Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

\crse order may also be an elTective combination, as the experience of this advertiser ilhistrates. As a means of stimuhitinj> continued interest in a long-established store promotion, radio here represents a most effective adjunct. Electrical Appliances TRADING POST With competition getting back to normal, Van's Modern Appliances, Warren, O., set out to meet it with a broadcast schedule which put the emphasis on service. It's selection was a WRRN service feature, Trading Post, a six-a-week, 15-minute program. Listeners list articles for sale or trade on the program, and the annoimcer also reads cards from listeners asking for needed items. Because of the wide variety of listed items, the series has high entertainment and human interest appeal even to listeners not at the moment in the buying or selling market. Three commercials written in a friendly, chatty style conform to the informal appeal of the program. Copy emphasis is on service, and editorial tie-ins between the program and its sponsor follow this line, i.e., "Van's Trading Post is another extra service of Van's Modern Appliances." When Van's took on sponsorship, the program title was slightly altered to read "Van's Trading Post," an added promotional advantage since all cards and letters from buyers and sellers include the sponsor's name. AIRFAX: Announcer-trader on the show is Bob Locke. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Saturday, 8:308:45 a.m. Preceded By: Musical Clock. Followed By: Shopper's Guide. Sponsor: Van's Modern Appliances. Station: WRRN, Warren, O. Power: 250 watts. Population: 60,000. COMMENT: Competition between buyers for hard-to-get merchandise is on the way out, and from here on in, it's almost certain to be competition between sellers for the consumer's dollar. Particularly since service was difficult to render during the war years, it's observance now is one short cut to consumer good will. Grocery Stores TRIANGLE TIME What 1 riangle Food SroRKs, Inc., set out to accomplish with its Triangle Time broadcast over WSAZ, Huntington, W. Va., was (1) to ac(juaint the grocery buying public with the location of the nearest ^rRiANCLE store, (2) to characterize the "99 Triangle Food Stores in the Tri-State Area" as shopping headquarters for food, and (3) to sell advertised items. To accomplish these ends, it showed itself wise in the showmanship techniques of merchandising and promotion for its radio series. High on the list of promotional effort in behalf of the broadcast campaign was the use of an entertainment new^spaper with feature stories and pictures of radio entertainers. Edited and published through the cooperation of the Triangle Food Stores, Inc. and WSAZ, the paper is in the nature of audience promotion among the listening public, and it has a circulation of almost 25,000 copies a wTek through the Triangle stores. The newspaper promotes Triangle Time, and the newspaper is promoted on the broadcasts through mention of the editorial content of current issues. As an additional circulation boost for the newspaper, as well as for a resultcheck on Triangle Time, the names of a dozen or more residents in Huntington, Ashland and Tri-State areas are selected at random from telephone directories and printed in each issue of the newspaper. Any one discovering his name in the publication takes that copy to his Triangle grocer to receive free theatre tickets. A recent special promotion feature was a children's contest, with three Columbia bicycles and two pairs of Union Hardware roller skates as prizes for the largest collections of four kinds of breakfast food box tops. While relatively few boys and girls are home at the time that Triangle Time is on the air, the response to the program was strong indication that the information had been passed on to the children by their mothers or other adults who were regular listeners. Series is a half-hour musical program, conducted by Jack Bradley, WSAZ sports director, featuring transcribed popular JUNE, 1947 • 205 •