Sponsor (July-Dec 1952)

Radio pinpoints the farmer Consumer advertisers are showing a greater awareness of the farm market. A strong portent in this direction is the tendenc) among larger agencies to de\elop specialists in all facets of pinpointing the advertising message at the Farmer. His is a market that will, by authoritative estimate, add up to $38 billions in gross income during 1953. Radio looms larger than ever in this pinpointing technique. Radio offers to the consumer advertiser an intermediary between himself and the farmer prospect which is without parallel in am other medium. That intermedial) i> the radio stations farm director. To the fanner the radio farm director is not merely a microphone personality. Next to his own kin. the farmer perhaps has no closer daily link than his favorite radio farm director. He's the fanner's main advisor and information line. Out of this relationship the farmer derives a sense of being on top of his field knowledgewise and at thr same lime he receives practical guidance in getting the most dollars and cents out of his investment and efforts. The importance of the radio farm director to the farmer is a theme that is singled out for special documentation by sponsor in the farm section I How to get the most out of farm radio and TV I which starts on page 27. It is one of the many highlights of a survey on the meaning of air media to the farm market and their value to the advertiser, both agricultural and consumer. For this report to the advertiser sponsor surveyed over 100 leading farm-area stations in every section of the U.S. The answers contain a wealth of data that should prove helpful to the advertisers and their agencies in determining how best to use the farm market. From the various chapters in the farm section the adman will gather information on the size and scope of the farm market, practical suggestions on how he can get his story over with maximum effectiveness, a collection of farm radio results, and an up-to-date listing of farm stations. Just as an example: The advertiser will learn that selling the farmer needs a keener understanding of his likes and dislikes than is commonly thought. A conservative, factual person by nature, the farmer is inclined to go in for quick tests of a product unless the recommendation comes from some one in whom he has developed a credence land that's where the radio farm director figures eminently I . He shies away from strident, high-pressure salesmanship as much as he takes offense at the overdone folksy sort of commercial. The farm market in 1953 presents the advertiser with an unusually enticing investment for his advertising dollar. SPONSOR hopes that the arraignment of facts and opinion in the Farm Section will contribute much toward helping the advertiser get the most out of farm radio and TV. Is the single rate a panacea? About the hottest subject under dis< ussion among heavy users of air media and advertising agencies is the possibility of the single rate being yvidely adopted among radio stations during 1953. An opinion appraisal of the topic is treated in this issue under the headline "Will the single rate structure sell nighttime radio?" page 19. In surveying the field for this article SPONSOR found but two station reps unalloyedly disposed toyvard recommending the single rate in TV areas as a means for improving nighttime business. Both reps felt that trend toward the single rate would take on a graduated acceleration through 1953. while one of the rep organizations went so far as to predict that practically all stations in saturated TV areas will in a year or year and a half have adopted a single rate structure. One thing made apparent by the big buyers of spot during the course of sponsor's quiz in connection with the article was this: Daytime schedules had become too overcrowded to take care of all the need there was for spot radio; circumstances make extending spot campaigns to the nighttime brackets strongly advisable. The buyers said they will be encouraged to move in that direction if "rates are realistic." Many of the reps seemed to doubt this. Applause Highlights of 1952 ll s CUStomar) to pause for a moment of retrospect at year's cim\: to Irs to recall the major events oi de velopments of the preyious 12 months. The charade, if it mas be called that, takes on an added piquancy if there i> no recourse to the published files. I lere are "the events and developments thai come readilj to mind: I. The lifting of the TV freeze, w Im li not < . 1 1 1 \ led in a rush for sta tion grants but a continuing effort at projecting TVs future in terms of station coverage and costs I see "What happens when there are 500 TV stations" in 12 January 1053 SPONSOR issue i . 2. Establishment of the NCS and S \ \i coy erage scry ico w hich gay e new research dimensions to radio and TV. 3. Successful outcome of radio-1 \ s insistence on having their own men included in the correspondent group that accompanied President-elect Eisenhower to Korea. 4. The air media's coy erage of the Presidential conventions and campaigns which revolutionized techniques o| politics and suggested to politicians that the time has come for a broad revamping of both politicking structures. 5. Such innovations in T^ programing as ••Omnibus" I CBS I and NBC's engagement of Robert E. Sherwood to write original plays. 92 SPONSOR