Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1942)

Finance GILBERT FORBES NEWS When March 15 rolls around, Uncle Sam's nieces and nephews will have to dig down deep into the family sock, shell out enough in income tax payments to keep the wheels of war rolling smoothly. Big question in the minds of everyone is just what their tax payments are going to be. Telling the awful truth to anxious citizens is the Morris Plan, a personal loan and savings institution, Indianapolis, Ind. Listeners to the Gilbert Forbes Afternoon News program who want information about Federal tax payments are asked to stop in person at the office. An average of 50 persons a day comes into the Morris Plan office to receive a free tax estimate. Offer was made on WFBM's newscasts, and in no other medium. William L. Schloss, president of the Indianapolis Morris Plan, in conjunction with the Binger Advertising Agency, conducted a survey to determine the advertising medium producing the best results for the bank. Conclusive were the facts and figures; Gilbert Forbes obtained the best results per dollar cost. That Sweetheart Soap had picked itself the right man when it began sponsorship of the Gilbert Forbes' noon broadcasts was indicated by the results from a giveaway offer. Listeners who sent in 25c in stamps, accompanied by lour wrappers from cakes of Sweetheart Soap, were offered a brooch. Results from this two weeks' offer: 971 requests! The Indiana Fur Co. has been busy as a beaver since it began sponsorship of the nightly news broadcasts three times a week. While copy has been strictly in stitutional, the sponsor has seen continual sales increases since it first went on the air in October, 1939. Highlight at High Noon, another Gilbert Forbes news show, has been sponsored each Sunday noon since January 21, 1940, by the Victor Furniture Co. In two one-minute announcements, the sponsor made the following offer to new customers: 50c down payment on an item advertised exclusively on this single broadcast. The next day, 50 new accounts had been opened with the purchase of this particular item. Currently WFBM offers a large size map of the world to all listeners who send in 10c to cover mailing costs. Listed on the reverse side is WFBM's complete weekly schedule of news broadcasts. Two days after the offer was first made, 6,000 requests were received. Mail response came from every one of Indiana's 92 counties, with an out-of-state following that extended from Florida to Minnesota. air FAX: First Broadcast: August 10, 1940. Broadcast Schedule: Daily except Sunday, 5:45-6:00 P.M. Preceded By: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Golden Treasury of Song; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, CBS Musical Feature. Followed By: Amos and Andy. sponsor: Morris Plan of Indianapolis. Station: WFBM, Indianapolis, Ind. Power: 5,000 watts. Population: 422,666. Agency: Binger Advertising. COMMENT: That regularly scheduled news programs do have a tremendous following is indicated by the success of these many sponsors. Most important conclusion to be gleaned from these facts and figures is that the addition of a name personality insures the commercial success of a news show. It is difficult to definitely determine whether the personality makes the news show successful or whether the present importance of news broadcasts makes the personality successful. Certainly, we can say that the two go hand-in-hand. Surveys show that the average listener will turn to namenews-voices (local and national) instead of regular station announcers even if both are reading the same news items. 66 RADIO SHOWM A N S H I P