Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

the character, "Laughing Water," sister of the little chieftan. She told stories of Indian and American folklore to children in the KOBH area, from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m., daily for two years. Varied program appeals The Quality Bakers of America offered to their members a service in which Mr. Swander became interested, and in 1938 he changed to the Speed Gibson Shoiv. This transcribed campaign was successfid for two years and, with its clue hunt maps, membership cards and badges, it did a nice business until the idea wore out. At that time, Quality Bakers suggested Toby's Corn Tussle Nexus, a transcribed comic series, which stayed on the air for a year. Following that we had the Salesman Sam series which enlisted grocers to talk to customers, but we had a hard time getting these men to actually appear when we wanted them, and the idea folded. By that time, the war was in progress and everybody was interested in our fortunes in that regard. News was at its alltime peak, and Mr. Swander had been looking at our Noonday News which was aired at 12:15 p.m. across the board. The rate was high, and he had never before tried news. Finally, we convinced him that with a food product universally used by every type of listener, the noon hour was most appropriate. At that time the Keystone Broadcasting System, which ran a few syndicated transcribed shows on KOBH, had a Hooper rating made on the station. The time from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. showed a 41.6 rating in Rapid City. We had known that the noon hour was one of the best listening times on practically all western stations, and we have since learned that more people are available for a newscast at that hour; so E. H. Swander signed his fourth contract with the Black Hills Broadcast Company. It was for a year of our Noonday News. Today the Swander Baking Company is in its eleventh year on KOTA— its fourth on Noonday News. Business tripled in 10 years At long last Mr. Swander has found what seems to work best here for his prod uct. Everybody listens to and t;»lks ahoni the Noonday News. Swander's has tripled their business in these past ten years and, naturally, KOTA comes in for its share of the credit. The mere fact that Swander's have stuck with us during these ten and a half years means that they value radio. But this is not the whole story. During these years the war brought added business, with the Army bases built in the area, and the Rapid City Army Airbase was the means of KOI A's getting a power increase. The commanders of this base spearheaded a movement among the four other Army installations in the area, which action resulted in the sending of a recommendation from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimpson to the FCC, asking that KOTA be increased to 5,000 watts, as an aid to air navigation and Army morale. The presence of these bases was, likewise, a reason for the expansion of the Swander Baking Company. In 1945, with added power, KOTA became a CBS affiliate and, one thing added to another, this worked toward the common good of both KOTA and its bakerv client. Today, Swander's not only operate three large plants; they ship bread, rolls and pastry products from all of their plants, out over a 200-mile radius, and have uniformed bread-truck drivers who serve every city and hamlet within eighty miles of the plants. The daily "bake" in Rapid City alone is in excess of 12,000 loaves and, during the war when the RCAAB had 10,000 men, this average was 40 per cent higher. In March, 1947, the officials of the Air Forces announced that the airbase is to be reactivated, and that 4,000 troops are scheduled to arrive from Alaska and Grand Island, Neb. This will make necessary a 30 per cent boost in the bread supply from Swander's. Wide listener range Swander's have 85 employees at the Rapid City and Deadwood plants. Thirtyfive more are employed at the Huron plant. KOTA covers, but does not claim, a listening audience as far east as Huron. It does very definitely cover an audience on its eastern fringe, and these listeners ask for Swander's Longboy bread from the MAY, 1 947 • 153 •