Sponsor (Apr-June 1961)

3 April 1961/SP0NS0R-WEEK (Continued from page 29) net tv: R. J. Reynolds, Reynolds Metals, Lorillard's Kent cigarettes. The K&E accounts: Mead-Johnson, buying into four NBC TV shows, and Pabst Brewing (CBS TV). Next in agency rank were Young & Rubicam and Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, each with four program buys. Y&R: One-half of "New Breed" on ABC TV for Johnson & Johnson, a third of "Bus Stop" on ABC TV for Singer Sewing, renewal on ABC TV for J&J of "Donna Reed" and "Surfside 6." The DFS business: Sterling Drug for NBC TV's "Thriller" and "Dr. Kildare," L&M also in the latter and for "Twilight Zone" on CBS TV. Only non-New York agencies represented in the buying list for that period were North Adv. and Leo Burnett, Chicago, and Knox-Reeves, Minneapolis. Most of this new business — about 40% of the program buys— has come from drugs and cigarettes, with other product categories about evenly divided with only two or three program buys. Storer names Baxter to radio v.p. slot Encouraging nod in radio's direction has been given by the Storer Broadcasting Co., where Lionel Baxter has been named vice president for radio and the seven Storer radio properties. Baxter's credo is to match community need with the basic program service of news, music, entertainment and special features. Four of the Storer outlets are independents, three, network-affiliated. Baxter has held a variety of executive positions with the Lionel Baxter firm since 1953i wnen he be_ came commercial manager of WBRC, Birmingham, and moved a year later to the managing directorship. In '57 he took over v.p. and management of the Philadelphia outlet, WIBG, remaining there until 1959. TvAR to represent 3 CBS stations Television Advertising Representatives will represent three major tv stations now serviced by CBS Spot Sales. They are: WTOP-TV, Washington; WBTV, Charlotte, and WJXT, Jacksonville. Effective date is 25 June. TvAR now reps five tv stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting, of which it is a subsidiary. SPONSOR 3 APRIL 1961 RESEARCHERS' EYES CLUED TO FINE PRINT IN U.S. RATINGS SUMMARY Statisticians and analysts throughout the industry are absorbed this week in a word-by-word perusal of the complex 163-page report on ratings made by the American Statistical Assn. to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce in Washington. Admen and most broadcast pros are throwing up their hands— figuratively and literally— and relying on research colleagues to untangle the skeins of technical terms and interpretations. In balance, the report seems to omit specific conclusions arid to straddle the fence in documenting an equal number of pros and cons about current ratings services, their systems and techniques. Several trends emerging seem to follow those already established in agency analysis of the raw ratings data. Among them: • The major agencies blend the results of more than one service to come up with a pattern. They don't take a raw rating at numerical value per se. For example, if Service A shows a 10 rating, Service B a 5, these raw figures are balanced off against the program competition. Usually rankings of shows in relation to others surveyed by the same service show a constant pattern. • The same generalized approach is usually taken for audience composition data. For example, a program may attract 60 women, 30 men and 10 teens for among every 100 persons. An agency analyst, looking for trends, would be influenced against buying such a program for a male audience because of the female dominance. New York admen, commenting on the survey in general terms, concur that there is a need for standardization and additional documentation, and for the ATA's recommended Office of Research Methodology. As one noted, however, "Everybody is for better ratings. It's like no one being against sin!" Oren Harris, chairman of the Regulatory Agencies subcommittee — a follow-up group to the former Oversight subcommittee which commissioned the independent study a year ago — commented on the report's complexity as he released it to the press 10 days ago. He noted there was something in it for everybody — for those people against and those pro ratings as now determined. The six chapters in the booklet cover these subjects: 1. General introduction. 2. Discussion, conclusions and recommendations. 3. The data provided by the rating services. 4. Methods used and populations covered in current rating services. 5. Interviewing procedures. 6. Sampling methods. 31