Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

store. Approximately one-third of the letters were received in this way. Commercials were sparingly used, and merely stressed the fact that everything that Santa and his helpers were making at the North Pole was available as a Christmas gift at Missoula Mercantile. With the mail pull at almost 100 pieces of mail daily, here was an excellent example of how good will advertising pays dividends in a variety of ways. According to KGVO, the "Voice of Santa Claus, direct jrom the North Pole," had the largest daytime audience of any Montana radio program. 5000 pieces of mail For six consecutive years, the BelkGallant Company, La Grange, Ga., has used Santa's Mailbag as a Christmas promotion over WLAG, and the feature has already been sold for the seventh— same station, same sponsor. Saint Nicholas, in person, reads letters written by the youngsters to his North Pole headquarters, via Radio Station XMAS. During the run of the series, letters have totalled 5000. Series in 1946 was heard six times weekly at 4:30 p.m. The program is devoted exclusively to the sponsor's toy department, and it is almost the only promotion given to BelkGallants' Toyland. Widespread coverage For four successive seasons, Santa Clans has been a powerful incentive for the moppets of Pembroke, Ont. to tune-in CHOV, and in 1946, more than 3600 letters were received from over 38 post office addresses. So strong, in 1946, was the response to the series that the quarter-hour program was increased to 30-minutes. Sponsor of the series is A. J. Freiman, Ltd., department store. Broadcast schedule: Nov. 26 to Dec. 24, 5:30 p.m. Since the program first went on the air in 1943, Freiman's Christmas business has shown a consistent increase. Part of the increase is attributed to radio. Double duty for Santa in Keene, N. H., two sponsors used Santa Glaus as special Christmas promotions over WKNE. Santa Glaus greeted his little friends every afternoon at 3:00 p.m. from the J. J. Newberry Store wher he asked each youngster what he wante for Christmas. Children also could write! letters to Santa, and those whose lette were used on the air received prizes fro Saint Nicholas. At 4:45, Monday through Friday, Sant Glaus was back on the air— this time fo; the Goodnow Department Store. In combination, the mail pull for th two programs was 4500. Gimmicks help In Columbus, Ohio, Santa Glaus anc the Christmas Tree Express is a tradition al holiday offering of the F & R Lazaru, Company, with the quarter-hour pro gram broadcast over WHKC at 4:45 p.m To reach both Columbus youngster and those in the surrounding area, fou letters from out-of-town youngsters an read on each broadcast, and telephom calls are made to four Columbus moppets with the names in each case selected b^ Godfrey and Gasper Gnome. Animatec. windows use the same characters as thos( who appear in the radio series. In oni season, letters totalled 9293 with tota names of 13,265 children. To each chile who writes to Santa goes a form lette which includes an invitation to visi Lazarus' toy department. Super promotion In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Schuster' Santa Glaus parade is an annual event and through the years, it has become ;j civic affair, the best attended parade o| the year in the city. It was back in 1931 that a Billie Ih Broxonie program was scheduled oi WTM J to riui five or six days before th date of the parade. Mail response was S" heavy that the program was continue! until Christmas, and every year sine 1931 the program has been on the air. Built around the old Christmas foi mula . . . Santa Glaus, the North Pole reindeers ... the program includes Chrisi mas stories and the reading of letters fror children, with a master of ceremonie; Santa Glaus and Billie the Brownie th cast of characters. Mail response has a ways been tremendous: in 1945, the bar ner year, response was over 70,000. • 330 • RADIO SHO WMANSH I