Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

Heiner's took on sponsorship, it has sold Heiner's bread and bakery products. "The Women's 930 Club comes to order at 2:00 p.m., adjourns at 2: 30 p.m. Offered for the entertainment of club members is a combination of music, interviews with \isiting and local celebrities, recipes and lips on time-and-energy savers for the busy housewife. As Miss 930, Charlotte Garner wields the gavel. Evidence that there are plenty of club members in good standing is a recent Crossley, Inc. survey which gave the program a rating of 10.0 with a 67.6 per cent share of the audience. Additional evidence: 7,000 active members who have been mailed membership cards in response to cards and letters directed to the program. Two commercials are used on each broadcast, either read or ad-libbed, in addition to opening and closing credit lines. Theme behind the commercial continuity: "Freshness, flavor and nourishment all contained inside one wrapper." Informal mention of the sponsor's products is also made in connection with recipes calling for the use of bread. AIRFAX: First Broadcast: April, 1943. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Friday, 2:00 2:30 p.m. Preceded By: Across the Desk. Followed By: Bride and Groom. Sponsor: Heiner's Bakery. Station: WSAZ, Huntington, W. Va. Power: 5000 watts. COMMENT: While there may be more feminine listeners in morning time than in the afternoon, it doesn't necessarily follow that there will be more buyers. A program with a loyal, constant audience will almost always hold its own saleswise. Beverages NEWS Are newcasts as a means of getting the public's ear still an effective advertising vehicle for sponsors? Beverwyck Breweries, Albany, N. Y., think they are, and it backs up that belief with sponsorship of newscasts over the entire Yankee Network of 21 stations, plus several individual stations in New York State. Says Arthur Sinsheimer, director of radio and television for the Peck Adver tising Agency: 'T^he value of these newscasts in furthering Beverwyck prcsiige and sales in inestimaljlc, ;m(i llic lime allotted to them, 11:00 jj.m., has gained a tremendous listening audience. "It is the belief of the folks at Beverwyck and of this agency that because of the many critical world problems, news broadcasts will continue to be of great public service, and by contracting wellknown and respected newscasters to deliver them, they should continue to prove invaluable in gaining an appreciative and ever-increasing audience." Radio has played an important role for many years in the advertising activities of Beverwyck, and according to adman Sinsheimer, who has been handling the radio activities of the account for upwards of 11 years, it has been a proven factor in stimulating sales. Beverwyck began rather modestly, with local programs covering its home and surrounding territories — Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Utica, etc. At that time, strictly musical or entertainment broadcasts were featured. As product distribution expanded, so did Beverwyck's use of radio. Then came the war and a realization of the greatly increased interest in news broadcasts. Beverwyck was quick to recognize the added value of this type of program, and it instituted an immediate switch to news exclusively. New England has become an all-important Beverwyck market, according to Mr. Sinsheimer, and while radio had been employed in that area for some time, the demands of the all-over sales picture called for greater all-over radio coverage. It was at that time that Beverwyck decided to use the entire Yankee Network, plus the New York State outlets, in order to support all New England distribution with little or no lost effort. COMMENT: It's true that sponsorship of neios no longer has the sure-fire appeal to advertisers that it did during the war years, but those sponsors whose news programs featured established commentators at strategic news listening periods find that their wartime investment in public service and good will is now paying out in sales. AUGU ST, 1947 • 283 •