U. S. Radio (Oct 1957-Dec 1958)

Mr. Eastman believes that his nc\v packages ^vill lend themselves to advertising by the stations and to various station promotions. In addition, he thinks, advertisers will be able to use them as talking points with distributors to induce cooperation in in-store displays and other merchandising efforts. There are other representatives who hold a somewhat difterent view, however, believing that rate cards (an best serve the agency, the station and the client with less showmanship and more simplicity. Richard O'Connell, president, Richard O'CoiuicU Inc., \cw York, is one representati\e who has long been interested in rale card revision: "It radio is easy to l)uy, it will l)c easy to sell," he says. Mr. O'donnell advocates, in particular, the abolition of discounts for continuous buying on a given _ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiy I Radio: All Day Through | g The primary motive behind tlie changes> in rate cards is to switch i2 M emphasis from a concentration in a given time period to an extension = of time purchases ihroujihoul the dav and week. Two examples of J g plans recenti) evolved are the Kastman "Sales Builder" packages and g m Blair's "Satureach." 1 g The Eastman plans offer 1 I packajzes including: A Captive House 1 m wife Plan (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Monday through I" rida\ I : a Driving J I Times Special (6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., Monday through Satur S = day) ; a Personality Package (sales messages seven days a week for 1 g each of five station personalities) ; a Wonderful Weekend Plan " J (Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 |).ni. and 7 to 10 p.m.. Sunday 10 a.m. to 1 B 6 p.m.). B Also, a Family Plan 1 24 one-minute sales messages per week dis I tributed throughout the broadcast day) ; a Nighttime Special (two I sales messages per night, seven nights a week or one announcement g nightly. 7 to 10 p.m. or 10 p.m. to midnight): a Day-i\ighl I Circulation Extender (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. Monday I through Friday); a Budget Plan (10 p.m. to midnight Monday I through Saturday — 6 to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to midnight Sunday I ; g a Swing-Shift \'alue (midnight to 6 a.m.) ; a Rain or Shine Weather I Package ( 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. g Saturday — 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundav). g Plus a Drive Carefully Package (safety, traffic and road conditions, g 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday — 8 a.m. to g 8 p.m. Saturday — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday) ; a Newscast Package g (five-minute news at 15 past the hour and 1.5 before the hour — one g minute and 20 seconds of commercial time — various times through g out day), and a Scoreboard Package (during baseball season, latest g up-to-the-minute-scores) . g The Blair Satureach Plan divides the day into six time periods: g 6 to 9 a.m.; 9 a.m. to noon; noon to 4 p.m.; 4 to 7 p.m.; 7 to 11 S p.m., and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. or signoff time. If an advertiser buys S three or more announcements per week in each of these time periods, g according to Blair, he can take advantage of the audience turnover g factor. iiioiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii station. He would eliminate the bookkeeping headaches and expense involved in figuring rebates and short rates by the flat rate of all time segments. In addition, he would have figures in round numbers to make it easier for the represeniatvie salesman or timebuyer to compute costs. Representatives argue that if a station is competitively priced on its frequency discoiuits, it is unnecessary to give a discount for contiiuiity. Frank Boehm, vice president in charge of promotion, .Adam Young Inc., New \'ork, reports that his firm is in the process of revamping its cards ami that the new cards will "eliminate continuity discounts because these discounts arc too complicated from a bookkeeping standpoint." The reason these discounts are no longer necessary, in Mr. Boehm's opinion, is that "clients are now using radio on a saturation basis and realize that to use the medium effectively they must run on a continuing liasis. DiscouiUs now should Ijc given on tlie i>asis of sjjots used per week to keep pace with current buying trends." .\dam \'()ung's new cards, Mr. Boehm says, will also incorporate a new package whereby advertisers buying class A time may run one thiid of their annoiuucments in (Jass A A time (driving times) without additional charge. This is designed to encourage clients tc:) s]jrcacl their schedules, he says. Also instituting a plan with the same aim is John Blair & Co., New York, whose executive vice president. Art McCoy, says: "We are after the i)ig advertising dollars where radio is used as the basic medium. To do this, an advertiser must reach all of radio's changing audience. People listen in the nighttime hours who don't turn a set on all day and these listeners buy just as many products as their daytime counterparts." Blair's new plan "Satureach" is designed, Mr. McCoy says, to enable the advertiser to reach all listening audiences during the day or week. The day is divided into six time periods: 6 to 9 a.m.; 9 to 12 noon; 12 to 4 p.m.; 4 to 7 p.m.; 7 to II ]5.m., and 1 1 p.m. to 6 a.m. or sign-oft time. An advertiser buys three or more announcements in each of these time slots per week, thus spanning the entire broadcast day and taking ad 24 U. S. RADIO September 1958