Sponsor (Jan-June 1953)

H /»•/ an advertiser should be interested in magazines as a medium Every reason why an advertiser is an advertiser is also a reason why he should be interested in magazines as a medium. For many decades the national magazine had been a most important medium. But during each year for the past 15 years it has been the most important national advertising medium — the most-used medium of all, with the greatest portion of national advertising money going into it, the largest number of advertisers using it. And though for years it has thus been the biggest of all national media — it continues to grow and grow, growing in the estimation of its advertisers and in the volume of Mr. Mullen its audience. From time to time, one medium or other may catch the glare of a brighter spotlight. But that sets up, as it should, a reevaluation of all media by advertisers. And that seems to result in their reaffirmation of the values of national magazines for advertising, and an increase in their use — by numbers of advertisers, by numbers of dollars. Any national advertiser who is interested in volume sales for his product or his service across this big, growing country simply has to be interested, continually interested, in national magazines. The record shows he is; and, eight times out of 10, as a user! W. H. Mullen, Director Magazine Advertising Bureau Il!lllll!illlllllllllllllllllilllll!lllllllll!lllllllllllllllllllllll!lllllllllllllllllllll!lllllll!lll!lllliy 1. CIRCULATION OF NATIONAL MEDIA lank Medium Circulation^ 1 NBC Radio 25,467,000 2 CBS Radio 24,191.000 3-4 NBC TV 21,423,000 3^t CBS TV 21.423,000 5-6 ABC TV 20,296,000 5-6 Du Mont TV 20,296,000 7 Mutual Radio 16,778,000 :: This Week 10,427,175 9 Life 5,311,747 Id Satevepost 4,216,017 11 Better Homes & Gardens 3,625.353 L2 Time 1,713.109 Since you're interested in how many people each medium reaches, you check further. Here's what you find: All the air media except Mutual outrank "Life."9 *2. PEOPLE REACHED BY MEDIA lank Medium Peopled 1-2 NBC TV 53,557,500 1-2 CBS TV 53,557,500 3^. ABC TV 50,740,000 3^1 Du Mont TV 50,740,000 5 NBC Radio 45,840,600 6 CBS Radio 43,543,800 7 ABC Radio 32,151,600 .". Life 30,900,000 9 Mutual Radio 30,196,400 Hi This Week 21,784,000 1 1 Satevepost 19,600,000 12 Belter Homes X Gardens 17,600,000 13 Time 3,500,000 Figures: Latest available end of April 1953 tABC circulation (print media) for six months ended 31 Deeemher 1952; radio irculation is for undupllcated homes leached once or more weekly, nighttime only. as of May 1952, based on Nielsen Coverage Si I vice study. TV figures for total unduplicated homes reached once or more weekly, nighttime only, as of 1 March 1953. NBC and CBS figures calculated by updating May 1952 NCS study. Tills showed each net got about 95% of U.S. TV homes. Since TV homes have grown ibiy since May 1052. SPONSOR projected figures forward to 1 March 1953 when NIJC TV reported there were 22,551.500 TV homes. Du Mont and ABC do not subscribe to NCS and tabulations were not available from other sources as to their NCS standings. However, researchers agreed that on circulation basis 90% of U.S. TV homes readied once or more weekly at night was reasonable estimate. This was accordingly applied against 1 March 1953 TV set homes figure. -1'ul ■>■ figures IS people pel h>>me or set listen to radio at night (against 1.3 average daytime); average nighttime TV audience: 2.5 people per set (against 1.5 people daytime). ARB figures tun higher. Crossley figures were used for I m Satevepost/' and "Better Homes & Gardens"; starch for "Time" and "This Week Starch figures for "Life" are 11,500,000; for the "Saturday Evening Post." 8,900,000, and for "Better Homes & Gardens." 7,707.000. They are lower because Starch doesn't measure pass-on circulation, just primary readership in the home. < po lev Incidentally counted "Life's" readers In 1949 and found 28. 7 million and again In 1052 when he counted 30.9 million ; PolltZ did his survey in 1950, found 23,950,000 readers. Crossley study was for "Look"; "Life" doesn't use his higher figure In promotion. Discrepancy between surveys shows that print studies have same difficulties as air measurements, especially ratings. No gross audience figures were available for "Time" or "This Week," so lower Starch primary readership figures were used Who "notes" commercials? You want to go a step further: How many people can I figure on reading my ad — if it's good, and how many will hear my commercial on radio or see it on TV? You check. Starch has figures on 500,000 ads. But you discover to your surprise: There is no continuing study like Starch's for print on gross audiences of air commercials. Figures available on individual studies are contradictory: Item: Starch reported in Aprii 1953 that 31% of the viewers of a highly rated TV program did not see either of its main commercials. An additional 8% could not recall either even when prompted with a description, but gave no reason for not seeing them. Thus 39% of the program viewers did not see any of the commercials. Of the remaining 61%, 18% recalled both and 43% either one or the other. All interviews were carried out within an hour after the program. Item : Dr. Kenneth Dameron of Ohio State University did a survey in the Columbus market recently (early 1953) and came up with these statistics on TV commercials: 19.5% of the viewers questioned (total unreported) said they "usually" don't pay attention to the blurb; 41.25% "sometimes" don't; 18% "seldom" don't, and 15' , "never" look away once the commercial begins. Hem: Trendex seems to contradict both of above with its report on product identification made three times yearly. The one for October-November 1952 shows the gross average of those who correctly identified the product sponsoring the show was 65.2%. Lipton's led the identification list for Talent Scouts with 95.2%, American Tobacco for Your Hit Parade with 94.1% and Pabst beer for Fight of the Week with 92.8%. The lowest show was rated 25% by the Trendex report. Researchers raise this point: There is no disagreement that TV commercials have the highest product identification of any ads, but there is still no way of determining gross audiences to commercials, especially spot as against those integrated into nerwork programs. And Alfred Politz raises this further point: How many people who stay in the room actually listen to an unintegrated commercial? He admits it's exceedingly difficult to find out. So if you can't determine how many people see or hear your commercial, you do the next best thing: Decide how many hear or see the program — preferably the best one. {Please turn to page 88) 48 SPONSOR