Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

|rather than the immediate goal. The idea )ehind such campaigns has been to en:ourage the wider use of photographs in lodern living. The result is more sales to more people more of the time, and greater sales in off moments and odd seaIsons. For example, when Paul Linwood jGiTTiNGS, Houston and Dallas, Texas, began a radio campaign on KPRC, he was convinced that a program in good taste, with quiet integrity, could be a new tool for the creation of prestige and sales. He knew that in selling the end-use of his product, that is, in selling beauty, memories and sentiment, his product would soon sell itself. To that end, there was but one purpose in the campaign: to create in the public mind an awareness of the wonders that lie hidden in technique and composition; to reveal photography itself, its magic, its beavuy and its eloquence. The emphasis was entirely on the sale of the idea of the end-use of photography, ''fine portraits which luill, in later years, unlock the door xuhere memory sleeps." What is particularly significant is the fact that during the years that Portraits in Music has been on the air, the sponsor's sales chart has risen steadily, and many new patrons say that they are. attracted to the GiTTiNGs Studio by the broadcasts. Of course, radio can be used as a direct sales vehicle, but in such cases, the photographer usually uses a schedule of spot announcements, rather than programs. For example, the big Austin Studio chain on the Pacific coast used a 26-week campaign which started the first of December, with a varied spot announcement schedule on 20 California and Utah stations. Program selection Ihe kind of educational campaign which is most successful for the portrait photographer is one which stimulates greater interest in photography on every occasion, for home and office. To this end, photographers for the most part have apjjcaled primarily to the feminine audience, but have attempted to reach ?nilady's ear at a time when the entire fam ily group is exposed lo ijic broadcast message. To reach this audience group with a program whose very editorial content tiesin with the nature of the advertised prodduct, photographers seem lo emphasize programs which paint word or nuisical pictures. For example, the Oi.ax Mills Studios, Chattanooga, Tenn., another portrait chain, presented a Portrait of America over WDOD. P>)r 15 minutes, five times a week, listeners heard word pictures of real people, some of them local personalities, with sound effects, incidental music and an occasional poem to dramatically portray the American scene. When Bishop's Portoait Studio, Salem, Ore., offered a radio series over KSLM, its focus was on returing servicemen, and in Your Serviceman Speaks the community got word pictures of the wartime experiences of its men in the armed forces. The focus on each of these two programs was different, but in both cases, these word pictures provided an excellent editorial tie-in with fine craftsmanship in portraiture. Stich inter-relation between program and commercial helps create program continuity, and it makes for a smooth transition between the program itself and the advertiser's message. While this type of program by no means represents the only material suitable for photographers, it has to its advantage the fact that it is low-cost, is relatively easy to produce, and the natural tie-ins with the product and service are effective. Time-frequency-station selection Time. Time is an important factor in a broadcast campaign and it merits careful consideration. The best time is the period when the audience the photographer wants to reach is available. For the studio which wants to reach the allfamily group, early evening or Sunday time is generally indicated, and the Voldeng Studio, Prince Albert, Sask., operated on this theory when it broadcast its Juke Box Serenade over CKBI at 6:15 p.m., Saturday. At 6:15 p.m. the family group had not dispersed for the evening, and while the program itself may have ap J U NE, 1 947 • 197 •