and I see several other names, Of the four world-wide winners, we have two ... Bob Harvey, and Bill Wilson of the Paramount in Edmonton. I note also that six honorable mentions were listed ... and we copped three of those, The winners ... Al Easson of the Oakwood in Toronto ... Freeman Skinner of the Paramount in Halifax, and Martin White of our Parkdale in Toronto. 50% of all the awards ain't at all bad, guys ... and we're all tickled with the showing we made, I still wonder though, how many more winners we could have had, had every one of you taken the trouble to send in details of your merchandising ... What? oXeX.X.Xe AND TALKING ABOUT REFRESHMENTS ... Have you studied the figures sent you by T.C.L., headed THESE ARE YOUR FIGURES? The lads have gone to a lot of trouble to bring you up to date on your attendance ... gross sales ... commission, return per patron, and your overage or shortage for the period since they posed the all-important $69,770.00 question, What steps have you taken to make sure that in 1956 there will be no such wastage as reported during the previous year ...? Are you watching your corn ... your drink mixture? What I mean is, are you PERSONALLY watching them? Believe me, that's the only way you can correct that condition. Some of the figures released by T.C.L. are good, and do reflect a closer supervision of confection sales. Others ... well, let's say they aren!t so good. Gonna do anything about it? eX eke keke A FEW HINTS In the same bulletin, on another page headed THAR'S GOLD IN THEM SALES ... some good advice is handed out. Just in case you happened to miss that section, let's see what they have to say. l. Make sure YOU have the best sales attendants. 2. Be sure they have been PROPERLY TRAINED by you, not only to sell confections, but to suggest to your patrons to try those HIGH PROFIT ITEMS. 3. Be sure they READ the T.C.L. sales manual and bulletins, and utilize the sales promotions and give-aways. 4. Be sure they are NEAT COURTEOUS and ENTHUSIASTIC. And that my friends is your formula for bigger and better sales volume .,.. and the end of those ridiculous shortages, Do you make a habit of reading, and FOLLOWING THRU on their suggestions?