Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

the public utility company cannot overlook (1) the impact the ad\eitiser wants to make on his audience; (2) the specific purpose behind the campaign; and (3) the nature of the program itself. In some campaigns, the primary object is to reach some limited nimiber of listeners day after day. For example, the Pacific Gas and Electric's "Evening Concert" of classical music would appeal to a limited audience, but it w^oidd reach this audience regularly seven times a week. In other campaigns, the purpose is to reach as many families as possible as frequently as possible. It was this objective that influenced the St. Augustine (Florida) Gas Comj^any to sponsor the "St. Augustine Ncwsreel" over WFOY, six times a week on a long-term contract. ^Vhile a daily schedule creates the maximum impression on the listening audience, the purpose behind a campaign to some extent determines the frequency of a broadcast campaign. Sales are one thing, and selling is pretty much a dayin-day-out proposition. An institutional campaign is something else again, and most campaigns of this nature for public tuilities companies are on a weekly, nighttime schedule. Programs aired every day must have a relatively simple format, and there must be sufficient available material to maintain a consistent level of performance. A case in point is the combination of piano and songs, featiuing Jack AV^ells, wiiich the (Consumer's Public Power Project sponsored six times a week over KFAB, Omaha, Nebraska, at 12:15 p.m. Since both musical programs and newscasts can (ojuinuc iiulefinitely and since both reach a large, diversified audience, advertisers on a daily schedule place heavy rcliaiHc upon sikIi offerings. )iisi as suich. other progiams call loi" A less liccjucnt scluclulc. For example, the Gity of Duhith (Minnesota) Water X: Light Depart ni(ni sponsored a weekly "Bond Spiel" oxer \VERG on a weekly schedule as a waiiimc series. It was effective as an insi ii ui ional gestine on a weekly sclu-dulc-, and laiscd' 8277,000 in War Bcjncl pledges in six moiuhs, but its ef fectiveness would have decreased if the program had been aired more frequently. PROGRAM LENGTH Audience preference, time availability, program content, and the nature of the commercial message are determining factors in the length of a program. Program content is particularly important. For example, the public has become accustomed to its news programs in 15-minute intervals, and Arkansas Western Gas Company followed this pattern in its "News for Breakfast" series over KUOA. On the other hand. Union Electric's series on KMOX, "The Land We Live In," just as surely calls for thirty minutes to allow for adequate development of the historical dramatizations. The advertiser's commercial message must also be considered. In the interests of better progiamming, the niunber of commercial messages w^iich can be given on any program is limited to the amount of time purchased by the sponsor, with greater time allowance on the commercial during the day than can be used in the same time interval at night. Obviously, enough time must be purchased to allow for the full impact of the commercial message upon the listening audience. WHAT ABOUT COMMERCIALS? Radio listeners want programs to be interesting. Sponsors w^ant them to be }>rontable. It takes experience, study, and skill to achieve a balance between two points of view. While commercials may be designed to serve a variety of functions, with the institutional, sales, and special events approaches the three main categories, public lUilily companies, for the most part, hue to the institutional line. For example, San Antonio Public Service commercials on its historical dramatization, "That Year," compared various utility services between nozo and the?i. El Paso Electric confined its commercials on the KROD series to statements of company policy as affected by wartime icstrictions, and it carried on an educational campaign i.e., to educate l)eo|3le to rei)lace blown fuses in order to a\()id luniecessary service calls. Support 68 RADIO SHOWMANSHIP