Ballyhoo (Jan 18, 1957)

Page scan 0007 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Jan 18, 1957
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Jan 18, 1957) National
Leaf #:
0007
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Global Cinema, 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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¢ WITH OUR DRUMBLATERS Every time you submit an entry ... you are eligible for a prize, and from the lists published in past issues of BaLLYHOO, you ought to have a fairly good idea of the calibre of material which wins prizes, Agreed that winning a prize shouldn't be the prime consideration ... it's just that much more incentive for the proper planning and execution of the kind of selling jobs that help to sell tickets ... and the sale of tickets certainly is ... or at least should be, your main objective. I am really disapnointed ... and with good reason. I know that every one of you does some kind of a sales job on every one of the attractions playing your theatres ... but only a handful ... and it seems that it's the same ones each time ... take the trouble to report their activities. We're not mind readers, fellows ... and it stands to reason that if you don't tell us we just don't know ... and anyone reading BALLYHOO ... and I'm pleased to say that I know many who do ... must assume that the big jobs are done by the men whose names appear in issue after issue ... whether they wind up with a chunk of the prize money or not, I can't £ill the pages of BALLYHOO ... and I can't get it out regularly all by myself. You've got to do something about it too ... if, that is, you are as interested as you say you are, in its continuation. And, from the selfish standpoint ... you can't get your hooks on any of the prize money, regardless of how good a promotion job you do, if we don't know about it. Let's get the new year off to a good start fellows ... and let us prove that we're still the greatest team in the business ... You know it, and I know it ... NOW LET'S PROVE IT. Take a few minutes off each week to send in an account of your activities, and don't worry about swamping me ... I'll manage. Don't, however, expect to win a prize for placing half a dozen half-sheets in some of your neighbourhood store windows ... We're talking about SELLING, real, honest to goodness SHELLING. And... send along tear sheets, photos etc. in support of your written report. Let's hear from you, huh? Make it a regular habit. Well, I've said my piece and I'm Blad ... the rest is up to you. Now let's take a quick gander at what some of our ‘regulars! have to offer, XX. XX CAPITOL ROUYN We don't often hear from our neighbours away up North, but when we do, it's generally something worth crowing about. Bob Martino sends along a report of his activities in support of THE GREAT HARRISON ... a magic and comedy stage show. Bob borrowed a Buick convertible from a local doctor, and the GREAT HARRISON drove it around town ,.. blindfolded. Both local papers had photographers on hand and were generous in their coverage, both pictorial and in story form ... on their front pages. Bob used the same pics, blown up to 8 x 10 size, as lobby displays. All local theatres used a set of coloured slides well in advance to publicize this attraction, and very effective flyers were distributed throughout both Rouyn and neighbouring Noranda. They had to dust the S.h.O. sign off for this deal ... which made Bob tres jolie. Nice going fella,