Ballyhoo (Oct 14, 1955)

Page scan 0007 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Oct 14, 1955
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Oct 14, 1955) Profit Blitz for 'Fitz'
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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$10,000 IN CASH PRIZES PROFIT with showmanship SERVE with showmanship SAVE with SEPT. 5th TO DEC. 3rd 1955 showmanship L with showmanship HONOURING 25 YEARS OF INSPIRED LEADERSHIP IN FAMOUS PLAYERS National Drive Captain DAN KRENDEL SAVE WITH SHOWMANSHIP Jim Mitchell of the Capitol in St. John really takes his "Save With Showmanship" seriously ... as witness what he's been able to accomplish to date ... The door to the ladies! powder room is masked with a curtain, which has to be replaced periodically because the ladies, bless 'em .., keep burning cigarette holes in it ... So, Jim decided he'd cure that ... bought a tin of lacquer, and painted both sides of the glass door. Says the effect is very pleasing ... and no more burnt curtains. Jim's Buckingham Orange Crush dispenser went on the fritz, and he didn!t feel like spending the dough to call in an expert ... so he became one. Took it completely apart himself, reassembled it, and now it works better than it did when he first got it ... Cost? Three hours of his time. His maintenance man was on vacation, and Jim tells me he couldn't afford a replacement ... so-o-o ... who took over care of the furnaces? You guessed it ... our James .., for two full weeks. He ain't proud ... just loves to work, That's the kind of a guy this Jim Mitchell is ... isn't ashamed to get his hands dirty, if it means saving the theatre a buck or two ... Attaboy Jimmy ... I seem to recall another James, used to be in Hamilton who had the same idea, Seems to be catching. oXeXe XX. — ee If you SAVE ... you'll PROFIT ... with Showmanship. S22 80280250 Another guy who looks to save a buck is that extrovert Joe Lefave who hangs out at the Capitol in Windsor, The Capitol has a lot of wall space with only one 24-sheet board on it, which looks like a bump on a log. The Poster people wanted a mere $350,00 to put up another one, but Joe did some fast talking and sold them on the idea that if they'd put up the board he would use it as often as he could, and pay them for the posting, The result ... a brand new 24-sheet stand on the wall ... lighted at that ... and didn't cost Joey a thin dime. That's saving with Showmanship for you.