Sponsor (Nov 1948-June 1949)

I SPIN THAT DISK i Continued from page 23 I when a guesl spol seems t" demand it. \\ hile it's parents to whom most juvenile opportunity hours appeal, thev also have an extensive audience among the three to 13-year-olds, man) of whom have performing ambitions. There was a time when most of these opportunity broadcasts were presided ovei b) adults and the) still are in man) cases like the ver) successful Horn and Hardart Children's Hour, in Philadelphia (WCA1 i and New York (WNBC). It was no accident however that the New York program seemed much more entertaining to the voungsters wlii-n Id llerlihv was on a vacation and one of the older youngsters on the program took over. The broadcasts weren't as finished productions in the adult eyes, but their ver) raggedness was just what the undci-l". ordered. I he of-for-and-b) quality is w hat makes man) of the kid revues successes. Twelve-year-old Richard Leone, inc's WHOO's Tom Thumb Follies for an age group that runs slightly beyond 13, but Orlando's kids love it. Talent presentations do not depend upon premiums but on entertainment at the level of juvenile listeners. They also depend on the know-how of the adult who auditions the talent, writes the continuity, and mothers the brood. In the case o| Tom Tliumh Tollies, it's Mrs. Frieda lliltcm. who not only knows and trains the \oung idea, but who has worked foi a number of years at radio stations. In other words, when she selects someone for the Follies she's thinking just as much about how he'll sound in the home as she's thinking about his native talent. I hat s wh\ Sears sponsored the program for its kid clothes department. The Wilson Shoe Stores also found that Tollies sells shoes to the entire famil) . It is generall) admitted that nothing n ai hes all members of a home better than a good talent opportunit) provi am. There s nothing worse than the same type ol program without talent. In a numbei ol i ases di amatic schools have eithei pun hased time oi else sold station managements on presenting .1 juvenile program ol the students of the school. In al leasi hall of these cases the pi ogi ams \i&\ e di ,m n an audience completel) composed "I relatives of the students. Sponsors are warned to avoid kid programs where they've been put together bv a -ehool unless the school is exceptional. It's virtuall) impossible to satisfy anxious parents who are paving tuition and the great radio audience too. Another popular device that bits a universal yen among the listening blue jean set is the junior disk jocke) contest. These sweepstakes can be simple or thev can be complete promotions like the one that Ketchum, MacLeod & Grove dreamed up for their client Hamburg Brothers, RCA distributors for Pittsburgh, and a RCA dealer, the Record and Gift Center. The junior disk jockey competition is paid for three-vvavs. co-op funds from RCA, Hamburg, and the dealer. The KMG agenc) plan, which bad to be good since it competed for the high school and younger audience with another disk jockey's program that had a faithful audience, involved a regulai Junior \chieve incut-like corporation. There is no monev involved, however, and each stockholder is entitled only to one share of nontransferable stock. The corporative title was Sponsor and there were stockholding units in ever) high school in Greater Pittsburgh. Each highschool unit elected a member of the board of directors, there were weekly competitions for the disk jocke) of the week, who was paid the regular union scale for the job. A regular little newspaper called Sponsor! was published, mystery tunewere included on the program, and everything promotionwise was planned to make this daily program something terrific. This junior disk jockey plan was com cived for a very special reason — the youngsters today buy far more popular disks than any other consume! segment. Disk jockeys always sell records even when they're sponsored bv other than music stores. When there's a well conceived direct tie-in with record selling the results can be outstanding. A ver) special factor in a junior disk jocke) promotion such as Sponsor is the fact that an advertiser need not Inn time on the stations in tow 11 w ith the highest rates. Independents, like Pittsburgh's WPIT. do a real job for music sponsors. That's what they're made of music, news, spoils, and music. Not all juvenile disk jockeys have young audii nee-. Frequently, il they're like \1111 ( arter, Warners Bros.' starlet, thev'll icach a more adult audience and the kids listen onlv when their tvpe of music is aired. Ann's session of K.FWB tended to showtunes instead of kid tunes and although Ann usually talked about what she thought the composer was trying to say with bis music, most kids aren't interested in another kid's reaction to a tune. The) know what the) think and unless the record spinner has something very hep on the ball, the kids turn a deaf ear. A typical Ann Carter Presents session had Bing Crosby's Easter Parade. Spike Jones' / a It anna Buy a Bunny'.''. Neelv Plumb's Spring Tonic and Jo Stafford's and Gordon MaeRae s Bluebird of Ha]>piness. Sixteenyear-old starlet Debbie I!ev nobis, who also spins records on KFW I>. picks disks that also hit at the older age group-. \ typical Reynolds spinning session used Ella Fitzgerald's A Tisket a Tasket. Gordon Jenkins' Again, Frank Sinatra's Bop Goes My Heart, and I'leimv Goodmans Spring Son±. The combination of a fresh unsophisticated approach to disk spinning is fun — for adults. The younger set are fresh themselves and not too impressed with seeing themselves mirrored on the air. Thev do however go for disk juries of their own age who sit down and -av what the) think of popular tunes and artists. This approach to a recorded music session is very popular with the eight-to-eighteen group. It's a very simple commercial musical program formula. Take a number of new disks, mix a few hep youngsters — and a musical guest now and then. Let the music, kids, and guests, speak their minds and the result is good listening. It naturally requires an mc who knows how to keep things going, but the mc doesn't have to be a MeCafferty on a juvenile disk forum. Let nothing in this report delude sponsors into believing that the simple combination of youth, disks, and an experienced jockev is a guarantee of commercial success on the air. 'Taint so. The ingredients are all there but unless they're well mixed by a pn>ducei who knows how to keep things going, who can make the kids act and sound like kids, it all can be a huge w ,i-te of time and monev . Even if it's a good show, it still can be a waste of time without adequate promotion. Martin Block is a top flight disk jockev but be can -how \ou his scars, failures on the air. too. * * * 34 SPONSOR