Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

orders were sent to KFNF, with a 5-day money-back guarantee. AIRFAX: There are 26 episodes available in this transcribed series. First Broadcast: November 25, 1946. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Saturday, 6:156:30 p.m. Preceded By: Pictures and Platters. Followed By: Four-Star Final. Sponsor: Dale Company, Chicago, 111. Station: KFNF, Shenandoah, la. Power: 1000 watts. Producer: Radio Producers of Hollywood. COMMENT: Important ingredients for a successful transcribed Christmas promotion are (1) good entertainment acceptable both to juveniles and to parents and (2) opportunities for promotional and merchandising tie-ins. Series here offers both the entertainment and the hooks. In some cases, the promotional activities used in connection with the series have cost thousands of dollars. In other instances, outstanding results have been achieved with a minimum investment. (For detailed reports on how sponsors make successful use of this series, see Radio Showmanship, October 1941, p. 319, and November 1946, p. 381). Participating CHRISTMAS TREE Many of the program formats used for year-round advertising may be successfully adapted to special holiday promotions. One such program staple is the telephone give-away show. How it can be used as the basis for a successful Christmas campaign is illustrated by the CKCW Christmas Tree program which was broadcast in 1946 on a participating basis for five Moncton, N.B. merchants. What made it particularly effective was the fact that it liad both telephone and mail response hooks. Five times during each quarter-hour broadcast a telephone call was made to a Moncton resident whose name was picked at random. A (ommeicial for one of ihv parti( ipating sponsors preceded each telephone (all. If the person to wliom the call was made could correctly name the spon sor of the commercial read just previous to tlie telephone call, also name the advertised item, the announcer drew a gift from under the Christ tuns Tree. 1 he re cipient had only to call at the radio station to receive the gift, compliments of the sponsor. When wTong answers were given, or if, for any reason, the announcer failed to get the telephone call through to the number picked at random, the gift went to a writer of a letter drawn from the Christmas Tree mailbag. The invitation to submit letters in which all five sponsors had to be named was given for the benefit of listeners outside the city limits of Moncton. Out of the 100 telephone calls made during the run of the series, only 14 prizes were not collected. The mail pull for these unclaimed prizes was well over 1200 letters. AIRFAX: Christmas music was interspersed with the telephone calls and commercials. First Broadcast: December 2, 1946. Broadcast Schedule: Monday through Saturday, 3:304:00 p.m. Preceded By: Music. Followed By: Teen Club. Station: CKCW, Moncton, N. B. Power: 5000 watts. COMMENT: File inclusion of a give-away angle contributes materially to the audience appeal of what is primarily a selling vehicle on a short-term basis. Here, on a participating basis, it amounted to 20 prizes per sponsor, a factor which made only a slight increase in the cost per individual advertiser, but w^hich added tremendously to the total effectiveness of the series. The cost was more than off-set by the gimmick value of the hook which made each commercial a basic part of the editorial format. • 352 • RADIO SHOWMANSHIP