Ballyhoo (Nov 25, 1955)

Page scan 0009 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Nov 25, 1955
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Nov 25, 1955) Profit Blitz for 'Fitz'
Leaf #:
0009
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 pighowmanshie SEPT. Sth PROFIT wit TO DEC. 3rd ar SERVE with showmanship 1955 VE with showmanship wmanship HONOURING 25 YEARS OF INSPIRED LEADERSHIP IN FAMOUS PLAYERS SAVE WITH SHOWMANSHIP National Drive Captain DAN KRENDEL More and more excellent ideas for effecting substantial savings in our theatre operations are beginning to reach this desk .., YOU must have some ideas on this subject ... and whether your suggestion involves a ten dollar or a thousand dollar saving, send it along, will you? Even ten bucks, multiplied by the number of theatres we operate can soon reach astronomical figures. And fellows ... do you follow through on the suggestions published in these pages every week? That!s the idea of the whole thing you know. Don't be too proud to save a couple of bucks. Try to think in terms of the whole circuit,rather than your own single operation, Now let's see what we have to offer this week. RALPH MITGHELTREE of the Capitol in Calgary passes along what sounds like an excellent suggestion. Ralph tells us that he came across many items of new and used projection parts lying around the theatre gathering dust. While we have no further use for them, it is quite possible that other theatres may. Ralph contacted Don McKenzie, their maintenance supervisor, and Don is now trying to dispose of the accumulated parts, It can quite conceivably result in many "found" dollars. Take a good look around, fellows. You too may have a lot of "hidden gold" in your store-roonm, oXeXeoXeXo MARTIN CAVE who runs the Dominion and Atlas theatres in Victoria doesn't spend a dime more than he has to in staffing his theatres. It is seldom that both theatres do S.R.O. business, and Martin has developed a system of shuttling staff members from one house to the other when the occasion demands it ... in this way eLiminating the necessity of keeping full staffs at both theatres, He no longer has to hire casual or extra help. The kids, usherettes, confection girls etc, fill in at whatever theatre they are needed, XXX Xe PEARL TRELEAVEN who is subbing at the Strand in Brandon reports that the male of the species doesn't have a corner on the repair of drink vending machines. Her Orange Crush dispenser went on the Fritz ... the service man advised her that it needed a new pump, put Pearl had to see for herself. Took the machine apart, and discovered that all it needed was a new rubber washer, Picked one up for 20¢ and saved herself a major overhaul.