Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

AIR FAX: Guest stars of national prominence also do a five-minute stretch on each program. Example: Gene Sheldon did some fast work with his banjo; Eric Brotherson presented his famous Russian Composers Song. First Broadcast: September 10, 1942. Broadcast Schedule: Thursday, 1:05-1:30 P.M. Preceded By: News. Followed By: Music. Sponsor: Philadelphia Record. Station: WFIL, Philadelphia, Pa. Power: 1,000 watts. Population: 2,081,602. COMMENT: Prize awards here give the broadcast a hard to resist appeal to housewives out for a bit of fun in the early afternoon. High pressure promotion creates initial interest, the aptness of the prize sustains it. (For pic, see Showmanscoops, p. 25.) Restaurants MATINEE WHAM While Sunday morning may be a time for late sleeping, Sunday afternoon is a horse of a different color. Then the hep cats, and the jitterbugs, as well as those disposed toward more sedate entertainment, are ready to cut a rug or two. Likewise, Sunday afternoon is a horse of a different color for the night club operator whose business is on the outskirts of town. While the Sunday afternoon pleasure seeker and the operator on city's edge may be poles apart, radio got them together in Minneapolis, Minn. With an established audience built up over a period of 20 weeks of broadcasting. Matinee Wham was no guinea pig for the Turf Club when it took on sponsorship. Answer to sponsor Norm Garvey's problem of packing them in is a spicy dish concocted of dialogue, comedy and music. Aperitif: Dollars or Dinners. On-the-spot contestants identify a tuneful earful served up by Vic Lessine's sultans of swing. Those who call the right ditty get a crisp one dollar bill for their trouble. Those from whom a blank is drawn do a stunt. Since stuntsters win a Turf Club Sunday dinner for their efforts, contestants win coming and going. With the pattern cut to fit the times, show also includes a special weekly Victory tribute to Twin Cities defense plants who receive the Navy "E" Award. Since Matinee Wham is immediately followed by the regular Turf Club floor show, sponsor gives Twin City vocalists a look-in. Both amateur and professional has a chance to compete over a series of five weeks for a floor show spot with pay. At the end of each five-week run, contest begins all over again. Listener response as indicated by letters sent in after each contest determines the vocalist contest winners. Although the only commercial for the Turf Club comes at the half-way point in the hour-long show, increased business keeps waiters and entertainers humping during what would ordinarily be the Sunday afternoon lull. On the up-and-up, too, is the show's listening rating, which went in three months from a Hooper rating of 5.7 to 17.9. Emcee: John Salisbury. AIR FAX: First Broadcast: 1940. Broadcast Schedule: Sunday, 4:05-5:00 P.M. Preceded By: News. Followed By: News. Sponsor: Turf Club. Station: WMIN, St. Paul, Minn. Power: 250 watts. Population: 488,687. COMMENT: Sponsors who give the fans a reason for coming in are seldom disappointed. Plenty of fanfare, lots of showmanship, keep clients coming back time and again. While the sponsor must, of course, get full credit and his just reward for his sponsorship, a good show is still the best way of harvesting good will. Essential in broadcasts of this kind is a personality emcee to pace the show. With such a set-up, audiences will automatically snow-ball up into sizeable numbers over a period of time. JANUARY, 1 943 29