Sponsor (Jan-Apr 1957)

TV'S IMPACT (Continued from page 39) da) for information and along lines of specific interest than for sheer entertainment. Magazine fiction is on the downgrade, largely replaced by the tv drama. Dr. Tibor Koeves, v.p. of Institute for Motivational Research and its expert on communications, says: "Tv is not killing the magazines. The big magazines are getting bigger and the small ones smaller. Once in awhile one folds, but not from tv. "Americans watch tv but also read, though patterns ma) differ from pre vious years. 1 hey are more interested in non-fiction than in pre-war vears for several reasons: I 1 I they feel a greater responsibility: (2l they feel their personal lives are involved in big issues; (3) thev feel they're living in an era of dynamic change and don't want to be caught short. "In these areas," Dr. Koeves goes on, "tv offers some, but not overwhelming competition. The tempo of t\ is too fast for the viewer to comprehend abstract issues clearly. People read abstractions at a slower rate than fiction. On tv, the visual element constitutes distraction. People WHEC Rates FIRST with Rochester Listeners Out of 360 Quarter-Hours Mondays thru Fridays, In Competition with Five other Radio Stations WHEC RATES 275 FIRSTS and 10 Ties! Here's the Breakdown: WHEC Station B Station Stations C DE&F *FIRSTS in the Morning 115 0 5 0 *FIRSTS in the Afternoon 70 50 0 0 FIRSTS in the Evening 90 0 20 0 (10 ties) (10 ties) 'COMPLETE ROCHESTER PULSE REPORT OCTOBER 1956 BUY WHERE THEY'RE LISTENING . ■ . ROCHESTER'S TOP-RATED STATION WHEC S.000 WATTS Representatives EVERET T McKINNEY. Inc. New YoiK. Chicago. LEE F.O'CONNEU Co.. Los Angeles. San Fiancisco watch mannerisms and background. Reading remains more conducive to concentration. "Magazines may lose their readers from a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with tv. Our motivational explanation for the demise of (.oilier s is that people were unahle to define its personality sharply. It was undistinguished. It was a stranger to its readers." How do the advertisers and agencies view the tv-magazine picture since the passing of the Cro well-Collier famih ? Don Frost, advertising director for Bristol-Myers. sa\s: "We're al\\a\s appraising all media, hut no special job has been initiated because of the Collier's demise. Our own magazine advertising expenditure has actually increased tremendouslv since tv. We'll continue to be in magazines for a long time." Pete Matthews, executive assistant to Y&R's media director, sees Collier's ad budgets going into other magazines— and directh competitive ones — rather than into other media. "Usually accounts with big broadcast budgets," he says, "wouldn't require money released by one publication for their broadcast schedule and would hardly do a major re-evaluation just because a single magazine is out." But in some cases, he does feel, magazine thinking may be undergoing a change. Among some clients there is a fear that the Crowell-Collier disaster may be starting a trend. The head of an agency media department raised this question: If tv didn't kill radio, why should it kill magazines? "There's an enormous resilience in all advertising media." he said. "In the early days of only 63 tv markets, we did find magazines suffering in those markets. But I think they've bounced back." Terry Cunningham, advertising director for Sylvania. says an adman's major consideration is: How much does it cost to reach a consumer with an effective message'.'' In this, magazines are not yet prohibitive, though tv sometimes is for the smaller advertiser. As far as his company is concerned, Cunningham says, "We still regard magazines a vital part of a national advertising program. What kind of magazines will these be and how will they survive? The immediate solution to survival, according to Callagher. is a raise in advertising rates. Ip till now, tbe\ have 42 SPONSOR 26 JANUARY 1957