Sponsor (May-Aug 1957)

Capsule case histories of successful local and regional radio campaigns RADIO RESULTS MAGAZINES SPONSOR: Ebony Magazine AGENCY: Allen Marin & Assoc. Capsule case history: Based on the experience of Ebony magazine, the old door-to-door approach will have to bow to radio advertising when it comes to selling magazine subscriptions. In just nine weeks, station WJLD received 5,967 requests for subscriptions to Ebony during a special radio promotion which ran last summer. WJLD was one of approximately 86 radio stations chosen for the campaign. Various program segments were used on the Birmingham station and listeners were urged to call in their subscription orders while the Ebony magazine program was on the air. The radio commercials emphasized the offer made to all who subscribed of five issues of Ebony for $1.00 as compared with the newsstand price of 30(? per copy. The result was a total of nearly 6,000 subscriptions obtained between 25 June and 29 August. Among all the stations used in the promotion, WJLD ranked second highest nationally in total orders. WJLD, Birmingham, Ala. PURCHASE: Program segments HI-FI EQUIPMENT SPONSOR: J.-nkin' Mum. Co. AGENCV : Direct Capsule case history: Jenkin's Music Company of Kansas Cit\. Mo., normally allocated all advertising funds for newspaper ads. Recently, however, Jenkins made a radio buy which resulted in a sales total much larger than the number of sales the firm had gained from other forms of advertising. This spring Jenkin's held its first Hi-Fi Festival, a special promotion designed to move high-fidelity equipment. For this particular promotion, the firm decided to eliminate newspaper advertising and rely on radio instead. Using no other ad medium, Jenkin's ran a concentrated campaign of announcements on WHB augmented by personal appearances of WHB disk jockeys. The radio campaign paid off by more than doubling hi-fi sales in comparison with results previously obtained from other advertising media. The success of the Hi-Fi Festival was achieved in spite of the fact that spring is the off season for sales of hi-fi apparatus. WHB, Kansas City, Mo. PURCHASE: Announcements RUGS SPONSOR: Nebraska Furniture Mart AGENCY: Jean Sullivan Capsule case history: The immediacy of radio's impact makes this medium ideally suited to the type of advertising campaign which bases its entire success on a prompt consumer response. The experience of the Nebraska Furniture Mart is a case in point. Last February on Lincoln's birthday, the Mart held a special sale on throw-rugs. Heralded as a Lincoln Day Special, the reduced price of 95^ a rug was to be in effect for just one day. Using radio exclusively, the firm bought six announcements on KFAB to promote the sale. The commercials ran on the day of the sale only and were broadcast early in the morning between 6:30 and 3:30 a.m. When the Mart opened its doors at 9:00 a. in.. there were people waiting in line. By noon, hundreds of customers had streamed through the store to take advantage of the radio special. A Mart affiliate in Lincoln reported heavy traffic although it was not mentioned on the air. KFAB. Omaha, Neb. PURCHASE: Announcements CAMERAS SPONSOR: Valley Camera Shop AGENCY: Direct Casule case history: Though all advertisers want to avoid excessive advertising expenditures, it is undoubtedlv the small advertiser who is most concerned with finding a medium which will give him optimum results with economy. In the case of this camera shop, a radio campaign was found to give the best return on the sponsor's advertising dollar. In promoting a special sale, the Valley Camera Shop found that radio commercials produced customers at less than half the cost of another medium. John Bazar, owner of VaUej Camera, bought time on KBIF to promote a sale of Praktiflex cameras. Bazar used thirty half-minute announcements broadcast over a three da\ period. The cost was S75. He also advertised in another medium at a cost of $180. The shop had just as many inquiries and sales from radio as from the much costlier medium. "We sold cameras." said Bazar, "'and I feci that KBIF was a good investment." KBIF. Fresno, Cal. PURCHASE: Announcements SPONSOR 1 JUNE 1957