Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1944)

iiii^ is also coinniunicalion. C-oinniunic ations change. Smoke fires and the tomtom served the jungle man, but unfortunately, many institiuions are still using forms of communication and ad\ertising that are as oiu of date as the horse and buggy. I, personally, am \er\ much sold on radio as a mediiun for any and every type of institution to advertise its wares and services, and our institution has consistently made use of radio advertising since December '61, 1925. Vou get one big ad\antage when you l)uy radio adxertising. That is the human voice. Since time began, the human \oice has been the nattual and the most tised form of comminiication. Through the miracle of radio, it has become the fastest form of communication with larger audiences than were ever before possible by any means. Most business is conducted upon an exchange of ideas, or the arrival at agreements through the spoken word. Likewise, it's easier to complete arrangements for a loan with a man and wife together in your office than to complete i the transaction by mail. It is equally logical to advertise to them through the spoken word over the radio. The one basic difference from an advertiser's point of view between radio and all other media is that radio uses the human voice for the selling part of its function, and in a personalized service field such as banking, what is more logical than this personalized approach to the client? It shoidd be pointed out that one weakness of banking in its relation to the public has been its failure to explain and interpret its fiuictions and actions. With radio, financial institutions ha\e a chance to create an informed public which can evaluate the services it renders. We are definitely of the opinion that the radio ad\ertising we are doing now is building for us an outlet for oiu' services in the post-war period. We well re iiR'iiibci llie carl) ihiilics when there was practically no business available in our line of endeavor, but we kept on with our radio advertising through the very depths of the depression. AVe subsequently cashed in on the good will and the understanding we had created in the minds of the listeners during those critical times. When lousiness conditions improved, we received our full measure of it. I am comparing present day conditions in our line of business, that is, the home financing held, with the conditions which existed dining the depression period. At that time there were ^ery few sound first mortgage loans available, and the same holds true today. But when the war is over, we anticipate a substantial amount of home buying and building in our community. That is the time when we believe that the fruits of the advertising we are doing today through the medium of radio will ripen. It simmers down to the old, old story of consistency. Twice a week for the first five years, and daily, except Sunday, for the past 13 years, the listening pub'^ lie has heard our commercial mesage. Coupled with consistency, is the factor of as complete coverage as possible. We started our radio activities in 1925, and at that time WHAS was the only local station. As the other three stations came into being, we immediately began to make use of their facilities. Today we advertise daily over all four local stations. Radio has contributed immeasurably to the fact that the Greater Louisville First Federal Savings k Loan Ass'n. is the largest institiuion of its kind in the State of Kentucky. As Louisville's leading home financing institution we have a tremendous stake in post-war developments, and we are' confident that our radio advertising will help us maintain our position of leadership. The prestige and standing which these radio programs create for us today will later be directly reflected in home loans. MAY, 1944 151