Publix Opinion (Dec 27, 1929)

PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF DECEMBER 271n, 1929 2 we It SCREEN PLUGS “OUT” Any advertiser who knows his business, or any pressagent competent to hold his job, knows of the intense-attention and vast audiences held daily by the motion picture screen. Consequently they devote great ingenuity and effort to “ctash” thru with a “plug” for their particular enterprise. Most of these promoters are clever enough salesmen to’ get results from their effort to “sell” the theatre manager. Consequently each of their successful efforts increases the numbers of the army that beseiges your screen. NOTE THESE DONT’S! AALS Contributors to PUBLIX OPINION are requested NOT to send ad-records. DON’T attach material to your ad-records and ask that it be sent to PUBLIX OPINION. Take care of your ad-record requirements independently of PUBLIX OPINION, as ordered. MAKE your contributions to PUBLIX OPINION a separate and distinct effort.. This is to prevent confusion in two different departments. Don’t write to the Home Office advertising department and say “send this to PUBLIX OPINION.” Send separate specimens and a separate report yourself. Don’t expect to see everything you send to “the voice of Publix” re-produced. We only have 12 pages, and can’t use everything. We want repeatable specimens of ticket-selling effort, as well as news of repeatable operations-effort. Don’t expect to see articles or pictures published for the purpose of vanity-tickling. We repeat our often stated policy on this. We’d like to print everything, but we haven’t enough space to play fair with all of the showmen of 1200 theatres—and we won’t discriminate. BY YOUR DEEDS only shall you be known — providing those who might find themselves facing the same problem you successfully solved—and providing they come within the best selection of available material. EUAN NNN DALLAS BOYS ARE KNOCKING’EM OFF! Proof that the men of the Dallas District are alive comes from Bob Kelley, of the district office: Explanations follow. (1) An example of two co-operative heralds. Four page picture sections containing plenty of plugs for the theatre and shows, paid for by the merchant getting the back page. (2) Two heralds also paid for by merchants. (3) Three co-operative ads featuring stars of attractions. Paid for by merchants. All of these were done for the Melba Theatre by Maurice Rosenfield, originally employed as a sound checker, but now engaged in doing exploitation work. (4) Two pictures of the front of the Palace Theatre, Dallas, dressed up in compoboard to fit the attractions. Cost of the front was little more than the cost of regular display cards which were marked off for the occasion. H. Swiger is manager of the theatre. (5) Two newspaper tie-ups. Paper gave space and theatre gave passes in one case and photographs of Clara Bow in the other. (6) Printed cards featuring the Colleen Moore Hollywood Wave were placed in 200 beauty parlors and barber shops without the use of a single pass. Notice in every instance on this page how well the theatre and show were sold. Because of this fact, Mr. Katz has issued a strict order that under no circumstance is there to be any screen credit or “plug” on the screens, unless approval is obtained from home office management and advertising department. This approval can only be given in cases where unusually valuable return is made to the theatre. Propaganda film, political trailers and mercantile plugs for “prizes” all come under this head. Advertising tieups that depend upon screen-plugs are invariably not worth their cost in patron-annoyance. If advertising space could be bought on our screens, it would be worth a dozen times its comparative circulation cost in a newspaper. That screen space is not for sale. Where a tieup is made, and a screen credit is given, at least the theatre is entitled to its proper “rate.” Those showmen who are ever-willing to make a screen-tieup, are also usually 2| willing to sell out a valuable asset for a trifling consideration. HULL ALLL ANNUAL = ecords 4 . unewick Radio EX ‘ ic AT lew Brunswic woe st WORD IN New Breton Tose Rade Fea 2 ON ne Melba Theatre Coes Melba eco \ Hollywood Waves! é . ASK THE MANAGER! See and Hear COLLEEN in= “FOOTLIGHTS and FOOLS” sang PALACE STARTS FRL NOV. 15 Se 9 BLUE MONDAY HIT BY STAGE RADIO HOUR Division Director Milton H. Feld suggests an effective stunt for building up Monday business in the form of a popular program of radio entertainment to be broadcast from the stage of the theatre after the last show on Monday, at which the audience is invited to remain. The theatre orchestra may be used in those houses that have one. The unit stage talent is under contract to broadcast without charge and can be used in unit houses. Special stunts can be built up with individual musicians lor group of musicians as well as musical personalities. Also, local talent, selected at private auditions, may broadcast. The theatre and radio audience can decide by written votes which is the most popular of these local entertainers, and the prize will be a definite number of weeks employment on this radio hour at a moderate salary. a Sell Advertiser The main obstacle—that of the charge for time on the air—can easily be overcome by getting some local live-wire advertiser to as sume the costs for the obvious ma terial benefits he will derive from a weekly radio broadcast that will attract the attention such a program will. However, it must be specifically understood that in all announcements, the name of the theatre and the fact that the program is being broadcast from the stage, are to be mentioned. For straight sound houses that have no orchestra or talent, the advertiser must be sold the idea of engaging a band and entertainers with the offer to handle the program for him and broadcast it each week from the stage of the theatre with an audience present. The attention getting value of the theatre’s name and the guaranteed audience in the house, as well as that of the air,—assured by the millions of dollars spent in establishing the association between Excellence in Entertainment and a Publix Theatre—should make it very easy to sell the merchant on this idea. Important Angle The most important feature of the whole scheme is the announcer, who has to be, not only a | clever Master of Ceremonies, but a person who can keep up a spirit of spontaneous enthusiasm and work hokum stunts of every character so that the program stands out to radio audiences as unique and unusual. For example, he will start out by describing the theatre in a few short phrases, speak about the large audience packing the house to capacity and invite everyone listening in to join the jolly crowd next Monday and take part in the festivities. ; A good stunt to work in this connection is to announce the largest vocal chorus ever broadcast and then call on the audience to do a typical community singing number led by the organist. Innumerable similar stunts’ will quickly develop, once the idea is gotten under way. B18°-B-0+-O-1O2-O-0+-O-+O2-O-00*-O-O*-O-28:-D-O* SO" S 8° O09 2 FROM ACROSS THE SEA : : : ¢ The influence of PUBLIX é OPINION is not only felt in ¢ 1200 theatres in the United : States, but also in many ® foreign countries where Par¢ amount theatres are located. ¢ Mel G. Lawton, editor of ¢ “The Paramount, Punch,” in t Sydney, Australia, thanks 4 this publication for the many ; excerpts he has used, which 2 were first noted in ‘‘the offit cial voice and idea exchange ; for Publix theatres every; where.” ° BO -O-08eOO D8 +-O--O2-O-2O*90> OO OO" -D 98+ G0--G0"-G 0" OO: O 0-28 0-82-28 -O-#O+-O-O+SOOO" SO G8" G18" S181 S NEON ATE ROP Se shite Sug si fitwbehits) cL tata now aes eas) men