Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

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bpecial Events Profit frc High institutional value in year-round air pro spots for special events reported by Stone S T WHILE RADIO SERVES a ycar-round iunction, it is also adaptable to special department store promotions in connection with anniversary celebrations and special seasonal promotions which tie-in with such peak buying periods as Christmas and Easter. How one supplements the other is illustrated by Stone ^ Thomas, Wheeling, W. Va. Recognition of radio as a sales force by Stone & Thomas began over a decade ago, and its use of the medium has grown CHRISTMAS SPIRIT December climaxes the year's merchandising effort and the heaviest radio schedule is used during the Christmas shopping season. During December 1946, Stone & Thomas added 11 additional 15-minute programs to its WWV A schedule, making a total of 17 quarter-hour broadcasts per week for the month. Since 1936, each weekday morning during the Christmas season, a 15-minute program of carols is broadcast from the main floor of the store, with the choral group made up entirely of store employees. In line with the firm's general policy of using radio for institutional purposes, the commercial copy on this show is held to a minimum and stresses the slogan, "Stone & Thomas . . . the Store with the Christmas Spirit." In addition to the program of carols, the store uses a special program for youngsters, and for the past five years it has beamed a program at the we-bclieve-inSanta Claus age level. Only Toy land is used in the commercial copy. until today its schedule on WWVA includes a five-per-week 15-minute nighttime transcribed progiam, a teen-age program, Calling All Girls and daily spot announcements. Through this use of the full broadcast schedule, instead of only one segment of the day, the store reaches a diversified audience that establishes a kind of air dominance for Stone & Thomas which contributes to the effectiveness of its broadcast campaigns. After successfully using radio as a major merchandising medium for more than ten years, the store has evolved the formula of using radio as a medium through which to sell the store institutionally. Radio isn't a bargain bulletin board for Stone Sc Thomas. True, it sells merchandise, but the approach to sales is the institutional one. The firm's continued use of the medium, on increasingly heavy schedules, is ample indication of the fact that radio makes a definite contribtition to store prestige. Withotu question, the fact that the store appeals to a diversified audience, through the use of more than one program, is definitely a contributing factor in the success story. This daily and consistent use of radio is supplemented with special promotions as the occasion arises, and the daily programs are always tied-in with the special e\enis campaigns. Anniversary promotion Throughout 1947, Stone Sc Thomas is carrying out its greatest promotional (ampaign in its colorful lOO-ycar history of retaiiing in the Ohio Valley. With '100 )'('ars of Scn'icc, J 00% for You" as the centennial slogan, the entire merchandising (ampaign hammers home this sales 340 RADIO SHOWMANSHIP