Sponsor (Apr-June 1964)

IME / Buying and Selling FM is a muscle medium Buyers and sellers alike must realize radio is a dynamically growing sales force, not a rarefied type of advertising requiring special treatment , Robert Richer, president, iiuri Richer Representatives, c. s II I III I l\ll III S I RS 1 II I I in not complicated enough, there ..• gome vers real changes taking in the radio industry — s that should affect buying litems and dollar allocations. I am referring to the amazing pwth ol fm radio, and by growth Hon't mean to limit the term to si one area. Fm radio set sales i ibsolutel) phenomenal both in graph fm combinations and portable and ear im radio : ies ( irowth in terms of stai ns is also amazing. At present are better than 1,100 tm is on the air and. while a majits ol the stations duplicate at list pan ol the am programing Dplied b) a sister station, more ;d more of these facilities are bci*. programed separately. Along with this growth, howthere are problems, and the i >st important in terms iif the hg-range sitalits ol Im is the feelit on the part of main people — and buyers alike -that Im i ho. because it is fm, is a special : advertising medium deservi special treatment and considcrarom sponsors and timebuyers. Nothing could be further from t truth and nothing can do mote i serioush limit the growth ol a mic sales medium. I in radio is not special radio, i is it a different type ol advert ng medium. It is a superior nthod of broadcast transmission. :mg. in main eases. a type ol I cning not generally available to ' average am facility I m is ;;,>/ sacrosancl and not all fm stations operating today deliver a highquality, prestige audience, rhere are Inis on the air that program nothing but religion, and there is at least one im operating strict!) as a I up 40 rocker and it's gel tmg listeners. But just because it's Im doesn't mean it's "quality." \s the number ol tin receivers sold in this countr) skyrockets, it is impossible lor the Im audience to adhere to the good old characteristics ol being Harvard-educated, Soeial Register. 92* i income tax bracket, etc. I here JUS1 aren't enough of this type to go around in relation to the number ol sets being sold. \nd. as I red Mien said when confronted with the seeming contradiction ot increased television set sales and increased radio set sales "... people are buying radios and they're not using them tor book ends I Ik s.uik Can be said about tm set sales today. People are buslire and make no mistakes about it. the) are listening, and the> are a •t group oi consumers sponsor said it last suninu \ 1963): "... traditional long-hair characteristics "t tm and tm stereo programing will have to yield to k-ss strictlj classical appeal in bkl fot well-educated, well-heeled, but more esoteric soung marneds who axe flocking to good listening at home and en route " I his is where fm*S potential lies and this is win tm is now becoming an important sales tool to an increasing number ol class-mass advertisers I he crux of the matter is this im is radio It is growing in two ways b\ drawing off am listeners who are "trading up" to the better things in life and b\ bringing in new listeners. V a result of this growth, tm Bob Richer formed his rep firm three sears ago. lie has also been with Nl \ Spot Saks as an account exec and served twice in that capacits with \dam Young, Inc.. where from ll>5l> to 1960 his duties included researching ami organizing a separate division designed to handle fm stations. From 1958 to ll>5l> be was national sales and prodt tion manager for Hill Graaei Productions. IK' started in broadcasting in 1953 with MM and later wrote and produced strictls From Dixie, ireekt) MIC Radio program, iniuurrentls with his duties in the \N MIC New v, ork. sales department. *'l 20, 1964 37