NBC Transmitter (Jan-Nov 1942)

Sam's Success Story Proud of its phenomenal growth from a tiny retail cigar shop in 1917 to a great department store that is now second in dollar volume in downtown Detroit, Sam’s Cut Rate, Inc., clings stubbornly to the name which has been magic for it from its earliest days, but credits broadcasting over WWJ, Detroit, for a great favorable ehange in public acceptance in the last three years. Sam’s Cut Rate has relied on cash-and-carry principles and on rapid turnover at low prices. Until the depression years, it was a workingman’s store, selling '160,000 pairs of work gloves in a single year. The depression produced a new class of buyer— the former “well-to-do” who had to cut corners. Max and Herman Osnos, president and vice-president of Sam’s, noted this and looked to radio to continue to reach the white collar group with short messages of store policies, activities and events. The so-called “commercial” became shorter and shorter until now it is but a mention of the store name and location in connection with Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening talks by Preston W. Slosson, professor of history at the University of Michigan. The title of “Slosson Interprets the News” describes the ten-minute program which averages a response of about 100 letters a broadcast. Sam’s cashed 1,000,000 pay checks last year! 12 Double Auniversary at KFI, Los Angeles 9 There was a double anniversary celebration at KFI, Los Angeles, last month. The station celebrated its twentieth birthday, and Harrison Holliway, its general manager, observed completion of his thirtyfirst year in radio. These are enviable milestones in a field so young as broadcasting. KIT, owned and operated by Earle C. Antbony, Inc., was placed in operation on Easter Sunday, 1922. The station— a 100-watt affairrested on a kitchen table for its premiere performance. Today, KEI boasts a mammoth 50,000watt transmitter that is one of the best -known in the U.S.A. and has won many laurels. The station is |)roud of many notable “firsts” in its long career. Despite his thirty-one years in radio, Harrison Holliway is one of the youngest broadcasting executives. He started technical experiments with radio iti 1911, and maintained an amateur station which, in 1920, “worked” a station in Vancouver, Washington — 800 miles away. This was such a feat for amateur |)hone transmission in that era that he received national publi(;ity. In 1922, Holliway— then only twentyone— constructed, operated and managed KSL. Two years later, he received a bid to construct and run KERC where he remained a dozen years. He left the Don Lee network to manage KFI and KECA, the two Earle C. Anthony stations in Los Angeles. NBC TRANSMITTER Big Display Space Boosts WBAL Pace # WBAL, Baltimore, duly proud of its slogan, “One of America’s Great Radio Stations” and its proclamation, “WBAL believes in advertising,” is backing up both statements with 52 full pages of newspaper advertising during 1942. According to Harold C. Burke, manager of the station, the campaign is already showing excellent results in corraling listeners, as evidenced by a recent postcard survey that showed WBAL is listened to most in the evening by more than 50 per cent of Baltimore set owners. WBAL believes that publicizing its local shows and NBC— RED Network programs is the ideal copy approach; the layouts run by the station include pictures of NBC and WBAL stars and listings of programs broadcast that evening and tbe next morning and afternoon. It is now planned to add 14 out-oftown newspapers to the already extensive campaign. A SHOW CASE OF COMMENTATORS Silhouette photographs of NBC commentators feature this novel window in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Station W Rl.K, cooperating with the Personal Finance Company's local branch, arranged the display of network news commentators and analysts. Public interest ran so high that the window drew throngs for over a month. Each photo was tagged with the commentator's name, pickup point and broadcast schedule. According to Ken R. Dyke, NBC Director of Promotion, such displays are excellent audience builders. “’'The idea." he said, “is being adopted by progressive stations who realize that they can create a ‘point-of-sale' method of merchandising their programs just as manufacturers market their wares." HARRISON HOLLIWAY