Publix Opinion (Jun 8, 1929)

_business for the balance of the| OUTLINES CAMPAIGN TO BOLSTER MATINEES FOR “SCHOOL CLOSING MONTHS Seeking to take advantage of the yearly impetus to matinee business occasioned by the closi John J. Fried! outlined and put 5 ng of schools, Division Manager into operation a campaign for a Shoppers Bargain Matinee at the Metropolitan Theatre, Boston, which bids fair to appreciably increase the gross of that theatre during the summer vacation months. PUBLIX. OPINION is reproducing this campaign in the hope that it might be helpful to other managers to stage a similar : a drive for summer business. The closing date of schools varies in different cities, from June 7th to June 21. If your. schools close late, you can still put this plan in operation. It they close | Matinee Business due to picture values following this campaign than at other periods of the year. This latter point. indicates that | such a campaign has considerable Institutional value. If this is true, then the consistent week to week attendance of patrons during the | Bargain Price hour will keep our theatres foremost in the minds of | prospective patrons, Once such impression is gained, sales resis| tance’at any time and under any circumstance is weakened materially. “It. will be argued in some quarters that a high pressure concentrated campaign of this char early, you canj;acter will tend to oversell the 2 SCR eS oR John J. Friedl enough mate-| rial from this campaign to aid you) in consistently propping up your! summer. In any event, clip this campaign and save it for next} year. How many~theatres will big summer policy of pictures in—O-0-o-l comfort, at BARGAIN _ prices? Some showmen will do this, and pass out printed heralds for the kids to read and take home. “The closing of schools for the / Summer vacation throughout the country, approximately June 7th, causes our business to fluctuate in two ways,” declares Division Manager Friedl. “First the matinee grosses increase, second the evening grosses fall off. A stndy of hourly reports from almost any theatre, whether it be a Deluxe Unit house or a class B or C operation, will confirm this. The reasons for this fluctuation are quite apparent. Regular routine in the lives of | organized. It | and continuing for 3 weeks thereplan to have a truck, con| | after. It is not costly. If the vartaining a panatrope, covered |ious activities enumerated below | with gaudy signs that sell | are augmented with local stimu-| Bargain Matinee. It is not _proposed here to build up a defense for this plan. It is sufficient to pdint out that the Bargain Matinee is a part of our policy. As | such it merits our support. “The plan is necessarily tightly extends over a| ‘ _——. NOTICE! Due to the sudden illness of Jack Barry, Director of Publix Managers Training School, the series of articles on the activities of the School which has been appearing regularly in Publix Opinion wil! be dis-: continued until Mr, Rarry recovers, | Mr. Barry was stricken while on a tour with the members of the Bchool at Atlanta, Ga. and was removed to St. Joseph’s Infirmary, where he wus operated upon for appendicitis. His many friends in the Home Office and throughout the circult will be glad te know that he is getting along nicely and will soon be back on the job again, Write to = him and chee r him up. . = TS VOEEEEGAREEAULEUEUOEREEEEOREEEESEOEEEDEOASUEOEEODEES2 TEUEREULGELEEEEEEEEEET EEE Copy B— School’s Out—and what rare treats await you during the Summer months. (fade) Colorado ?—-Not much. (fade) For no spot in the world offers more delightful summer pastime than Boston! (fade) Right here in your own Metropolitan Theatre—Healthful relaxation—the Luxurious comfort of your favorite seat——the invigorating tonic of pure sweet mountain air— (fade) All Boston will SEE—HEAR and ENJOY the most spectacular array of Bigger and Better shows ever presented by any theatre anywhere. (fade) And Just Think— (fade) You can see every one of these POURAUEUOSAORNEUOANOOUOUTEEOEAEUUNEUOOOO OOOO EZ: ORGAN GAG GETS} So line: trp BIG SPACE FOR | BOSTON MET Through the ingenuity of Harry | Royster, Director of Advertising and Publicity of the Metropolitan Theatre, Boston, George C. MeKinnon, of the Daily Record and Boston Advertiser printed a poem | in two parts in his daily column, “The Wisdom Box,”’ one on Friday and the other on Saturday, entitled, ‘‘How Martel Tamed the Wurlitzer.’ Martel is the organist at the Metropolitan. On the following Sunday, practically the entire column was devoted to an indignant protest from the president of the Skinner Organ Company who insisted that the Metropolitan organ was not a Wurlitzer but a Skinner. Then, wise cracks by the columnist and another poem dealing with the discovery of the error, signed by R. L, Cunningham, which ended with “The name upon the console is not ‘Wurlitzer’ but) ;Skinner.’’ Cunningham, it was! Fogg discovered, happened to be | the Worlitzer representative in | | Boston, ; | The whole episode caused quite | a furore, keeping the Metropolitan | theatre, its organ and organist in). | Print for several weeks without) | putting the theatre in any unfavor | lable light, inasmuch as the argu-| |ment seemed to be between the, | Skinner Organ Co., and the aed, jumnist. In the sanctum sanc|torum of the Met Publicity De-| | partment, it is rumored about that! |the author of the two poems was) , i } period of 6 weeks, starting 3/| big shows — including all stage,|none other than Harry Royster, | weeks before the close of school | lants, and the entire plan executed | | with precision, the result will be increased matinee grosses. And ;Such result is important in off| Setting the decline in evening busi|mess which invariably accom pa| nies this period of the year.” H A subsequent interview is prom-| jised te Publix OPINION, which | will deal with a plan to further | | Offset the aforementioned declines in night grosses. : ; |The Campaign follows: — LOBBY nently displayed in ‘Rest Rooms, | screen and orchestral features by attending the— (fade) Metropolitan Bargain Matinee 11 A. M. to 1 P. M. Ménday to Friday inclusive (fade) Your Metropolitan is One of America’s Gredtest Summer Re sorts At the end of the 3rd week in June skeleton trailer copy to continue thruout summer. NBWSPAPER Small slug to appear in all ads 1. Set Pieces to be promi-| —Everyday (except Saturday and | Sunday) and continue thruout | Smoking Rooms, Grand and Mez-/ summer. In laying out above dis |Zanine Lounges and | landings. PA. "OTe period. |B... Copy — “Bargain Matinees | |—-35¢e 11 A. M. to 1 P. M. Mon| Stairway | , remain. for indefinite | play word Bargain and 35c. Week of May 25th 1. Continue all of above Week of June ist 1. Continue activities of weeks May T8th and 25th. himself, and it was he who plant-| /ed them in the paper. to the creative manager. .; | The point herein emphasized is | |the importance of starting a bar-! rage of such tie-ups at this point in the campaign—one week before | the close of school—and continuing one week thereafter. : Week of June Sth | 1. Cooperative tie-up with | down town stores on following | basis: “Do your shopping during the | ;}morning hours—and rest awhile at the —Cool—Comfortable— | Convenient Metropolitan. | Attend before 1 P.:-M.—See the | Complete Show——etc., etc.” This tié-up has the following | possibilities depending on local Pconditions: a. A newspaper section or double truck. : : b. Cooperative heralds to be distributed in packages of all merchants, . We he e. Banners on merchants’ trucks. | organized sa the most pot the theatre m L. Whitehead Florida. — % Commenting Katz on the tered statemen can be lifted, M clares that its t ualized in the b of Thomas Edis ing industry, “The theatre says Mr. Whit of the most effecti Publix, has “gone | ‘ “Every lost m glected by-produce head declares. “f steady rc | tion of the odd-mom ‘promotion Publix.’ ; ‘ FREE HALF Pag Following a tip wi from PUBLIX OPIN change with the | Pat sis Im year! {22% 0. Friday inelusive, TS! 2. Start heavy sniping cam-|4-, Window and counter displays. lose of school. | Ads and Trailers! | SPe#t Bargain. performance in-| paign thruout city and surround-|_,%Complete sniping campaign cose Of school. oe cludes all stage, screen and orches-| started Week of June ist. eae er Se HOD Tt wi cata! Children are free. Mothers no longer need to “concentrate on the task of seeing that the children study their lessons. Both children and mothers have time free for other things. It is : , however not the | Come before purpose of this 1 P. M. selling plan to |to see Comdiscourse on the | plete Stage causes of Box|Screen and office fluctuation Orckestra at this ‘period. Program Its purpose igs CHOICE merely to point SEATS out that such | PROMPTLY! fluctuation does exist — and to SHOPPER BARGAIN MATINEE 25¢ plan a way to ride on the crest of increased matinee possibilities to maximum results. “A similar campaign conducted in our Southwestern Unit operdtions during the. past two years netted splendid results. Between the period from June 1st to Sept. 1st the Palace Theatre, Dallas, for example, enjoyed a complete fill every day from Monday thru Friday at these hours. There was less fluctuation of our Bargain tral features.’’ : 2. Large Panel with Copy sim-| | ilar to above to be placed in outer | | lobby. Indefinite period. : SCREEN 1. Copy A— ; Are you taking advantage of | | the biggest theatrical bargain in | Boston? | (fade) C’mon Join the Happy Throngs | (fade) See each week's glorious show | | —-Complete—including all stage, | } j : t | | Screen and orchestral features— | by attending the— (fade) | Metropolitan Bargain Matinee | (fade) 11 A. M. to 1 P. M. Monday to | Friday inclusive for ; | (fade) | 35c Plan now—-attend every week. | these Bigger and Better Metropolitan shows cannot be equaled in Boston nor excelled anywhere in America. } pede l a. Trailer with copy similar to the above to start week of May | 18th and continue thru week of June ist. b. Prepare second trailer with following suggested copy to go on June 8th, and continue for 3 weeks. : ing territory. Bill heavily in vicinity of opposition suburban houses. This will break down the sales resistance offered by the suburban theatres invariably lower basic scale of admission prices. 3: Start cooperative tie-ups with as many chain stores as possible. A cireus herald bearing ‘a number is inserted in each package leaving each store for a period of 4 weeks. Lucky numbers are displayed on neat panel in theatre’s outer lobby, Persons holding lucky numbers get free ticket to} see show. This cannot be advertised in the newspapers nor direct by mail-due to lottery angle, Numbers are changed each week, Circus heralds inserted in packages play up bargain to limit and sell current show. The psychology of this tie-up is the APPEAL OF THE BARGAIN PRICE TO A BARGAIN HUNTING ELEMENT. 4. Start a.two dr possibly a three weeks’ tie-up with the largest local dairy. The milk and cream | delivered for the breakfast tabie to have hanger over the neck of the bottle. Copy plugs bargain matinee and the benefits to be derived from @ more liberal use of company’s milk or dairy products, 5. The above are only two ordinary suggested tie-ups, Countless others will present themselves 3. Change screen trailer as per 18th, ; Weeks of June 15th and 22nd | The significance of these two weeks as part of the campaign is | merely to keep up momentum. | Everything started previously | should be kept alive. The only pitfall in this campaign is the failure to follow thru to a definite conclusion. Guard against this, : Arthur Swanke of copy under heading of Week May | Theatre, Anderson the local paper in co-operative am |“Let’s Go To A was published in. Publix Opinion original model from Minneapoll there were only Anderson, his ¢ Manager Swan get a half pa ee NAME TIE-UP! Taking advantage of the similarity between “Su an name of an ice-cream, and “Sonny Boy,” the pict theatre, Manager M. A. Baker, of the Publix Colf Bend, Ind., effected a tie-up which got him seve Paper as well as 100 of these stickers on soda fo over town, Y 7