Ballyhoo (Sep 1960)

Page scan 0001 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Sep 1960
Volume:
Time Out for Ticket Talk (Sep 1960, no date)
Leaf #:
0001
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Global Cinema, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Ballyhoo

  • Ontario 'B' District Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1952-55)
  • Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’, editor: Dan Krendel (1955)
  • National Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1956-57)
  • Time Out for Ticket Talk, editor: Norman Barker (1960-61)

Ballyhoo (1952-61) was published by Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a mimeographed internal sales and theatre managers’ newsletter. Editor, Dan Krendel, had been division manager of the Ontario ‘B’ District since 1942, and initially created Ballyhoo in 1952 to circulate weekly updates for a regional sales contest. Ontario ‘B’ District Ballyhoo continued until 1955 as a tool for sharing and incentivizing new sales techniques and publicity methods as the movie business declined in the face of television and the baby boom.

In Fall 1955, Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’ was a nationwide sales contest, named for Famous Players’ president J. J. Fitzgibbons, honouring his 25th year as head of the business. Dan Krendel was made National Drive Captain and edited a weekly newsletter for the campaign.

From 1956 until at least 1957, National Ballyhoo was published weekly with Krendel as editor. He continued the style and content developed earlier for his Ontario ‘B’ District, but now extended vastly for a chain-wide coast to coast scale. Ballyhoo’s sharing promotional tools came at a time of contracting box office as television and automobile ownership became prevalent in the mid-1950s.

By 1960 until at least 1961, Time Out for Ticket Talk continued as a mimeographed newsletter, edited by Norman Barker of the head office publicity department. Time Out was compiled on a less ambitious scale than Ballyhoo. Compared to the earlier national compilation of local publicity gimmicks, Time Out often contained only a single memo or reproduced local story, and was often undated and only informally edited.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Date Added:
April 11, 2024
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The following is a memo that Dan Krendel sent to the theatres in his district. OFFBEAT IDEA PAYS OFF Murray Summerville of the Algoma in the Soo had an idea ... sounded kind of crazy, but we went along with him to see what would happen. The result ... nearly $400.00 at the boxoffice, and $160.00 in confection sales, The idea? quite simple ... Murray ran a HORROR NITE midnight show ... not on a Sunday night, but ona Friday. He felt that a Friday midnight would attract the teeners who didn't have to go in to work or to school on the following morning. In addition to the horror program he offered them dancing in the aisles from 11.30 to 12.30, with spot prizes every ten minutes. The local radio station held a stage broadcast, playing dance tunes requested by the customers. The station publicized this event over the air well in advance ... and it sure sold plenty of tickets. His screen program consisted of three oldies ... SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, SON OF DRACULA and SON OF DR. JEKYLL. It may sound somewhat screwy ... but the results speak for themselves. We bought the film cheap, Murray did a lot of legwork, and we wound up with a very handsome profit on the deal. For your information, our regular pre-holiday midnite shows have never produced this kind of a gross, so obviously there is a lot of merit in what Murray was able to accomplish. If we can do it in the Soo there is no reason in the world why this idea can't click in your own particular situation. Think about it ... and don't let the idea die aborning. The expense is small ... the potential results big. How about it?