Sponsor (Nov 1948-June 1949)

Part Five of a Series The automotive story lU'iil case histories of down-to-earth air atlvertisini* «»ftV«*ii\ «»■■«»** The automakers, competing heavil) this year for a share of the estimated $5,000,000,000 market in U.S. passenger-tar sales, list hanllv a major firm in their ranks thai is not using radio or TV in one form or another. Chevrolet, industrv sales leader, is busv spending a $15-18,000,000 budget, much of it concentrated in wide selective announcement campaigns in radio and TV, network AM one-shots, and the T\ Chevrolet On Broadway. lord. Kaisei -|'ra/er. ISuick, Chrysler, Nash, Oldsmobile, a well as the national dealer organizations ot DeSotoPlymouth and Lincoln-Mercury, are regular AM network or TV network advertisers. Almost all auto firms are heav) selective advertisers, using for the most part e.t. announcements and T\ films. One large selective user. Kaiser-Frazer, found that a year of broadcasting announcements i in addition to network selling i brought sales increases of 10-20' < . \ growing list. too. ol auto dealers, among the more than 13,000 in the nation, are turning to broadcasting to maintain their sales rates in new ears and to build up business in repair facilities and auto accessories. Dealer failures in radio are few. and those occur mostl) because ol ,i lack of understanding of the medium and a refusal to promote broadcast advertising effectively. More and more dealers are going on the air with co-op support from the manufacturers from whom the) bu) theii cars and trucks, and a growing li-t ol automakers is including radio and T\ material in their prepared ad kit sent to dealers, ["he "dealei group" type of advertising on the air. particularly among the various Chevrolet and LincolnMercurj dealei groups, is growing, and now account foi nearl) a quarter of all current dealer I A advertising. I here is real competition these < I . i \ in auto accessories and the billion-dollar tire-and-tube market. \ irtuall) ever) major manufacturer has radio oi T\ in his selling plan-. Ford Truck Dealer SPONSOR: Hamco Trucks, Inc. AGENCY: Direct CAPSULE CASE HISTORY: April, 1949, proved to be the greatest month for truck sales in Hamco's history. As a result of a series of low-cost participations (live copy, plus visual cards) on WLW-T's "Peter Grant News" on Thursday nights, April orders from customers in the WLW-T area totalled 57 trucks, all traceable to the firm's directly-placed TV advertising. The visual advertising also stressed service for Ford trucks, and Hamco's repair business is now booming, according to Hamco's delighted president, Paul Westendorf. WLW-T, Cincinnati PROGRAM: "Peter Grant News" Auto-Lite Products SPONSOR: Electric Auto-Lite Co. AGENCY: Newell-Emmett CAPSULE CASE HISTORY: Auto-Lite, a consistent advertiser in radio for years, switched recently to a CBSbuilt show, "Suspense." The whodunit thriller is being aired now both in radio, and, in a slightly different form, in TV. Says Auto-Lite: "We think 'Suspense' on radio is doing an excellent job of raising the visibility of our name and the understanding of our products and services. It is also helping us to extend our distribution, which is the primary answer to sales in the automotive parts business." Firm also increased dealer co-op radio. CBS and CBS-TV NETWORKS PROGRAM: "Suspense" Windshield Wipers SPONSOR: Anderson Co. AGENCY: Schwab & Beatty CAPSULE CASE HISTORY: A few years ago, Anderson was anxious to introduce "Sleetmaster" windshield-wiper blades in the N.Y. area, hitherto weak in sales for the firm. Dealer acceptance also had to be gained. Firm bought a Sunday-night WOR newscast, and after 13 weeks found that radio had brought all company sales in N.Y. up to par (only "Sleetmaster" was mentioned), had convinced two leading N.Y. retail auto chains to stock the item, and had produced introductory sales for "Sleetmaster" beyond all hopes of firm and agency. WOR, New York PROGRAM: "Frank Singiser News" Pontiac Dealer SPONSOR: Jameson Motor Co. AGENCY: Direct CAPSULE CASE HISTORY: This Pontiac dealer, particularly anxious to reach rural listeners 75-80 miles from town, bought ABC co-op, "Headline Edition," with this result: Last six months of 1948, after radio compaign began, showed an increase of 305% in the firm's used-car business, always an important side-line to any new-car dealer. Jameson was able to prove that 54% of the used-car sales came from areas outside Alexandria, and most of the customers asked for a specific car they had heard about on the air. Jameson renewed for a second year. KALB, Alexandria, La. PROGRAM: "Headline Edition"