Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

^ Fowler's has been an extensive and consistent uier of air time on Binghamton'i pioneer station, WNBF, for oyer 16 years. A ten year stint of a woman commentator-store shopper is illustrative of the type of air fare which has built a broad background of listener interest. For a period of many years. Fowler's also sponsored a sportscast to promote its Fowler Store for Men, and this feature is credited with having been instrumental in bringing this department to its present expanded position where it occupies onethird of the store's street level floor. Its long-time sponsorship of the CBS evening news summary with Bill Henry is another example of important radio time used by the store to carry its sales message. Today's radio story for Fowler's includes the CBS cooperative program, The House Party, with Art Linkletter, and Tello-Tcst, an across-the-board morning quarter-hour telephone quiz feature. Spot announcements round out the schedule on WNBF. One of our three programs is the 6 P.M. News across the board on WINR. With Charles Hobart as the newscaster, we have sponsored this program ever since WINR went on the air last August. We selected the 6 P.M. News as a natural for reaching the largest group of listening audience. The man of the house is home from work, eager to hear the news of the day. And if mother, daughter, junior and grandpa aren't deaf, they're going to hear it, too. News hits wide target We launched this broadcast campaign to supplement our other well-established media in presenting Fowler's merchandise and services to Southern New York, and with so many targets, you just can't miss. We've sold everything from fishing boots to coats to breakfast sets on this one program. For the most part, we use this program to promote good selling items for the following day and to announce store news that may have come up too late to make the evening newspaper. Two one-minute commercials of from 130 to 145 words each are used on each broadcast, and only one item is promoted in each. Sometimes both commercials are devoted to the same item. Although this program is utilized almost exclusively for item selling, we do not feel that an item check-up gives an accurate pictiux of actual sales. Therefore we judge response by the fluctuations in total departmental sales as compared with the day before or the same day a year before, over a period of three days. Coordinate media for best results Usually, the same item is advertised over the air and in the newspaper (and often in windows and special displays) simultaneously, so that the effect is one coordinated, many-sided, concentrated promotional campaign that makes it impossible to point to any one medium as producing any approximate percentage of results. In instances, however, where we ha\e advertised one item exclusively on our 6 P.M. News, we have found the sales ratio in proportion with the usual formula, depending on whether it is something people really want at the price they want to pay. For example, in mid-January we completely sold out 40 dozen bunny fur mittens and headbands with two announcements. In May, we moved seven dozen of 81.75 jars of Quinlan Cleansing Cream at SI. 00 per jar with two announcements. Both of these items were specially priced, they WTre items that people wanted, and they were offered at a price that made them attractive to our customers. Results of this kind have convinced us that radio, properly coordinated with other advertising, carefully weighed, considered and selected, can sell items, merchandise groups, departments and the store itself. SEPTEMBER, 1947 • 305 •