Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1946)

Quality Hour Does It. / Markwardt Quality Bakery, JopI'm, Mo., Stays Within Its Area, DorDinates the Market With a Personalized WMBH Radio Campaign by WILFRED E, L/NGREN BILL ALirkwardts idea of the way to sell bread is to sell himself, his name and his personality. Since the early days of radio he has considered the air waves the most suitable medium for his personalized advertising campaign. The i\L\RKWARDT Quality Bakery, Joplin. Mo., has been using time on WMBH since 1929. Mr. ALnkwardt sponsored the first spot announcement over the Joplin station, and shortly thereafter contracted for the 12 noon-to-1 P.M. hour on Sundays, the time he still uses. This spot offers him perhaps his greatest listening audience because he finds most families at home most Sundays. The program, (hiality Hour of Music, features recorded music and Mr. Markwardt personally does the annoimcing, the visiting and the advertising. The program is slanted to appeal to the older generation in his audience. When dedications were a part of the program, the persons honored were older people who had taken part in the building of the community. Mr. Markwardt would mention golden wedding anniversaries and mix in some homey philosophy that appealed to listeners of that age. Once a month, he dedicated his program to the old timers. Ihe musical selections were a memory lane of tunes, bringing back old times and old thoughts. Even now many of the songs used on the program are old favorites, and the baker makes frecjuent references to the days when the radio listener used headsets. Behind this jjolic) is Mr. Markwardt's 164 reasoning that in slanting his program to the older folks he reaches a more appreciative audience. But in catering to the older generation, the baker believes he finds a receptive audience which in ttun spreads good will for his product. The old folks tell their children they like tlie program and thus the younger generation is readied through the older. Lhey warned him in the early days that advertising on Sunday wotild be a dangerous policy. His program followed an hotu' of religious music and the listening public, they said, would not like to liear popular mtisic and advertising in the following hour. So he went slowly with his new idea. His first program featined classical, semiclassical and religious pieces. Then he began a transition and offered an hour of Irish melodies. Next came a Spanish hoiu\ and the public, he found, liked the idea. Today his program is built aroinid the sweeter popidar imisic, with Bing C^rosby as the favorite recorded artist. Mr. Alarkwardt puts everything he has into the broadcast in a sincere effort to please his audience. His informal, homespiui comments and short advertising plugs lor his bread are done in the friendly, (hatty manner of a visiting neighbor. Mr. ALukwardt has complete faith in the effectiveness of a personalized radio advertising campaign and reconnnends it to any independent baker who wants to increase his sales by concentration. It is this homey, personal touch that Bill Markwardt uses to sell his bread o\er the air. And he gives his long-po|)ular radio program the most credit for the results shown in the sales record. RADIO SHOWMANSHIP I