Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1945)

June 9, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 87 t children on a short movie vacation today. And slip off yourself when you have a few hours. Frequent movie vacations, costing little, will tide all of you over until your long vacation. See the most convenient listing of the attractions of neighborhood and downtown theatres on page .... and plan your family's movie vacations today. TO PEOPLE IN NEED OF A VACATION— GO TO THE MOVIES — Do you need relaxation, a change of scene, some good laughs? Only a few blocks away there's a movie vacation waiting for you. Through the movies you can go on a trip to unusual places, see interesting people, hear different talk. It'll refresh you in mind and body. The cost is counted in pennies and you'll come out feeling like a million dollars. Why not start taking short movie "vacations" today? The convenient listing on page .... is your "travel" guide for relaxation and entertainment you need. THERE AND BACK IN A JIFFY— ON A MOVIE VACATION — No trouble to take a "movie vacation"! You just decide to go — and you're practically there, enjoying a cool, restful "trip" through magic unreality — not far from your home. You'll find that frequent movie vacations will refresh you in mind, as well as in body — giving you a completely new point of view. Never before have your favorite stars had such superb movie vacations waiting for you See — ^with them — far places and interesting people; hear different talk and enjoy good laughs. You'll find the most convenient guide to movie vacations on page .... where the attractions of neighborhood and downtown theatres are listed. HOT? TIRED? BORED? YOU NEED A MOVIE VACATION — If midsummer lag has you down ... if routine seems endless . . . take "movie vacations" — frequently. Movie vacations are short trips to the movies — not far away. There your favorite stars have a boredom-chasing treat in store for you. They'll show you far places, tell you interesting stories, give you ideas and laughs to remember and repeat Frequent cool movie vacations cost little, yet they will give you new points of view and send you back to real life relaxed and refreshed. They'll keep you and your family happy and interested until your long vacation. Turn to page .... for the most convenient listing of the movie vacations offered at neighborhood and downtown theatres. YOUR GUESTS WILL ENJOY A MOVIE VACATION— When friends drop in on a muggy evening, they'll appreciate your suggesting a "movie vacation." It's the summer's "hit'' entertainment. On a short movie vacation, on a "trip" through magic unreality, you and your guests will accompany the stars of the screen to far places, see different sights, hear delectable talk and humor. You'll all come out refreshed in mind as well as in body — and they'll say you're a thoughtful host. (When you're not entertaining — and want to be entertained — slip off with your family; movie vacations will help tide you all over until your long vacation.) Not far from you, a movie vacation is waiting. See, amusement page. POOCH PARADE: A best dressed dog contest is good for a lot of space in papers and will get almost every kid in town outfitting his pooch for a parade to the theatre where the judging is to take place. Prizes can be promoted from stores. BEAUTICIAN CO-OP: The beauty parlors — or perhaps one large establishment— would cooperate on a "Hair Style Show" that should get a lot of women patronage. FAMILY TRADE: If your theatre is having a hard time getting the rural business or patronage of any other family groups, why not arrange for a full week during which special admission prices for families will be a feature. You can give it further build-up by offering prizes (promoted from merchants) for the largest family, etc. SHUTTER-BUGS: Your local paper should go along with you on a camera contest in which the local lens fans go after unusual pictures of people purchasing War Bonds and Stamps. Put A Slogan In Your Summer Selling Drive C When yon See the IHercnry Climb Yon Know It's Hlovic Time O See Yonr Year 'Round Movie Favorites Q A Good lUovie is the Best Summer Resort C It's Movie Time All the Time C Retreat from the Heat — Movies Are Best in Summer C Yonr Best Form of Fnn — Is Better Still in Snmmer C Stay Sunny With Movie Cheer C There's Movie Cheer All the Year 41 Movies Are Better Than Ever This Summer €L Yonr Best Summer Treat Is a Movie C The Coolest Man's The Movie Fan Q It's Always Good Weather for the Movies Q Relax and Enjoy a Good Movie | C Make Your Neighborhood Movie Your Vacation Spot C Movies Send Yonr Troubles on a Vacation C Outside You're Hot — In Here You're Not Q Relax and Have Fnn in the Cheerful Comfort of the Blank C Movies Will Keep YOU on the Brighter Side This Summer C Best Tonic of All — Good Entertainment Programs, Other Direct Copy Only As Good As Mailing List condition of the mailing list used by the theatre and therefore the most important channel of distribution for the programs. Members of STR's Program Exchange are among the country's greatest program editors and publishers. They know how important a good program is — but how many theatremen realize that the best program in the world can'1 do a real job if the circulation machinery employed for its distribution is faulty? Actually a program is as good as the mailing list used for its distribution. Frequent check on the theatre mailing list is a "must" for the efficient showman who uses a program or other exploitation efforts via the direct-mail route. The methods of building and maintaining a list are pretty familiar, but they are worth repeating every so often in a service publication, and most worth looking over as a refresher to the theatreman. Sources for Good List Plentiful The sources for mailing lists are many — and varied. The telephone directory ; the voting lists (usually obtained from the registrar or the county clerk) ; the lists in year books of churches ^Ihecity directory ; the membership lists of clubs ; vital statistics published in newspapers — all are sources. The ofifer by the theatre to send information via a program free to those entering their names and addresses produces a live, but (unless amplified from other sources of information) list that may be too limited. The offer of a pass to all sending in a list of say 20 names and addresses of persons they know, has produced some of the best lists. In order to check the list, an occasional first-class mailing — is well worth the added postage cost — for the post office returns serve as a record of address changes or removals. From the goodwill standpoint there is a great { C miliinu'd on Finje 97) A member of the editorial staff of STR had occasion some time ago to check into the mechanical details, so to say, of theatre program preparation and disribution. To his amazement he found that many theatremen who put much creative effort and downright hard work into their weekly or bi-weekly or monthly programs were not too keenly aware as to the precise BIG SALE DAY: Offer merchants cooperation on a stunt to award prizes to the first ladies attending the theatre on some day when the merchants are holding a sale and want the ladies to shop early. You give the prizes to the first tickets sold — or to every 7th, or 10th ticket sold. Suit yourself as to how its done but you can get some extra attendance by doing it. WORD GAME: How long since you planted a contest with the newspaper on the once popular angle of how many words readers can form from letters in the title of a coming or current attraction. SPORTS TIEUP: Get a sporting goods dealer to arrange an interesting display of golf, tennis and other summer sports equipment in your lobby in exchange for a display in his window. Tieup could be based on this line: "Keep happy and healthy by participating in summer sports, and when you want relaxation, the Blank Theatre is an ideal place, etc."