Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

By Daren F. McGavren President, Daren F. McGavren Co., Board chairman, McGavren-Guild Co. After three years wi h the Army Air Force during World War If, Daren F. McGavren first entered broadcast sales with KNOB (now KJOY) Stockton. Calif. He later became regional sales manager for the same station and two other California stations — KXOA Sacrai}ii'nto and KXOC Chico. In 1950, he struck out on his own and formed a regional radio rep organization, initially called Western Radio Sales, later renamed the Daren F. McGavren Co. and in 1962 renamed again to become McGavren-Gudd. That firm was further divided in August, 1964, into two separate companies: the Daren F. McGavren Co., specializing in a limited list of major market radio stations, and McGavren-Guild, selling oidy regional market facilities. McGavren is a former winner of the Silver Mike Award. load The 'specialized' radio rep can best aid the buyer in his best buy approach Consequently, the presentation ofen aimed at buyers — "We sound ust like so-and-so in such-and-such I city" — is not a reasonable sales wint. Instead, reps must weigh and ;onsider many other factors. To do so thoroughly involves a significant amount of time and concentrated research. And if the resulting inforimation is to be of any value to the iparticular buyer, it must then be tailored to his specific needs. This is a type of in-depth study that requires a specialist's touch. The time and care involved in iOperating in this fashion is well worth the effort, however. It continues to expose our salesmen to the :fine details involved in markets and istations. When such intelligence is ■passed on to agency media people, we know that we have done the best possible job. On the other hand, specialized representation also means proper attention for the regional stations that all too often suffer from neglect. Selectivity makes regional markets equally important — they are no longer overshadowed by competing major markets on the same list. Generally, regional markets have fewer stations than major markets. And agency media plans in regional areas often call for only a one-ortwo-station buy. In order to make an intelligent choice, buyers must know the marketing idiosyncrasies that may be involved. For example, distribution of a product in regional markets often is quite differently structured from "normal" sales patterns in larger cities. As another case in point, many products that are sold in regional markets are actually credited to sales in major markets because the items were shipped to the regional areas via the major cities. In such a regional market, a buyer with only cursory information would not have the true economic picture. But the specialized regional rep, with careful research, has the time for the in-depth exploration needed to uncover these true distribution patterns. If you are a specialist, you can then offer specialized services. Thus, specialization also permits a station rep — as our two firms do — to provide a sports department and creative programing help. These two departments are shared in common by both companies, incidentally. We feel they not only offer additional services to our clients, but also benefit agencies and advertisers, as intended, in turn. Thus, specialization and the special service that it provides both for the station and the agency and its timebuyers, is an invaluable aid to producing the "best buy" on the best sponsor vehicle that can be acquired. ♦ November 23, 1964 41