Sponsor (May-Aug 1957)

CAMPBELL'S NEW TEAM roniinued . ham, Louis & Brorby, Leo Burnett and Tatham-Laird, who generally also get at least a day each. According to some agency spokesmen who profer anonymity, these pre-i ntations can be "downright brutal. Between getting questions shot at you and changes 'suggested' to you. and not being able to smoke, you can go "lit of your mind." But once the presentation has been accepted, the chances are that there will be few, if any, major changes between that time and the earning out of the advertising plans. "Once you've passed that firing line, you're in good shape," one agencyman told sponsor. "That is. providing vour film commercials have a perfect sound track, the animation is smooth enough to run away with all the art awards, and above all, the product makes you want to eat soup even though \ ou break out in hives from it." Actually, the presentations in early May follow the first work on the marketing plan 1>\ some six months. Before these presentations are made, the Campbell product managers (marketing and advertising both I. McGlinn, Budd and Scowcroft have already reviewed the agency's marketing plans in written form. "This w i itten marketing plan." Budd told sponsor, "Is actually the product of combined agency-Campbell effort. The product advertising and marketing managers work constantly with the agency account men in pulling together the facts and analyzing them prior to the final writing of this report. By the time the agencies make their presentations, we've tentatively approved budget recommendations and other basics. During the presentation we want to review advertising approaches, see tv story boards to evaluate the theme and see how it'll sell. We want to hear audition tapes or records for radio commercials." ► Program choice. This part of the job is handled separately from the formal 1-15 May agenc\ presentations. " \n\ thing our agencies recommend, we look at," says McGlinn. "But since the availability of good programing doesn t coincide with our rigorous schedule, we screen shows year-'round. rather than on a time table." In other words, like anv other sophisticated air media advertiser toda\. Campbell Soup keeps a continuous weather eye out for new and better properties as possible replacements for their existing shows when these either outlive their contract or their popularity . On the other hand, a basic all \ newnetwork tv bu\. involving adding a new time period, for instance, might come out of the marketing plan and the subsequent agencv presentations. Sometimes, three or four weeks can elapse after an agency presentation, before the plans recommended can be considered "final."' For this "finality," the agencv must make a formal presentation not only before the same group that saw it previously, but also before Bev Murphy, the youthful (49v ear-old I president of Campbell, under whom the firm put up a fraction of its stock for public ownership in 1955 for the first time in its history. Since Murph) ha< been kept abreast all along hv McGlinn of the marketing thinking and strategy as it developed, the last presentation is the result of joint effort. Perhaps nine times out of 10, Murphy tends to approve the entire plan. He's had ample chance to modify or influence it prior to the formal presentation through consultations with McGlinn. Tv requires high-level decision VA hen it comes to screening a new tv show, which is not part of the formal Mav presentation, it's unlikelv that a final decision to buy would be made without Murphy's approval. The moneys involved in a major television decision have brought tv advertising decisions to a higher level than the less binding decisions in other media. ► Coordinating tv buys. While the decision to buv is a joint effort involving possibly Murphy, but always McGlinn. Budd, Scowcroft and one or several groups of product executives, the coordination of a tv buv is pretty much the province of Rex Budd. as the corporate advertising director and Jim Shenfield. director product marketing. "The advertising department operates in a staff capacity as consultants." says Budd. "We have over-all responsibility for anv advertising that cuts across product lines, such as the current qualit\ campaign on ingredients." No buying decision is made before Budd pools the product managers to find out ill whether thev feel need for nighttime network tv: (2) whether they like the choice of time and prograining: (3 1 whether and how much thev can contribute to the cost. If Budd's department found out from such a survey that, for example, frozen foods could put up SI million, Franco-American, $750,000 for a nighttime tv effort, then Budd would go to work to find a show to cosponsor. ► Agency relations. Says Budd: "We feel that the multiple-agency setup parallels our own decentralization. Back in 1947 we were marketing 34 products, now it's over 80. That's just another indication of our need for decentralization. Each product group has its own agency, and we believe this prevents our getting 'the 5:15 treatment. In a way. the agencies compete with each other to render the best possible service to the segment of our business they've got as clients.' "We feel four agencies are just right for our size," Budd told sponsor. "If we split our billing too much, we'd dilute it and get less service." After its 39-year association with Ward Wheelock Co.. Campbell picked BBDO for the heat-processed soups in 1954. Leo Burnett handles FrancoAmerican products and tomato juice. "We felt, with the acquisition of Swanson 1 1955 I that we should have Tatham-Laird stay on some frozen foods." Needham, Louis & Brorby handles pork and beans and V-8. \\ bile Campbell Soup uses every service its agencies offer (from promotion to marketing to research) to the fullest, the company does duplicate some of these services purposely. For instance, there's a media supervisor under Rex Budd. who mainly checks on the spot schedules the agencies buv for the various products, sees media reps to keep up to date on new market and media trends. Network salesmen tend to see Budd or the product men. Whereas on a problem of clearing more stations for a particular network tv show, the negotiations might involve McGlinn and a network v. p. "We never refer the reps to our agencies without seeing them. Our door's always open." says Budd. "Of course, we want them to see the agencv, but we also feel that we have to be well-rounded ourselves. The rep can keep us informed on what the market is on tv time. \\ e like to know what the co-sponsorship trends are. We want to be informed on programing news, time trends. This helps us make wiser buvin« decisions." ^ II SPONSOR 1 JUNE 195'