Radio today (Sept 1935-Dec 1936)

SALES WRINKLES CATCH DEALER'S EYE Merchandising craft warms up to the field excitement in new lines PIGSKIN PROMOTION * Colorful plugging of important football broadcasts as a stimulant for receiver sales and service has been successfully going on in the window of Smith's Radio Store, Washington, D. C. By using the liveliest aspects of the game in his displays, and by newspaper advertising tie-ups, Mr. Smith makes quite a thing out of the pigskin season. Materials for tbe window displays at Smith's are designed with the snap which attracts the sport fan. So far, the store has managed to get the exhibit across with these items : (1) Several-colored illustration of an exciting football game, with an inset of "Pa" and "Ma" radio-listening in their home, (2) A sanded football field, with imitation 5-yard lines, side lines covered with green grass matting, painted background of grandstands, (3) Miniature players in action, (4) Reproductions of goal posts, (5) Nearly life-size figure of a player in the act of kicking off, (6) Colorful profusion of collegiate pennants of local teams, (7) Blown-up schedules of coming classics, perhaps presented with short score histories of those matches in the past. Smith's have found that the best captions to use in football windows feature such phrases as "hear the kick-off from your own easy chair — don't miss a thing!" or "turn on the switch — relax — and hear the game, play by play, in the warmth and comfort of your home." WINDOW RULES * Lou Fink, of National Radio Stores, Inc., New York City, has figured out the principles of building window displays with midget sets, exhibited in a fashion to get over best in a city community which is densely populated. Fink theory is that street traffic must be handled carefully, since the same persons pass the store very often. His rules are: (1) Play jazz consistently on the demonstrator — it appeals to the majority of the buyers of midgets, (2) Display a great mass of merchandise in the window and fix them so that the pedestrian knows that they may be very readily removed, and (3) Change the display often and regularly so that habitual passers-by may depend upon seeing a new layout. Office gents are OK prospects — they have the price, and the wish to dial election news. Whoever is named President must still be watched closely. COLLEGIATE SELLING * L. C. Wheeler, of the Hardware Products Co., Crosley distributors of Sterling, 111., has hit upon an honestly effective selling practice. Wheeler's statement of the case: "We have a very much larger enrollment in our schools and colleges and this always helps the radio business. When a family has a boy away to school, the whole family will listen to the football games, whereas they probably paid no attention to them before. There are programs of value to students in the grade and high schools. Greater radio sales are always a corollary of increased enrollments in schools of all kinds." Thus the demand for sales and service among a large group of families will encourage dealers and their set salesmen to accent football broadcasts during the coming months. Many of them will find it profitable to use those schedules as extra mailing pieces as the gridiron season gets under way. DEALER'S NETWORK SPECIAL * Multiple chances for dealers to sell more sets are found in StewartWarner's coast to coast broadcast stunt which began Sept. 28 on 49 Columbia stations. A series of Monday night half-hour programs, featuring Horace Heidt and his Brigadiers, will run to Dec. 14, followed up on local stations by spot announcements sponsored by distributors. All spot plugs will, according to the plans, mention at least two dealers' names and addresses. In turn, the dealer is encouraged to offer specially autographed photos of Heidt free to prospects who will come in for a receiver demonstration; the dealer is also armed with special mats and assorted displays to use during the series. Salesmen are further encouraged to phone prospects an invitation to hear the web feature through an SW set and to arrange home demos during the broadcasts. Important to the campaign is the dealer's parading the local station and time, along with whatever original ideas he can stir up for feature tieins. 20 Radio Today