Sponsor (Jan-Mar 1959)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Planning are (1 to r) Waldie & Briggs a.e. Eugene Shields, Maremont sales mgr. Chas. Klaus, ad mgr. Bob Wolfson, Ivan Fuldauer, p.r. New car woes boom muffler market ^ Tv gets a brand new type of advertiser as modern souped-up cars and gas prove far, far too exhausting ^ Maremont is first of fast-growing $290 million industry to tie tv to problems of muffler marketing W hen the gasoline industry licked the new car problems of higher horsepower with fuel additives, it gave birth to a wholly unexpected problem and a brand new advertiser — the muffler manufacturer. Up to three years ago, the principal outlet for mufflers was the auto "aftermarket." The five-to-nine-year-old car represented the greatest profit potential. Second richest bracket: the three-to-four-year-old class. Then the fuel additive came into the picture, and the muffler began to bear the brunt of its acid content. When combined with the moisture from condensation, this acid literally eats away muffler metal. And the problem didn't stop there: more elaborate cooling systems and runabout driving meant cars were running cooler, with increased condensation of acid-bearing vapors. Out of this, a broad new market was created for mufflers through service stations and auto repair shops as more and more new cars rolled into garages with burned-out mufflers. Several other factors have made the muffler business boom at retail (or garage) level: • 1958 recession jitters caused much of the potential new car market to hold on to its old cars, with a resulting boom in the auto replacement parts industry. • The figures: 24 million cars in the five-to-nine-year-old category, 11 million in the three-to-four-year vintage. • This placed mufflers second only to spark plugs in jobber sales volume (mufflers and exhaust parts systems: 5.32%, spark plugs: 5.51%). • Detroit's expectations of a 1012% increase in automotive output for 1959 puts mufflers into the field in multiples. • This, because most new models already carry at least four (some have six). Against this background, the muffler business has swollen to a $290 million industry with 14 brands competing for attention. But it's a long marketing haul to the consumer, and any effective muffler advertising must gear to this fact. One such advertiser is laying plans to use tv to trigger the vital marketing chain reaction from wholesaler to consumer. The plan marks the first use of network tv to sell mufflers. Tied to it is probably the most elaborate merchandising plan ever attempted in muffler history. Maremont Mufflers of Chicago, a division of MarPro, Inc., auto parts manufacturer had two things to sell: • An "acid test" proving the advantage of its alloy-coated muffler over the standard steel type. • A curb sign for service stations constructed with large transparent areas (see photo above) to attract attention and resist wind. Demonstration and recognition were the two factors needed, according to MarPro ad and promotion manager. M. Robert Wolfson and the agency. Waldie & Briggs, Chicago. 38 SPONSOR 7 FEBRUARY 1959