Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1942)

ture for 10 \ears. The local press refers to Mrs. Brown as 'the most quoted woman in Central Alabama,' a statement which is readily understood when \ou hear her on the air. She has that rare gift: Radio-Personality.'' H. C. SHANN President Montgomery Fair Co. Montgomeiy, Ala. AIR FAX: Program follows no set form, has no distinct pattern, but it is the self-same quarter-hour feature, same talent, same station, same time, that was first heard by WSFA listeners ten years ago. Interviews, and talks on anything under the sun are the staple commodities in the listener's fare. While on occasion, commentator Brown will go through an entire period without a single commercial she sometimes fills the entire quarter-hour with sales talk; changes in store policies, best buys, etc. Like the program itself, commercials are ad-libbed. Interviews with department managers, factory representatives and demonstrators are also taken in stride. Puff for radio: program has resulted in sales of articles extensively advertised in other media without results. First Broadcast: December 13, 1932. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Saturday, 9:159:30 A.M. Preceded By: Transcription. Followed By: News. Sponsor: Montgomery Fair. Station: WSFA, Montgomery, Ala. Power: 1,000 (d). Population: 69,738. COMMENT: Comparatively nominal cost of a program of this kind makes it a good bet for almost any sponsor. An established radiogenic personality builds up a wide listener circle, and consistent users of such programs get full measure in return. Men's Wear NEWS "Our store is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, consistent radio advertiser on \VDAY. AVe feel that radio ad\'ertising has held a very responsible position in building our business. "When we started advertising over WD AY about 15 years ago, we felt that radio would give us better coverage than we could get through any other medium because Fargo is the largest city in this territory, and has a trading area of 100 to 150 miles in all directions. "Our objective, of course, was to gain the largest sales possible. Radio was comparatively new at that time, but we thought we would give it a whirl. We started with a small announcement cam paign, and gradually increased it to the point where we were using one 1 -minute announcement, six days a week, at noontime. "In the fall of 1939, when news became more important due to the war, we decided to buy a ten-minute newscast. \\q immediately noticed increased traffic in sales, although we didn't carry out any particular merchandising campaign with this newscast. "In January of 1940 we conducted a sale and used radio practically exclusively. We foimd that our sales was one of the most successful sales we have had since we've been in business. In February of 1940 we had an increase of 102 per cent over a year ago. Naturally we can't give entire credit to radio, but we feel it was a very great factor. AVe feel that our consistent radio advertising has built business for us for many years to come and that our radio advertising has been the leading outside factor for our success." L. C. DEVENER Vice President Hoivard's Stores, Inc. St. Paul, Minn. AIR FAX: First Broadcast: Fall, 1939. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Saturday, 12:30-12:40 P.M. Sponsor: Howard's Clothing Store, Fargo, No. Dak. Station: WD AY, Fargo, No. Dak. Power: 5,000 watts. Population: 36,669. COMMENT: AVhile even sporadic use of radio ad\ertising pays dividends, Howard's Clothing rightly attributes much of its phenomenal success to its consistent use of the advertising medium best suited to its particular business needs. Dry Goads 750 CLUB "We have just completed our first \car of radio advertising, and we ha\e lound many new customers in the area from three to 50 miles from Portsmouth which we had been unable to reach before through newspaper ad\crtising. AVHEB's y^O Club has not only brought us new friends, but it has 426 RADIO SHOWMANSHIP