Publix Opinion (Jan 10, 1930)

MANUAL URGES AUIVE LOBBY” STUNTS To keep the theatre ballyhoo in pace with the living screen, Madeline Woods, Director of Advertising and Publicity for PublixGreat States Theatres, has issued a manual urging all managers in that group of theatres to adopt the “Live Lobbies’”’ idea.. The idea is to use local talent for displays in the lobby tying in the picture to play at that house the following week, or sometime in the near future. This does not mean the employment of professional entertainers to put on ‘acts in the lobby, as is done in some of the larger metropolitan de luxe theatres. If the amateurs engaged for this purpose can play an instrument or sing, then, this talent should be utilized but essentially, they should serve as a display and not as an Act. | Miss Woods further emphasizes that the use of stills, posters, etc. is NOT to be abandoned and, of course, the regular canopy decorations in the form of cut-outs, electric:signs, etc. will be used as in the past. Also victrolas, loud speakers, etc., to play the theme songs. * Here are some excellent suggestions for building up an interest in your lobbies, the show windows of your theatre. Amplify, elaborate, develop and adapt them to your ‘town conditions and] send PUBLIX OPINION a photo, graphofyour “Live Lobby.’ Will Impress Public “We are confident that this sort of exploitation will do much to impress the public with the thought that it is, indeed, a new showworld,’ Miss Woods said, ‘‘and that the events we are advertising are of signal importance. “To avoid sameness and to preclude the possibility of such lobby ballyhoos becoming ineffective, it is most important that considerable thought be given to each one so that your ‘Live Lobbies’ will vary in type. Furthermore, you _ should not use a ‘Live Lobby’ on every attraction that comes along unless, of course, the series of bookings is such that each picture lends itself to a very different type of ‘Live Lobby’. “After you go over your book-. ings and the suggestions offered by the Publix Manual, our own campaigns, and the press sheet, etc., see whether or not the ‘Live Lobby’ plan cam be arranged through merchant co-operation. Very frequently the costumes or of SSIS USES a Lc Ae ea OOO 0-0-0101 0s-O01-D-109-O1O+-O 01-0102 0:-O 18+ O--8" Publix | Bouquet! :; ‘In view of the world wide importance of putting THE VAGABOND KING over in the manner it deserves, will you please make .arrangements to have 100 copies reserved for our use of any announcements, circulars, broadsides, exploitation ideas | 3 and any other material is« sued in this country for the publicizing and exploitation of THE VAGABOND KING,” « requests O. R. Geyer of ?¢ Paramount’s Foreign Thea3 tre Operating Department. ¢ “This material we want for ¢ each of our district and } branch managers abroad. ® ‘We feel that with the : inspiration of the material ?¢ which will be developed here, ; q O2D9 O°-S+S °O*-O S*-S1O*-OO°-@ the Foreign Department will _be in a position! to give THE ¢ VAGABOND KING the great¢ est international campaign « ever conducted on behalf of ; a Paramount Picture.”’ . ; é @ -e-0 SO" DOs DOs DOs S105 DD 18+DOr O-+ Oe O-1O0-O1Or-O 10s S100 OOO 10+ G1 O0-O-1Oe-O Oe-S1O-D-O+OOOO O-O0-@ O10: O10 +-©+0+-@+0--©-8+-O-+0+-0-+0:-€-10--@--0--0-0--0--0--e ; ANNA NUN LA AIMCO , PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF JANUARY 10rx, 1930 Doubtless some of the items listed fit your needs. FORECAST FOR FEBRUARY! STUDY IT TODAY !! Herewith is the second page of the Special 1930 Forecast calendar being prepared by PUBLIX OPINION. Or perhaps you can add some more thoughts to the list. Study it, and do SOMETHING. Ina few more days, your theatre will receive from “PUBLIX OPINION,” the complete calendar itself. It will have, in handy, eye-catching form, the week-by-week-reminders you want. When you get it, check it over, and add a list of your own. Your Editor put in a terrific amount of research work to compile it for you, ‘and now it’s up to you to improve it, so that future annual issues of this calendar will be more comprehensive, and serviceable. an unsatisfactory one. “If each theatre were operated by the owner and he stayed on the job constantly, economies in operation would be enforced that would make the difference between an equitable profit and RUN YOUR THEATRE ON THIS BASIS, AS THOUGH YOU OWNED IT, and your weekly reports will show improvement.”—-DAVID J. CHATKIN, Gen enral Director of Theatre Management. “PUBLIX OPINION—one of your si into 1. a happy, healthy, effective unity!” Don’t let your MONDAY BUSINESS turn into ‘‘blue” or “red.” Plenty of remedyreference available. Weekly department staff meetings? Are you building SUNDAY matinee business? (See PUBLIX OPINION, Vol. Ill, Nos. 10, 12.) : Lent begins on February 13th and lasts until March 30th. Plug Music Sales for Profit! Does ‘Daylight Saving’’ hurt your box-office? What do you do? Tie-up with street car or cab companies for special roundtrip rates to theatre during bad weather. Make Local Contracts for Spring Style Shows! What else beside programs attracts or repels patronage? Be careful about signing reports handed you by employees without a good knowledge of contents. Lincoln’s’ Birthday stitutional story in your local papers. Also a paragraph in your ads, posters, trailers. Get hunches in PUBLIX. OPINION file. Income Tax Payments are due March 15. Prepare to offset this temporary shortage of funds for amusement | 22. purposes. 20. 21. Today. | 23. Was it anticipated? Help to stop the waste in good, repeatable ideas. Tell ’em TODAY to the whole circuit via PUBLIX OPINION (the official ‘‘voice’’ and ‘idea exchange’’). Valentine’s Day is Did you ‘‘anticipate’’ cash in? Don’t let your MONDAY BUSINESS turn into ‘blue’ or ‘“‘red.’’ Are you building SUNDAY matinee business? (See PUBLIX OPINION, Vol. III, | 27. Nos. 10, 12.) Today. and Check news that binds Publix Theatres and Publix Personnel —SAM KATZ Pay bills for discounts? Are your ‘‘fronts’’ and posters lively and colorful enough to halt passersby? Does every member of your staff like a daily ‘‘selling assignment?’”? Why not? It develops manpower! ; Washington’s Birthday Today! Did you anticipate it? Inspect the properties in your care every week. Remember, elimination of dirt saves re-decorating costs. cooling plant for needed repairs. Spot Publix and Paramount trademarks in all ads, trailers, and posters! MANAGERS! Send your weekly reports in ON TIME. Read all the trade papers regularly. Fan magazines, too! What do you do to build up those low-level hours at the Box Office? Exercise a proper control over employees handling tic va = sf LA due; ment. power? HOA uy settings, such as a couch, chair, radio, piano, or whatever is required, can be obtained from merchants who should be most eager to lend this assistance for the valuable advertising involved. “Tf the ‘Live Lobby’ must have fancy costumes, you can still get a portion of the needed apparel or equipment from some local concerns.”’ é Suggestions Outlined Miss Woods roughly outlines the following suggestions in ‘Live Lobbies’ for a few pictures: “GOLD DIGGERS OF BROADWAY”: A girl, or several girls in the lobby dressed as pirates with a pirate chest (which can be a trunk painted with gilt and studded with glitter). Each girl should bave a shovel (purchased at 5 & 10 cent store) with which she should ladle out butter-scotch wafers. which look like gold, from the top layer of the trunk. The girls pass the wafers to pa by ‘means shovel. Little shovels of yrange colored cardboard can be made imprinted with an ad for the picture, to be handed out. In addition to this display, theme song records should be played on a Victrola, as usual, or on loud speaker connected with sound apparatus or Victrola in the office. Perhaps you can get a man to play the guitar in the lobby, doing the REMEMBER THIS! The most successful live lobby display is the one that is gotten up at the expense lof LOTS of brain power, energy, ingenuity, initiative, selling ability and NO money — or at least, as little of it as possible! Primary election day nearly significant copy slant “Blect Clara Bow,” etc. Check all mechanical equipAre you practising ‘job rotation’? to develop the brain-power of your man Place a theatre or circuit in Coming!! Patrick’s 17th.) tions. Order Nick Lucas song: hits in the evening only, between shows when you have a hold-out, or a crowd coming in. “Rio Rita’: A girl dressed in a Spanish shawl, mantilla, etc., carrying a basket containing cigarettes which she should distribute to the crowd together with a card advertising the attraction. Cigarettes can be promoted free from a local cigar store. “Sweetie’’?: A girl in sport costume with a box of candy' hearts, either put up in envelopes or wrap ped in tissue paper to which is attached a tag advertising the picture. Candy to be promoted. “Glorifying the American Girl”’: Several girls in parade costumes. They should parade in lobby and also, arrangements should be made whereby they should appear in a store window at a certain time one day during your advance bally| hoo. | “Pointed Heels’: A girl in soubrette costume wearing silk hose and slippers with very high heels should hand jout cards advertising the picture. Good opportunity for tie-up with a hosiery store. Each card could bear a number and copy saying that lucky numbers will be posted in a certain hosiery store window, and the woman kolding the lueky number will win a pair of hose. “Paris’?: A lobby display of luggage with gowns, hats and wraps displayed on hangers and thrown over the trunks with a good-look-| | ing girl presumably engaged in packing, is a good suggestion for. ; this picture. Little dodgers in the form of trunks or other luggage which will advertise the picture can be handed out to patrons. SPRING STYLES. tie-in with local merchants for shows, parades, and ad copy that sells your attrac monthly aw nOKtiIiiI:= (Tc CTTcKcscKnKoocKCKennKnneeR Prepare for St. Day! kets and cash. Managers will create a good moral effect by taking keen interest in this branch of operation. Your Home Office music department has musical help, advice, features and novelties for you, for every occasion. Write for them. (March Prepare supplies? { READ ’EM AND THINK! Holiday greeting cards that tell a bookful, came by the thousand to Your Editor's desk, and they were all appreciated. Some were amusing, and others were serious. Two cards that packed a wallop that everybody in Publix will appreciate, were sent by Division Direc _ tor Jules J. Rubens, of Great-States-Publix, and Marsh Gollner, of the Toledo Princess. Read ’em and giggle—and_think! IU Me = SS RU LNNUTAUUUSGUCU CSTE