Sponsor (July-Dec 1949)

chased, is a continuing part of the job. too. The service business is important, just as it is to dealers in the automobile business, and the service end of the Sunset operation receives frequent mentions on the air. Rudnick has also found that his business is already reaching the point where his old customers are bringing in their 1947 and 1948 model TV sets to trade in for new ones, usually asking for a screen size larger than their old ones. To encourage this, Rudnick usually manages to have a heavy neighborhood store traffic passing through the TV department of Sunset on a night when one of his shows is on, giving visitors a chance to see new-model sets in operation. Sunset Appliance Stores, Inc. has no ad agency. This has been something of a problem to Rudnick. His account is not big enough to interest seriously any of New York's major agencies with TV departments, and the smaller agencies haven't been able to convince Rudnick that they can do a job for him in TV. As a result, Rudnick has been handling his account with WPIX on a direct basis, as many TV-set dealers do, and has hired a TV-trained girl copywriter, Marjorie Shields, to write the copy needed for live narration over the slides and silent films that tell Sunset's sales story visually. Rudnick is a real student of TV. going out on remotes with the WPIX crews and supervising the telecasting of his commercials at the director's elbow. With Sunset's business growing all the time, doubling in brass as boss of Sunset and as his own agencyman has Rudnick frequently on the run. Rudnick has some big plans for the future of Sunset Stores. The plural title is no accident. Rudnick intends to expand his operation in the next year or so. He also intends to continue with his TV advertising, now averaging nearly five hours of programing a week and going as high as six-and-three-quarters when Sunset is sponsoring a WPIX sports one-shot. The existing contracts for Sunset's three sports shows run out this fall, and renewing each will be a matter of scheduling and options, and also, according to Rudnick. "how much money I have in the bank." In any case, Sunset will definitely continue its successful TV advertising, with the probable emphasis on sports programing. The reason is simple: it sells. WHEN PRESSES STOP (Continued from page 26) to collect upon its opportunity. Business isn't too bad in the capital, so why When the newspaper strike hit Seattle in 1945, broadcast advertising business was lush — there were waiting lists on several of the stations in town. Thus it became a problem of public service, rather than a matter of commercial time on the air. And Seattle's stations did a top job. KOMO carried a classified section on a staggered a.m. and p.m. schedule, with ads for free, if they justified it — lost, found, sell, buy, etc. Fleetwood Lawton, network newscaster, was replaced with a local news program. Church and school notices were given the right of way. Time was also cleared for commercials for theaters. It was, to repeat, time sold on a "service" basis, rather than a commercial basis. KOL carried an obit column. Its local newscasts were increased also, but it was the who-died-yesterday news that received the play. KIRO had to drop all its sustaining programs. It sold the time to local retailers. It's Swap 'n Shop Department, which started during the strike, ran for two years afterwards to good audiences. It found that a good part of the local-retail business that came to the station during the strike stuck with it. if not in as great a quantity, afterwards. KJR added some local newscasts and double-spotted commercials to make room for all who wanted to use the air. As a result of a previous newspaper strike in 1936. Bon Marche, an important department store, had come to radio and continued right along. It caried as many as seven newscasts a dav on WJR, had a heavy schedule on KOOM up to recently. Bon Marche is now trying TV. The independent stations in Seattle practically came of age during the strike. There was business for all. and they proved they had listeners. The big problem presented to advertisers by newspaper strikes is that they have to use broadcast advertising at once to replace newspaper advertising. They have neither the time nor the facilities to change over to radio thinking overnight. Even when strikes, like Seattle's, run for months, the day-today problems are paramount the intelligent use of the medium is still a great big question-mark. * * * He had just checked into his hotel room when the phone rang . . . sales manager calling from New York. "Just decided to run a radio schedule in your market. What station do you recommend?" "Had to think fast," says the salesman. "Didn't have time to check Hoopers, coverage and all that. So I told 'em, 'Give Me KDYL.' I knew I couldn't go wrong on that." Of course we're pleased he thought of KDYL first — but then, practically everybody does in the Salt Lake market. And with television success stories we have to show, they're thinking first of KDYL-TV too! National Repreientative: John Blair & Co. ask John Blair & Co. about the Hots & Martin STATIONS IN RICHMOND HI! IN. II I'll II WT11I AM FM TV First Stations of Virginia 4 JULY 1949 59