Sponsor (July-Dec 1954)

I. u it an) < asualties in the reshuffle." How did the bu) ei themselves rea< I to th< reorganization? sponsor asked. 'In the beginning particularly," Vfatthews told sponsor, "the oldei men tended to lean towards the medium the) k mi-\n best I he integration was an easiei Btep f<>r the post-wai additions i" the department men who didn't fefel that the) were being thrown out "I .1 medium the) 'd spent .1 decade O] re with into one with en'tirel) different methods ol operation. In talking to some live media buyers ..I diversified background afterward, SPONSOR found all "I them enthusiastic about iln' new system. \<ii starry-eyed in unaware <>l the difficulties it has presented, but generall) convinced that ii has represented an important career Btep l<>r them. "1 ou have so much more control ovei an accounl this way, said one buyer. "You're required to be completel) familiar with all phases ol the client's product and problems and that make ii far easier to make intelligent, over-all recommendations. "I ve had to reorient m\ thinking a lot during the past two years," re HOOPER Tells the KC Story! Look at these figures une 54 HOOPER :00 AM-12 N The pi cture has changed! Net A — 25.8 Ind A — 16.0 it. egro) KUDL _ 13.4 Net B — 10.8 Net C — 9.8 Ind B — 8.8 Net D — 7.2 Let your nearest FORJOE office show you the new June, '54, C. E. HOOPER .. DENVER, TOO!! marked another. " \t lii-t it -eemcil as though I couldn't possibl) digest all the neu material about tin main media dial I'd hardl) had an) contai t with previously. But now I feel thai the new knowledge about print has given me another dimension of understanding ol ladio and t\ . It's the difference between Irving to describe what's happening in a room from Matching through a keyhole to having an elevated swivel chair right in the middle of it. "The problem was made a hell of a lot easier In niv assistant." another buyei told sponsor. "He had experience in broadcast media while mine was in print. Ol course, our associate media directors were all-media men ami we could go in them for advice, and did. Hut it was helpful to work with a man right in niv own office and intimatel) on m\ own accounts who had background that I lacked." One of the systems that Levathes instituted to make the transition smoother was a Y&R school for buyers. Although he considers the integration completed, these weekly lecture meetings continue as a valuable exchange of information and a bringing up to date on various new research methods or other developments in the various media. And the reps? asked sponsor. \re the) as happ) with Yf&R's New Look as the agency and its clients? Generally not. For one thin». each rep has a lot more ground to cover now. and its tougher ground. He has to see 21 people instead of seven, if he's a radio-t\ rep; 21 people in-lead of 14, if he's a print rep. Also, he's having a tougher time getting in to see the buyer, because each Inner has so many more people to see. Yet there are the assistants whore trained all-media men and to whom he can make the pitch. No buyer would actual!) refuse to see a rep. hut he might suggest that the rep either wait a couple of week-, or, if it's urgent, that he conta 1 the assistant. I'rint rep-, who're accustomed to working on a long-term basis, found ii difficult at first to deal with buyers whose previous experience had hern in broadcast media. The print reps had been accustomed to making an appointment once a month or even ever) two weeks to documenl a print pitch I01 a year in advance. \nd there might he three or even more rep from each magazine trying to see buyers, because one rep would handle food accounts, another automotive-. The radio-tv -ali-men. whore used lo working <>n -hmt notice with two days to get in availabilities foi dozens o| stations, were qui< kei to realize how bus) the all-media buyers are. Yet they, too. feel the need for constant contact with the buyers. A station of theirs might change 1 haracter complete!) within a matter of days hecause ol a change in programing. This i a factor that does not affect the print rep. whose papers oi magazines1 'haracter is determined generally by longstanding editorial polic) . Some of the iadio-l\ rep contacted b) SPONSOR mentioned that they hated to make a pitch to former print men. I'rint buyers are aeeu-toined to \MC circulation figures. Most newspapers subscribe to Media Records or some other measuring hureau which provides the huver with the precise editorial slant of the newspaper plus the lineage of advertising the newspaper ha carried in the past in the various categories, e.g. tobacco, appliances, automotive. Radio or tv stations, on tin' other hand, rarelv provide information on their advertising and the character ol the station itself mav he subject to change with a re-hufile of programing. Other radio-tv reps, however, v few the \\R New Look with unqualified enthusiasm. Said Barn Keit of Headlev -Reed: "As a former print man (for \(> years) I feel that rounded media experience gives a buyer a sounder foundation for judging each medium. I think each Inner value is enhanced hv additional knowledge of other media and the more knowledgeable a Inner he is. the easier he is to talk husiness with In. in the rep's point of view. I he nature ol advertising is such that it requires broad knowledge on the part of the adman. It's a mi-take. I think, for agencies to follow the movie pattern of tv pe-casting." There' still a lot of di— en-ion among the reps mi the matter of the buyer's efficiency in the hroadcast media il he's been in print for a Dumber ol years. Main feel that the theory of integration i tine, hut in practice it creates big problems, particularl) for the man who has to sell to 10 instead ol -even people. Media directors of other ager* ies have viewed the ^ &R reorganization with interest and skepticism. Most oi them feel that the growth of the vari 80 SPONSOR