Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

pealed primarily to a teen-age group, it was safe to assume that at that time of the evening there were adults in the background Avho Avould also hear the commercial message. The Bachrach Studio, Philadelphia, Pa., used a program of quite a different nature, but it, too, found that 6:15 p.m. was a good time to reach the all-family group. AVhat it offered WCAU listeners was cin Ask ]]^ashiugton series, with questions and answers pertaining to the AVashington scene in which go\ernment officials gave the answers to listener-sent questions; a specialized type of portraiture, but still portraiture of a kind that would appeal to the man of the house as well as to his wife. Time should also be considered in relation to the popularity and appeal of adjacent and competing programs, since both of these factors to a degree influence the size and quality of the audience the studio ma\ anticipate reaching. Frequency. Budgets for advertising and the purpose of the studio in going on the air to a large extent determine the frequency with which the photographer uses the broadcast medium. Where sales are the inunediate objective, spot announcements on a concentrated schedule ha\e been successful in many instances, and it was this type of campaign which Susan's Baby Photo Studios (John E. Reed Co.), Hollywood, Calif., adopted over a 13-week period, when it used an approximate total of 150 transcribed onc-miniue announcements per week on (i\e Los Angeles area stations. Where ilic budget can be accommodated to a frecjuent broadcast schedule, concentration can be justified both for a sales campaign or for one in which the objecti\e is primarily educational. However, most studios find that a once-a-week schedule is usually adequate, and such a schedule represents a happy blend between budgetary problems and ad\crtising piupose. It's all a matter of (1) the impact the advertiser wants to make on the audience; (2) the specific purpose behind the campaign, and (3) the nature of the program itself. On this basis, Studer's, Austin, Tex., was justified in broadcasting its Studer Street Reporter five times a week, Monday through Friday, at 12:45 p.m. Paul Lin WOOD Gittings' weekly schedule over KPRC, Houston, Tex., was equally justifiable. Station Selection. AVhen it comes to the selection of the station over which to broadcast a campaign, the decision shotdd be based on which station does the most economical job of covering the area the studio wants to reach. Studer's found the 250-watt station, KNOW, entirely adequate for its purpose. WDOD, a 5,000-watt Chattanooga, Tenn., station reached the effective audience for the Olan Mills Studios. Bachrach Studios, Philadelphia, Pa., aired its message over the 50,000-watt station, AVCAU. Time costs vary tremendously, with the cost of advertising on a 50,000-watt station considerably higher than the time rate over a 250-watt station. In other ^\'ords, the advertiser has to pay more for the opportimity to reach a more widespread atidience. However, each station, regardless of power and coverage, has an audience, and the photogi'apher should spend onlv the amount necessary to reach the people whom he regards as prospecti\e customers. When the Roske Photo Studio. Omaha, Nebr., set out to reach the farmers and people in surrounding towns, it decided iq^on a concentrated spot announcement campaign. It used nine announcements on KOIL, and it traced enough business directly to the campaign to pay for the annotnicements before they were finished. Since most studios limit their trade area to their connnunity and its inunediate en\ irons, and since in most cases, ad\ertising budgets are restricted, there is a strong tendency to use the smaller-powered stations which give intensive coverage of the trade area. In making the final choice, prestige, coxerage and costs nuist be considered in relation to what time is actually a\ ailable. Power alone is no basis upon which to buy time. Popularity is not too important if it costs five times as much to get twice as manv listeners. Cost alone is no yardstick; if nobodv listens, it's still a • 198 • RADIO SHOWMANSHIP