Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1942)

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In Switzerland, where a favorable geographic location has for generations nurtured the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, men have long been bred ivith a fierce independence which they have staunchly defended. There, too, in that mountain fastness, craftsmanship in watchmaking and lens grinding has been perfected. Both these elements are a part of the heritage of Progressive Optical's founder, Eugene W. Laisne, shown above, who left his native Switzerland at the age of nine to come with his parents to America. The bright-eyed lad soaked up the culture of the new country, grew to adulthood with one burning ambition: to make fine glasses at a reasonable cost, and to fit those glasses professionally at a price that didn't stretch the purse of the common man. To that end, he worked his way through the Los Angeles School of Optometry. In the 33 years since he established his first optical business in Fresno, he has always fought to attain and maintain that ideal. 46 medium of radio. Our newspaper advertisement that at one time ran in 100 newspapers is now seen in only three, but 12 radio stations are carrying Progressive Eye-Comfort commercials, and a thirteenth station will soon be added to the list. And this is the most surprising part ol the advertising campaign. Each year, the use of radio has permitted Progressive Optical to cut its advertising appropriation down in proportion to sales. At present, the budget is the lowest in years, and the advertising cost per unit per new customer is half what it was formerly. Two factors are responsible for the success of our present radio campaign. First: careful analyzing of the customer's reaction to previous advertising campaigns. Second: a brand new campaign, designed and streamlined to fit the potential customer. People do not like to discuss bad eyesight. Even when they know that their vision is not all it should be, they do not like to be told about it. References to physical weakness are not welcome to the average customer. From our point of view, we suddenly realized that putting emphasis on poor vision was a negative approach to which prospective clients put up an unconscious but very active resistance. If a campaign of the kind we iiad in mind were to be successful, that mental resistance should be reduced to the absolute minimum. Realizing this, Progressive got over on the people's side of the optical business. Instead of bad eyesight, we decided to talk about good vision. Newspaper and billboard advertisements were stopped. Then, we went into a huddle with W. L. Gleeson, head of Radio Station KPRO, Riverside and San Bernardino, Cal., who has designed and handled our radio advertising campaign. ' RADIO SHOWMANSHIP