Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

\astc of money. All three factors must be onsidered in relation to the photogra)lu r's needs and community interests. Program Length. The same factors vhich determine broadcast frequency to I large degree determine the length of he program. Paul Linwood Gittings ised a full-hour Sunday broadcast to good ffect. Nicholas Johnston found 30 minites allowed for adequate program de elopment and commercial effectiveness. However, in most cases, the quarter-hour nit meets the needs of most photograph rs, whether the schedule is once or five :mes a week. Treatment of commercials Radio listeners want programs to be nteresting. Sponsors want them to be rofitable. It takes experience, study and kill to achieve a balance between the ivo points of view. Actually, what is said far more important than how much me is consumed in the saying of it. The ptiblic listens to programs. But cm the sponsor's point of view, it isn't le most-listened-to program that is the lost effective. In the last analysis, the jmmercials are what influence the cash agister. Therefore, it is the proper balce between editorial content and comlercial message that determines the valof a broadcast series to the photograher. It is well to remember one fact. Deal's in what are called luxury items invest me and money in the creation of that tangible factor called prestige. They ouldn't stand in front of their shops and tton-hole patrons, yet these same adjrtisers, when they take to the air, often iwk their wares as shamelessly as a New rlean shrimp peddler. And yet, listeners in't be black-jacked into patronage, and hen a sponsor attempts such an aproach, not radio but the show's form and ntent are responsible for failure. When Paul Llnwood Gittlngs began adio series over KPRC, Houston, Tex., e theory of restraint was applied in the mmercial approach, and only two essaymmercials were read during the entire ur's broadcast. In every case, the comercial was designed to sell only through direction. But it is significant that dur ing the years that the program has l)e('n on the air, the sponsor's sales chart lias risen steadily. There is no one jorm for a raditj (onimercial, but in planning it, the photographer should, in the first place, remember the original purj)ose in going on the air. li sales for the innncdiate future are the goal, the copy should of (ourse give the prospective customer immediate reasons and incentives for immediate action. On the other hand, if the campaign is educational, the commercials should build up, over a period of time, a desire for fine portraitiue, and in this approach the basic appeal is through the emotions. In connection with the commercials, the studio should not overlook the opportunities to suggest sponsorship through subtle reminders which are quite separate and distinct from the commericals themselves. In the radio industry, such reminders are known as gimmicks. Titles come in the category of gimmicks, and photographers generally have taken full advantage of this opportunity to relate editorial content, product and title. Candidly Yours, which incorporated society and social news items with a portrait of the week, was how the Colbourne Studios, San Francisco, Calif., took advantage of a gimmick in connection with its radio program aired over KGO. Musical Snapshots, which the Studer Photo Company, San AntonioAustin, Tex., aired over KABC is another example. The Gittings Studio titled its weekly program, Portraits in Music. Theme music may also have a sponsorship reminder value which sets up an association between the sponsor ancl the product and service advertised. Any such device is worth while, since each one helps set the stage for the sponsor's commercial message. Program promotion recommended Efforts made to acquaint listeners with the existence of a radio program, its characteristics, time and station, fall into the category of promotion. And advertising an advertising effort on the air is often as important as the advertising effort itself. What an advertiser really buys in radio is the possibility of developing an NE 1947 • 199 •