Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

tional value in addition to promoting the Boys' Department is Haixe's. AIRFAX: With Milton Ford as emcee, the program includes personal interviews with each boy. First Broadcast: March 1, 1947. Broadcast Schedule: Saturday morning, 11:30 to 12:00 (noon) . Preceded By: Platter Chatter. Followed By: Want Ad Program. Sponsored By: Phil A. Halle Department Store. Station: WHHM, Memphis, Tennessee. Power: 250 watts. Population: 400,000. COMMENT: In addition to the public service angle of such a series, a progiam of this kind is certain to build an enthusiastic audience among the very group the sponsor wants to reach, saleswise. Drug Stares HAVE YOU GOT IT? \\'hen theater-goers are asked Have Yon Got It?, the Finney Drug Company makes it worth their while to make a thorough search for the item in question. It may be a 1912 nickel, a key ring, a red pencil, or any such item, but if the person can produce it from pocket or purse, he's the recipient of merchandise prizes, courtesy of the sponsor of the WHBC, Canton, O., quiz program. Guest tickets from the Ohio Theater, from whose lobby the weekly show originates, are consolation prizes to those who have to answer the question. Have You Got It?, in the negative. Sometime during each broadcast, an alarm clock rings. The person being interviewed at that moment is asked a special question, which, if correctly answered, brings a $5.00 cash prize. Prizes are displayed in a large showcase placed in the theater's lobl)y by Finney's, and display signs in the theater lobby and in the sponsor's establishment promote the series. A trailer calling attention to the (juiz show is shown on the theater screen. A folder with greetings from Finney's which is placed in eadi merchandise prize as it is wrapj)ed for l^resentation rounds out the promotional iind mcK handisiiig a(ti\ities. AIRFAX: Emcee Jim Roberts interviews the the.ilergoers. First Broadcast: May 29, 1947. Broadcast Schedule: Thursday, 7:45-8:00 p.m. Sponsor: Finney Drug Company. Station: WHBC, Canton, Ohio. Power: 5,000 watts. Population: 120,000. COMMENT: While some broadcasters look with disfavor on the extensive use ot give-away shows, the public itself shows no indication of losing its interest in programs of this kind. It's been proved time and again that what is offered need not be costly to interest participants, but without question the value of the prize does stimulate additional interest. Grocery Stores RED OWL ROVING REPORTER If there's one way to interest any advertiser in any advertising medium, it's to show liim how that advertising will produce more business for him. What it took to interest the Red Owl-Economy Stores, Sioux Falls, So. Dak., was a dash of sJwwmanship to spice a relatively simple format. But that seasoning of showmanship was just what was needed to create store traffic, and as a consequence, to increase sales. Five times a week, the remote broadcasts originate from one of the eight Red Owl super markets in Sioux Falls, with the KELO program serving a twofold purpose: it (1) introduces store managers to the buying public, and (2) introduces the listening audience to outstanding merchandise values and Red Owl services. Interviews with women customers on the sales floor are included on each broadcast, with a merchandise gift for each through the courtesy of the store and the manufacturer. Gimmick which brings shoppers into the store for the 10:15 broadcast and which makes them anxious to be interviewed is the fact that an alarm clock is set to ring sometime during the cjuarterhoiu' show. I he woman shopper being interviewed at that time receives a large shopping basket filled with premium meats, vegetables, other items for a complete meal, with its total value being from -IGOO to .'$8.00. From the point of \ievv of lisleneis, the program has scored a hit, with from 25 to :')() women on hand each morning who • 318 • RADIO SHOWMANSHIP