Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

three program series do a superb ad\crtising job for Hudson Bay. Showmanship in business is essential in a world that thrives on showmanship. Radio, therefore, to any businessman who has a flair for showmanship, is a natural. Oius is a dignified, high-type store, yet showmanship of the calibre befitting oiu' store, is always used. We are ardent believers in radio advertising. It has proved time and again to oiu' complete satisfaction that it does a marvelous job bot^h as an institutional medium, and as a direct-sales puller. Hudson Bay has used all the advertising media: newspaper, billboard, car cards, throw-aways and direct mail. Radio has one advantage over all other media, and this one factor has made it the most effective media that Hudson Bay has used. That element is the factor of flexibility. Until the program is actually on the air both the program and commercial content can be changed to meet any unexpected emergency. Versatility is another credit on the ledger for radio; interesting programs can be built to do any specific job. It's true that to get his merchandise story over to the public, any advertiser needs a fresh approach, but it's no trick to achieve that end when radio is the advertising media used. With its immense coverage, radio reaches the public at a minimum per-person cost and editorial content guarantees a receptive audience. Our own radio shows have run the gamut of everything from diama to spot transcriptions and newscasts. People still remember the Hudson Bay Singtime broadcast by remote control Sunday e\enings from the bandstand at Salt Lake's Liberty Park at 9:30. This program which played to a Sunday night live audience of several thousand persons featured the KDYL orchestra, and the entire audience joined in to sing familiar songs. It is because of such programs that Hudson Bay takes pride in looking back at the large number of locallyoriginated programs ^vhich it has sponsored over KDYL. In our experience, prograins are the key to successfid radio advertising. Back in the days when radio stations used to ad-lib spot announcements from newspaper tear sheet, Hudson Bay took its first flyer in broadcasting. At that lime, when any radio station would sell you as many spots a day as you would buy, we used as many as 20 daily spot announcements on KDYL. That picture has changed. It isn't good advertising^, and it isn't good radio to blanket anv one station with a flock of spot announcements, and we early came to see the wisdom of using programs instead of 50-word and 100-word announcements. What specifically, has radio done for Hudson Bay? It has become the bestknown name in fiu' retailing in the entire Intermoiuitain WY'st. and we attriblUe this widespread recognition almost whollv to radio! Sweet sixteen was Fred Provol wlieyi he put aside his books, left forever the portals of learning. Sot fickle in his allegiance is store manager Provol: ever since the da^' he left school he lias been associated with the Hudson Bay Fur^Co., Salt Lake City, Ut. Always on the alert for the unusual, he has experimented witli all types of advertising and tnerchandising, is still goifig strong. For experimenter Provol, radio adx'ertising dates back to 1925, has long since left the experimental stage. Unable to sit on the side lines, watch a promising new industiy burst into full bloom, he has in his day owned It is own radio station, now confines himself entirely to retailing and merchandising. His current pride and joy is a fine new home where the welcome mat is always out for his x'ast circle of friends. Among those who pause at his house by the side of the road, friend-to-man Prox'ol's prowess as a stoiy teller is a constant source of wonder and delight. NOVEMBER, 1943 375