Sponsor (Sept-Dec 1958)

Scouting dair,^ originator and t farm prior to shooting Farm Newsreel feature a.c. and Roy Gorski, C&W acct. supvr. Feature lug Tom DeHuff (1), show's ht technical advances employing senii-animation — just right for showing the action of a systemic weed killer I working on the roots) as opposed to one that works on the leaves alone. Full animation was needed in the vaccine commercials to depict a sad-calf vs. happy-calf theme in the aureomycin commercials aimed at Texas cattle producers, while a stylized needle had to appear in the DuovaxHovac hog vaccination commercial. \\ hile the commercials in spring involved such animated techniques, live action commercials are now in use. 3. Broad coverage. To heighten the farming man's sense of participation, the show's content had to include a personal touch. So a three-ininute "Farmer of the Week" segment concluding the show was devised. To make it informative and timely, a list of possible candidates is sent to C&W \>\ editors of state agricultural college bulletins and approved by local county agricultural agents. Coverage of livestock shows and fairs, USDA reports, and an occasional youth feature al>o are included. A strong feature story— the $8 million dollar comeback of the nearly de funct citrus industry in Southern Texas — was uncovered by advertising manager Frank Cappy, who requested a pi duction crew come down and she the story. Generally, however, Metrotone cameramen in the area shoot footage and send it to New York. 4. News content. This had to be selected by a knowledge of likes and dislikes of the farm population. Thus global farm topics and national political news are known to have lower acceptance. But to avoid triviality sectional items were arranged so as to give the impression of national scope. 5. Timebuying. Sectional differences again had to be taken into account here. C&W timebuyer Robert Palmer aimed primarily at Friday and Saturday 6 and 7 p.m., next to national and local news shows. Time slots between 5:30 and 7 p.m. were obtained on 39 of the 52 stations, noontime slots on 12 stations, 9:30 p.m. on one station. The show was scheduled on Thursday in three markets, Friday in 20 markets, Saturday in 19, Sunday in four, Monday in four, Tuesday and Wednesday in one each. 6. Station criteria. The list was selected with these factors in mind: la) top coverage of important agricultural areas; (b) relative stature in the urban community; (c) reputation for farm and rural service; id) reputation of news department; and le) compatibility of time period and adjacent programs. "Thus the ideal station for Farm Netvsreel," says Palmer, "would have the top average rating and coverage in its market, outstanding farm and news service departments, and an iivailability between 6-7 p.m. surrounded by compatible programing." 7. Ratings. To test penetration of the farm-viewing audience only, ratings were obtained for five different programs. Hooper conducted special telephone surveys among farm families throughout the coverage area. (According to account supervisor Roy Gorski, interviews conducted coincidental to and immediately following the telecasts showed that the show "consistently reached more than a third of the available farm television audience.") 8. Merchandising. The feed merchant's store is an important spot for point of sale material tied to the show. According to merchandising manager Smythe, many of today's larger farms grow their own feed and have local feed merchants mill it for them and add feed supplements. A reminder to the customer about aureomycin at this level is important. The rise in the sale of animal health products is linked directly to the growth in sales of the "complete feed," which in turn is tied tc the expanding and more eScient farm (see graphs page 31 1. Results of the program are measured by the following: • "Ten and 12 ratings in many areas indicate the wide viewing audience we are seeking," says William Bunn, C&W officer-in-charge of the Cyanamid account. "Inquiries from agricultural machine companies and others in the field with suggestions for news stories that would include their products are proof that the show is creating wide agricultural trade interest." • Advertising manager Frank Cappy sees the results he's looking for in the educational job the show is doing. "We hear farm leaders cite it as a contribution to farm understanding generally," he says. "Segments of our shows are requested for screening at Grange meetings. This tells us we re hitting the mark." ^ 20 DECEMBER 195o