Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

Beverages FRIENDLY TIME W^hen Saturday, 1 :00 p.m. rolls around, \VDGY listeners know that they're in for a Friendly Time with the Minneapolis Brewing Company. A three-hour, all-request record show, the program draws over 400 letters a week even during the fall football season when local interest in and enthusiasm for its Golden Gophers is at its peak. Hooper surveys indicate that the show pulls over half of all Saturday afternoon listeners in the area. Friendliness is the program's keynote, with the eight commercials used in the three-hour interval carrying out the general friendly theme of the broadcasts. An ad-lib show, each selection is introduced with mention by name of the listeners requesting the tune. Five times during each hour this phrase is used: ''You O.K. 'Em . . . We'll Play 'Em." The three most popular numbers as established by the number of requests are announced each week. Music alternates between fast and slow, with a variety which ranges from classical through cowboy ballads and the latest popular releases. Dedications to older people celebrating anniversaries, etc., are standard practice. Celebrities from the world of music make guest appearances on the show. Promotion includes newspaper ads, station plugs and posters displayed in various Twin City record shops. AIRFAX: Featured on the show is emcee Sherm Booen. Broadcast Schedule: Saturday, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Preceded By: Music. Followed By: Swing Street. Sponsor: Minneapolis Brewing Co. Station: WDGY, Minneapolis, Minn. Power: 5,000 watts. Population: 488,687. COMMENT: It's the personality of the announcer which in large measure determines the success of programs of this type. A prerequisite is an informal style which conveys a feeling of personal interest to the listener. The combination of general interest and personal identification with a program and sponsor is a hard-to-beat combination. It's also a type of low-cost campaign that's easy on the advertising pocket book since there is a niininuun ol talent and production costs. Dairies BUDDA'S AMATEUR HOUR In any man's language, 14 years on the air, same program, same station, same s])onsor, is an en\ iable record. 1 hat's exactly what the Marin-Dell Milk Company, San Francisco, Calif., has to its credit. Some Believe-It-or-Not Ripley vital statistics: 1. Number of pieces of mail in the first ten years: 2,107,010. 2. Number of people who have appeared on the program: 1 1,027. 3. Total audience to which the show has played: 1,820,000. Equally significant is the sponsor's increase in business in the 14 years of continuous sponsorship from approximately 4,000 gallons of milk per day to an average of 38,000 gallons per day. AV^hen Marin-Dell built a new plant in 1939, the newest major milk plant of major proportions in the United States, part of the festivities was an inscribed placard: "To the plant that Budda built." One of the early commercial radio programs to recognize the value of Saturday night broadcasting, the program has never changed from its original format, procedure, or broadcast time. Producer of the series and its master of ceremonies uses the pseudonym, Budda, and he has built the show up withoiu the use of his own name. While the series is an unrehearsed amateur hour, 506 of its performers haxe graduated from its stage to the professional show business. Over the years, the program has been donated 227 times to various civic organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Shriner's Hospital lor Crippled Children. On such occasions, MarinDell has bankrolled all time and talent charges, but has eliminated all commercial credit lines. It's an out-and-out gift, with no attempt to receive or expect thanks or approval. AIRFAX: First Broadcast: 1933. Broadcast Schedule: Saturday. 8:00-9:00 p.m. Sponsor: Marin-Dell Milk Company. Station: KFRC, San Francisco, Calif. Power: 5,000 watts. Population: 637,212. COMMENT: It is programs of this kind, (oiuciM'd ill and dedicated to integrity • 136 • RADIO S H OWM A NSH I P