Sponsor (Nov 1948-June 1949)

SPONSOR SPEAKS Too many jobs Several important developments have evolved since the National Association of Broadcasters decided lo set up the Broadcast Advertising Bureau. First, it has been agreed that the BAB will function from the capital of advertising, New York. Second, the Bureau is set to do an intensive promotion job for the commercial side of radio — something long overdue. There is a big rub, nevertheless. The I! \li is biting off a number of extraneous jobs which are not directly related to selling advertising on the air. These jobs, such as the problems of station rate cards, code, and like matters, are part of air advertising, but they are not part of its promotion. The BAB must stick to its last. Its $200,000 won't go very far if it's spread over a number of varied projects. Used for sales promotion to sell broadcasting as an advertising medium, under the efiicienl direction of BAB's Mitchell it can accomplish wonders. New approach to summer Throughout the industry, sponsor's Summer Selling issue (9 May) is being used to open doors on a new approach to the good old summer time. Much that sponsor reported is not new. What sponsor did was to gather existing material together and bring it to the attention of sponsors and agencies. The general concept has been that I i 1 < • i j i f i u shows a decided drop in the humid days. The research material available indicates that the summer broadcast advertising audience may be as big, if not bigger, during certain hours of the summer day as it is during the rest of the year. There are new summer studies being made throughout the nation. WNEW's report on listening away-from-home is only the beginning of that station's investigation on listening that can't be checked by telephone surveys. What happens to the listening of the millions who take long automobile trips is also being studied by vacation bureaus of states in which vacation travel and spending are important. Summer broadcast-advertising thinking has been started in a new direction, sponsor is going to make it a continuing project to report on the effect of summer advertising both on a 52-week basis and on special seasonal campaigns. We've only started reporting the facts of summer selling on the air. Radio helps the auto dealer Broadcasting can and does do a selling job. There are very few who dispute this on an over-all basis. There are, however, mam who sav "it cant sell for us. It's okay for Jones or Smith, but for me it won't do a job." That isn't so. Broadcasting can and will do an advertising assignment for any type of business which calls upon it, if it's employed correctly. For years automotive dealers would have no truck with radio. A few dealers did experiment during the war. A few others decided not to advertise by rote. A cross-section of these automotive dealers and manufacturers have case histories which sponsor feels rate special attention. Twelve of these case histories have been collated and are reported upon in capsule form in this issue (pages 30 and 31 I. We make no pretense that this double-page spread of capsule case histories is complete. It is. instead, just indicative — of what can be done when broadcast advertising is utilized effectively. Applause Don't keep it secret Most ideas and programs developed li\ sponsors and stations arc held to be deep, dark secrets. A broadcastadvertising formula is tried and found successful. At once the sponsor and ne\ wrap it up in a tight package and put it in a vault. This is especially true in the case of selective broadcasting, where it is most difficult for sponsors to find out just what their competition is doing. Bulova, for example, develops a ten-second stationbreak formula for TV. and al once endeavor to keep the idea secret, and also to keep confidential the list of stations which it is using. A real effort is made lo keep the BuloVa idea Bulov a propei t\ . Sometimes the vault and the "confidential" routine work. More often they're just delaying tactics, for the information finally lands in tin hands of the competition and the station list becomes general industry property. Our thesis is that prompt full revelation would be bound to help broadcast advertising. The more that is known. the more effectively does all broadcast advertising function. What helps one helps all. That is the basis for the operation of the Vssociation of Independent Metropolitan Stations. I'.aeh station agrees lo write to every other member of the AIMS group monthlv. giving them information of new programs and promotional ideas. The station are noncompetitive ami the exchange is volun tary, but if a station skip three months it's dropped from the association. Results are indicated in the manner in which non-network stations in basic market areas have grown in importance. The expansion of stations like WHDH (Boston I andWHHM (Memphis) is no accident. Fach has developed its own formula. Fach has adapted ideas developed bv other metropolitan independent stal ions. I he i esull is huge audiences for these non-network stations huge audiences for national -elective advertisers .... a better broadcast-advertising audience and a belter -eiviee lor the men and women who listen. The \I\1S formula rates loud and loni: applause. It should be accepted and used bv all who live by radio. 6? SPONSOR