Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

October 7, S H O W M K N • S T K A I ) K K E V 1 E VV 19 49-City Premiere on ^American Romance Following the 132-city world premiere of "An American Romance" in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia on October 12, MGM will hold a 49-city Capital Premiere of the Technicolor production on or about October 26 and 27, it has been announced by Howard Dietz, vice-president and director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. The special premieres will be held in the 48 state capitals, in addition to Washington, D. C-, and each opening will be given extensive advance campaigns by field exploiteers. Each of the exploitation men have been assigned specific territories where they will concentrate their activities from now until the openings. Numerous special events to precede each opening are now being worked out. State and civic dignitaries will be invited to each of the 49 openings, in addition to other personalities now being lined up. MGM field exploiteers have been assigned the following state capital openings' Bert McKenzie, Boston, Mass., Providence, R. I., Hartford, Conn., Augusta, Me., Concord, N. H., and Montpelier, Vt. James Ashcraft — Harrisburg, Pa. Emery Austin, Atlanta, Ga., Nashville, Tenn., Tallahassee, Fla., and Montgomery, Ala. J. E. Watson, Columbus, O., Charleston, W. Va., and Frankfort, Ky. Tom Baldridge — Richmond, Va., Dover, Del., .\nnapolis, Md., and Washington, D. C. Norman Linz — Indianapolis, Ind. Floyd Fitzsimmons — Albany, N. Y. Elliot Foreman — Trenton, N. J. Al Burke — Raleigh, N. C, and. Columbia, S. C. Ken Prickett — Jackson, Miss., and Baton Rouge, La. Charles Dietz — Lansing, Mich. W. G. Bishop — Springfield, 111. Bernard Evens — ^Jefferson City, Mo., and Topeka, Kan. Louis Orleve — Madison, Wis. Austin McGough — Des Moines, la. Ed Gardiner — Oklahoma City, Okla. E. B. Coleman — Austin, Tex. Norman Pyle — Pierre, S. D., and St. Paul, Minn. Jack Conner — Lincoln, Nebr. Ernest Van Pelt — Boise, Ida., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Helena, Mont. William Prass — Sante Fe, N. M., Cheyenne, Wyo., and Denver, Qolo. Howard Herty — Phoenix, Ariz. Ted Galanter — Olympia, Wash., and Salem, Ore. William NewberrySacramento, Calif., and Carson City, Nev. Todd Ferguson — Little Rock, Ark. (Continued on Page 20) Marines Make Good Copy for Loan Drive The U. S. Marine Corps is going to be very much a part of the Sixth War Loan Drive, if the suggestions of Sgt. Edward D. Harris of the USMC West Coast public relations office are adopted. Sgt. Harris points out to exhibitors that the loan drive offers a good opportunity to pay tribute to the Leathernecks and that— vice versa— the USMC can be used to good advantage by theatremen to put over their individual efforts. There are three dates in November that can be used in connection with the opening of the drive on November 20. First comes the 169th Anniversary of the Marine Corps on November 10 ; then, of course. Armistice Day is November 11; and lastly November 20 — the day the drive opens — is the first anniversary of the Marine victory at Tarawa. One suggestion by Sgt. Harris is to give a preview or special show, converting the proceeds into bonds for presentation either to wounded local Marines or their parents. Straight exploitation activity is recommended in the larger cities, and for this purpose cooperation may be had from the Marine Corps League and Auxiliary, and recruiting offices. In smaller towns such aid would come from patriotic groups, schools, newspapers, and Marine veterans. Analysis of Product and Advertising Media No. 2 — Newspaper Budget \\ lien tlic cxliibitor buys a film and books it into his theatre, that picture becomes his personal property for a stipulated period of time. Even if the picture is purchased on a percentage basis the responsibility for its engagement remains in the hands of the showman. There is a sort of fourth dimensional element in dealing with motion pictures which might well be labeled the elusiveness of popular appeal. Movies and the stars which make them are fickle things requiring a keen sense of local market values on the part of the showmen. Knowledge of the product, the advertising media and patron prospects are the planner's tools for designing the advertising campaign, and the decisions reached must be backed with cold cash — win, lose or draw. You must not only get your money's worth by investing your advertising dollars where their effectiveness will produce sales but also reach maximum prospects. PRODUCT SALES ANALYSIS The first thing to consider in planning a campaign is to weigh the following elements against past performances : 1. Star Appeal — Any personalities of the cast who possess strong local drawing power ? 2. Story Appeal — Does story appeal more to men than to women or vice versa or does it have general appeal? 3. Locale — Any particular elements of story or locale that would create mass interest locally? 4. Endorsement — Has the film received any unusual endorsement or publicity acclaim which would bear box-office fruit if exploited? 5. Adaptability — Does film lend itself more readily to some definite media to a greater degree than another? 6. Style — Does film require a specific style of advertising treatment; dignity, sensationalism, ballyhoo, cast, famous book, new star build up, etc.? 7. Profit Potential — Does some feature of the film warrant above average expenditure? Does rental price of the film make possible extra profits if extra money is placed into the campaign? Is the film of such limited local appeal that even average expenditure is unwarranted? When you have analyzed these fundamental elements you are ready to estimate the gross potential of the picture, from which premise you can decide on the amount of the advertising budget and break down the budget into specified amounts to be spent in the various media. You should be able to decide the percentage of your budget to be spent for newspaper space, radio time, ballyhoo or float, lobby display or front, special heralds or novelty advertising, direct mail, street banners or decoration outdoor billing or lithograpliing. The amount allocated for each is extremely variable. There is no standard or formula to be followed. The allocation hinges on the type of campaign required for the type of picture in your type of community and also upon the power and effective coverage of the various media in your trading area. After you have determined the anidunts to be spent it is necessary to break down the appropriation for Newspaper space in the following manner : 1. Engraving Cost $. 2. Mat Cost $. i. Space $. Paper ( . . . . lines or inches @ $. . . , Total $. . . Paper B ( . . . . lines or inches @ $ . . . , Total $ . . . Paper C ( . . . . lines or inches @ $ . . . , Total $ . . . Having determined the amount of money tc be spent in each paper and the amount of spact to be had for that money it is next necessary to decide the following questions : 1. Does the picture lend itself to a teaser cam paign and if so what amount of space can you afford to devote to same ? How many days should they spread over? 2. W hat amount of space is necessary to com pete for attention with your competitor's advertising? Does he open on the same day as you with a new picture, the day before, the day after or in the middle of your run ? 3. W'liat is the minimum space you will need after the opening for each day's ad? Is the picture one that would be helped by a sizable endorsement smash the day after opening to capitalize wordof-mouth praise. Thus your newspaper course is cliarted and you are ready to break down your money into a schedule of lines or inches per day for each paper. Star Times News (lines or Teasers : inches) Itemize lines or inches per ad and decide whether the space is to be used in units of one each day for several days or all on one or two days. Schedule the day and position — Amusement Page, Page 3, Women's Page, Sports Page, Society Page, Comic Page, Radio Page, Back Page 1st Section, Back Page 2nd Section, etc.). Deduct the total teaser lineage from your total advertising lineage and spread the balance over the days to be covered by your regular ads in the following manner : DAILY SPACE SCHEDULE Wednesday Thursday Friday (Opening) Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday (Total) STAR No Paper TIMES NEWS No Paper The above schedule form is based on the assumption that there are three papers with one Sunday publication and that the picture is played for a week. Your other advertising media must be budgeted according to your campaign expenditures and strategy. These phases we will discuss in a later article.