Sponsor (Nov 1948-June 1949)

SPONSOR SPEAKS knell of radio. Ri<li< ulous. Does the existence of newspapers doom magazines ? Actually, radio is the most profitable advertising medium available. The Rumors won't change the record This is an era ot rumors and prognostications concerning hroadeast advertising. You hear new ones ever) day. So do we. Much of what we hear could well do credit to Fantastic Stories. Much of it breeds confusion and uncertainty in ever) segmenl of the industry, including the offices of advertisers and (heir agencies. It warps good advertising judgment. It hurts radio and television alike. So. to all buyers of advertising, we advance this suggestion: examine the facts. lor example, the new-found rumor that radio is losing ground. Actually, toda\ there is more radio listening than ever before. Then there is the also new-found rumor that television spells the death record is bulging. Nothing has happened to the resultproducing power of radio. And rumors won't change the record. TV and profits Nine years of top-profit operation can completely remove from the memory the days when radio-station operation vvasn t a gold mine. It wasn't too long ago when more than half of the nation s stations were running in the red. when stations with nation-wide reputations were happy just to break even. It isn t. therefore, too surprising to discover that with possiblv three exceptions all TV broadcasters are losing money each month — and that the TV networks are piling up red balances that presage no dividends for stockholders for years to come. TV holds but one magic profit lure and that's for advertisers. I sing it intelligently can bring dollars for pennies. It's doing that daily even now. I sing TV without flair or without an understanding of its place in the advertising world can mean money thrown away. As an advertising medium. TV is here. As a business designed to make mone) for investors, TV has a long way to go. Tell the business truth It's not necessar) to have a Polly anna approach in order to fight the current non-buying trend. There are plenty of facts which indicate that the I . S. is not in for another depression. First, there's more money in the banks of America than ever before — and it's money that belongs to the average citizen, not big corporations and millionaires. Second, the possibility of banks closing is slight, due to Federal Bank Insurance which protects deposits up to So. 000. Third, corporations are not in an over-extended position, and most of them have cut their bank loans lower than an) time in history. Radio is ideal for bringing facts home. Its a personal medium. It comes into the home. It speaks man-to-man. In most cases, it's a local man speaking to a local man. when it comes to newscasting. There are hundreds of facts that are good against the few that are bad. It's time to turn on broadcasting power to prove that it can counteract the fear that's slowing down America. Washington won't do it. for there are some representatives and senators who will profit from the public having a bad time now. But radio can tell the truth — can turn to facts and figures which prove just how good business i-. It doesn't take too much to change a business trend. Each person in the I . S. spending SI more a day would mean (ruling out America's babes-inarm) $100,000,000 increase daily . or S31.000.000.000 a month. Let radio tell the business truths. sponsor's staff, as it travels around the country, is committed to spreading the nootl husiness word and ha\ ing il spread by the industry that's best equipped to do it broadcasting. It's service in the public interest. Applause BAB makes a start No matter how much talk then has been about the National Association of Broadcasters taking a more aggressive attitude toward the commercial side ol radio, there h.i Mill been a greal deal ol (ingei crossing l>\ advertisers, agencies, and even b\ member stations. I he firsl |nool thai the \ VB's com menial -v\ itch w asn t just lip sei \ ice is the Canadian government's appropiation of a token $35,000 foi travel advertising. It's a small pari of the over-million-dollai budgel which the Canadian travel bureau spends on advertising each sear.but it s a start. The entire $1,000.0(11) was -pent previously in newspapers and magazines. There's choice time available during the summer months for travel advertising on the air. Listeners' minds frequentl) are. up to the last pre-v action minute-, undecided on w here to go especially il there's a car in the family, Thus. Canada's appeal is addressed to vactioners living within 300 miles of the border. Stations in this area are being asked to rush availabilities to ( ockfield, Brow n Si Co., Ltd., the agencv handling the account. Credit for breaking down Canadian thinking goes to the N \B and its new advertising subsidiary. Broadcast \dvertising Bureau, headed hv Maurice Mitchell. It goes to N Al! itself because the fight stalled before the BAB came into being. It goes to BAB because pushing the government bureau into the final decision was the job 01 Mili hell w ho heads the Bureau. The stai i has been made. B \B has proved il can carr) the tale of how well broadcast advertising sells even to hide hound governmental bureaus. 70 SPONSOR