Publix Opinion (Nov 14, 1930)

Prosperity Week Is Success Continued from Page Ten) of the eee and R. C. Glasmann of the Orpheum sold the executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce on Prosperity Week, and got that body to sponsor it. BS tier a meeting of 30 of the city’s leading business men shad | been called, the town was divided | into three sections, with Marpole, Glasmann and a newspaper man each in charge of a section and assisted by ten business men. very merchant in Ogden was personally solicited and sold on Prosperity Week, with astonishing | sults. Brivecy store displayed Prosperity Week window cards, procured from the Paramount exchange and paid for by individual merchants. Every clerk, merchant, policeman, waitress — everyone who might; come in contact with the public during theweek—wore ribbons reading ‘“‘Prosperity Week, October 5th to 11th. Let’s Go!” These were made up locally and sold to the merchants. Letters went out to all merchants, professional men and manufacturers from the Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the publicity which city-wide obseryance brought, 75 per cent of newspaper ads carried Prosperity Week slugs or borders. Mayor of Ogden issued a proclamation, and leading stores featured Prosperity Specials and Prosperity Sales. Radio station cooperated fully, tieing in Prosperity Week with each announcement, and using “Happy Days Are Here Again” as a theme song for the week. The Chamber of Commerce of Provo, Utah, also sponsored Prosperity Week, urging merchants to cooperate with Manager Sam I. Levin of the Paramount Theatre. Pottsville, Pa. Prosperity Week campaign of Manager Samuel Freidman of the | Capitol, Pottsville, Pa., is singled out by Mr. A. M. Botsford as particularly worthy of comment, because of its institutional value, particularly important in that city because the situation has been entered only recently by Paramount Publix. Fifty merchants cooperated with Friedman, and were repre SHOW PLUGGER Enjoying amicable relations with the local newspaper force, it was un easy matter for J. F. Thames, Jr., manager of the Saenger, Vicksburg, Miss., to secure the editorial reproduced below. Note, in the last three paragraphs, the mention of attractions at the theatre. “PROSPERITY WEEK.” ‘HE Publix theatres are co-operating with Vicksburg merchants to make a success of “Prosperity Week,” advertised to be held in Vicksburg, October B to IL An effort will be made to “pep things up,” os it ls expressed, bring out-of-town people to Vicksburg, Get people interested im other things than de Pressed conditions, and agsist in definitely turning the tide, locally, at least, toward more prosperous times, ° In order to bring the idea before the public a Houble-page advertisement will appear in the Sun issue of the Post-Herald, and the Publix thea ‘through Manager Thames, will circulate and; have posted through Vicksburg and this section,’ big one-sheeted Uthograph announcing: “Let's go—make your dollar do double’duty! Buy bow end help lft Vicksburg over the top with Menty for all Prosperity Week, October 5-11." _ j For the benefit’ of the theatre-golng public the Saenger theatre will put on an extraordinarily: g00d Program during “Prosperity Week.” <s To begin with, on Sunday and Monday will be chown Milton Sills’ last picture, “Tne Sea Woll.”'! Thén on Tueeday, Wednesday and Thursday will, The week closes wih anotner very good offering, ‘The Santé Fe Trail,” gn outdoor romance starring Arlen, little Mitzi Green; the new Latin Star, Rosita ‘Morena, and Eugene Pallette. Here's noptng for success of “Prosperity Week.” PUBLIX OPI Two of the clippings was heard of all over the state. on this page. =) DROSPERITY: Agee (fexs OCTOBER 52 70 N= | ; hs ns | Akseearny | t co, Ly WZ of Daytona Beach Scenes Free fuoa5 RecN You Write ‘em We Mail ‘em! Store WUIN A Million Eh rity Week Spec! dah f= ARE ANHOUNGED|S.'f 7 BY COMMITTEE |= « Prue for Best Siogan he F {Pri Prosperity Dollar tek Passes Through iy, “ Mayor Proctais Prosperity Week In Daytona Beae sented by booths and displays in the lobby, ramps and foyers of the Capitol. Week was started off by full page cooperative ads in each newspaper, and interest kept alive by consistent advertising of individual merchants during the week, calling attention to their displays at the theatre. Displays drew tremendous wordof-mouth comment, and indubitably placed the merchants in debt to the theatre for future tie-ups and stunts. Business was excellent in spite of an ordinary attraction. Several thousand blocks of ice cream were given patrons leaving the theatre, without any cost to the Capitol whatever. Twentyfive hundred doughnuts were given away on one night by a baking company, and the ice cream manufacturer who supplied the cream also gave away hundreds of children’s puzzles and balloons. Impressiveness of the Capitol’s Observance of Prosperity Week was evidenced by the extensive publicity given the event in Pottsville newspapers. | Detroit | Detroit neighborhood theatres made numerous Prosperity Week tie-ups. Notable were those of Joseph La Rose of the Century and Joe Smouse of the Redford. La Rose assisted his neighborhood paper in getting out a 14page Prosperity supplement, and procured 400 feet of electric garlands for his theatre front from the Detroit Edison Co., gratis. Smouse promoted $300 worth of merchandise from neighboring merchants as part of his effort, and on the night of the drawing broke a Friday night record at the box-office which had stood for two years. PROSPERITY PUBLICITY! Citizens of Daytona Beach, Florida, was at hand when City Manager E: A. Crane unleashed. his campaign. ¢ I reproduced here are from the Florida Times: Union, Jacksonville paper—Crane stirred up so much activity that it Starting }Y~ 300 Picture Cards 7 ees 0 knew that Prosperity Week Read about his efforts in the story PROSPERITY\S/ WEEK © Cr se ty — QUALITy BY SLR UPPENHEIMER ‘PRoses — : <2] YOWELLHALIFAX CLEANERS|x2 ?/ DREWCO, AND DYERS) jx ff) CELERRATE THEIR FOURTH AND LAST me ] DOLLAR DAY PERT —MONDAY, OCT. 6— Celebrete ‘O01 With « Fresk, Clean Wer i aconte At ore Than 100 | Expect Ta Attend ¥ Prosperity Dinner 2 ferry or Clety Dette Made Wry Old Ny "Pression ye | O) $A \S AEA Ah « A AMS a aw is | Watertown, S. D. Prosperity Week meant two full-page co-op ads to Manager J. C. Ewing of the Colonial, Watertown, S. D. One devoted onefourth of the space to ‘Follow Thru,” current attraction, the other one-half. First National Bank tie-up paid for one ad, which offered $1 in a PRODUCT Promotes Prosperity! savings account to each Watertown child born during Prosperity Week. One day of Prosperity Week was set aside to get out-of-town people to visit the city that day. Ewing and Percy Long, manager of the Lyric, had the full cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce. Idea was for the merchants to offer exceptional bargains, free entertainment, free lunches and other inducements to get people into town. Naturally the theatres could not be given away for free shows, but arrangements were made for the Chamber of Commerce to buy the theatres for the afternoon. The rental paid was far in excess of the usual matinee intake. For attractions, second-run pictures were secured at practically no cost. Tickets for these free shows were obtainable only from the merchants of the city. Not only did the matinee rentals boost the theatre grosses for the week, according to District Manager A. EB. Ableson, but many outof-town visitors stayed over to pay full box-office prices for the new attractions opening in the evening. NION, WEEK OF NOVEMBER 14ru, 1930 International Campaign Opens Plaza In El Paso An international campaign completely covering cities within a radius of two hundred miles from El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, reached its climax ‘in the opening of the Publix Plaza, El Paso, on September 12th. Three special newspaper editions in English and one in Spanish featured the campaign. One month before the opening, ten leading business houses of Kl Paso imprinted theatre copy on backs of their mailing envelopes. A week later, two leading hotels sent special invitations to leading citizens, Mayors, officials and Chamber of Commerce heads within the 200 mile radius which comprises El Paso’s trading area. Il Paso’s Chamber of Commerce was also active, sending letters to similar organizations and press stories to newspapers. This activity on the part of merchants and the Chamber of Commerce cost the theatre nothing whatever. Teaser Trailers Three weeks in advance of opening, teaser trailers went into the four other Publix theatres in Bl Paso, to be succeeded weekly thereafter by new trailers, Two weeks before opening, special beaver board cutouts showing the theatre front with opening date copy were placed in stores, hotels and theatre lobbies. Outdoor campaign was launched a month in advance of opening. Twenty-four sheets designed by the Dallas advertising office were posted in every city and town in the vicinity of El Paso, meaning, in Texas, within a couple of hundred miles. This was followed up two weeks later by a widespread barrage of press stories in out-oftown papers, and simultaneous posting of three sheets, one sheet and window cards in towns in El Paso’s immediate vicinity. In El Paso and Juarez, all vacant stores were covered with paper and window cards, three weeks in advance. One week before the opening, the Chamber of Commerce decorated all principal streets with flags, which remained in evidence for two days after the opening. This cost the theatre nothing. On opening night, all buildings near the theatre were lighted and decorated with flags and bunting, Radio Utilized _ Radio came into play two weeks in advance of opening, with eight annouucements over one station and two daily for a week G6ver another. On the night before opening, El Paso merchants paid for two and one-half hours, which, added to the theatre's half hour, furnished a solid three-hour program of Plaza congratulations and publicity. Total cost to the theatre for this was $45 and eight passes, Newspaper publicity and advertising built up steadily to the day before the opening, when both afternoon papers came out with special eight-page sections, to be followed the next morning by similar sections in a morning paper and in I] Continental, most important paper in northern Mexico, which extends its circulation to Spanish-speaking Texans as well. Philco tie-up arranged by Manager Carlos Frias was unusually effective. Cooperative double spreads appeared in two newspapers three days before opening, plugging ‘Follow Thru,’ initial attraction. Phileo dealers also purchased, imprinted and distributed 5,000 rotogravures, at no cost to the theatre. These were carefully distributed from house to house, five days before opening. Co-op Ads Guessing contest on the number of lamps in the Plaza front, planted in a newspaper which has morning and afternoon editions, procured 56 inch co-op ads in each edition at a cost of 30 guest tickets as prizes. One week before opening, ten special windows were painted by the Plaza artist, and ten special beaver board frames with 22x28 photos placed in windows of leading stores. At the same time, 50 street car banners carried opening copy, changed on opening week to picture copy. Miscellaneous exploitation included imprinting of hotel and restaurant menus throughout El Paso and Juarez, invariably without cost to the theatre. Entire campaign was handled by Manager Carlos Frias, assisted by members of the division advertising staff in Dallas. THIS TOOK SELLING! Commenting on the initial fall issue of the Ski-U-Mah, University of Minnesota humorous monthly, the student daily noted the fact that it mentions the Minnesota Theatre, ace Publix house in Minneapolis, some ten times. It was actually thirteen times, as the clippings here show, that the theatre and its popular master of ceremonies, Lou Breese, came in for mention—indication of the degree to which the theatre has been sold-to the 15,000 U. of M. students. Ad at the right appeared in the same issue; one at the left goes in the next issue. They're the work of Hale Cavanaugh, assistant advertising manager of the Minnesota Theatre. rey ome fh SEES cane Ras toe om mee | Cort, alee votre On ea Nt Ae ant ee tw phy wee oe fave org 00 at 9 honey Whew whe cha thas tht Minas theweat There ore tree OTT] etn be de or a han Unewrety mapper Se bape 1 Le al RC ing wet Oye Pe le «ese, 1 A meen _< i bare