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

report from RAB Competitive Information Expected to Spark Greater Radio Use Tliis month it was possible to see trends in radio which had never been visible before. Reason: RAB's new setotulquarter report on spot and network radio clients. Here are some interpretive highlights from this report: Top 100 Advertisers: If evidence were needed that the "big boys" are coming back to radio, RAB now has it. RAB took Publisliers Information Bureau's top 100 for 1937 and compared this list with its roster of radio's clients in the first and second quarter of 1958. Thus far in the year 85.4 percent of the top 100 eligible (excluding liquor firms) to do so have used radio. What does this "return to radio" by the blue chip clients mean to advertisers and agencies? RAB believes that awareness of what the other fellow — especially the big fellow — is doing means advertisers are going to be jumping into radio faster. For example, Procter & Gamble is now using spot radio with enough intensity to rank as the 27th largest spot radio client during the second quarter of 1958. RAB says you can look for many packaged goods firms to be impressed and influenced by what the Cincinnati soapmaker does. But an interesting sidelight is that big companies like P & G may actually have been influenced by regional Ijrands which have been outspending some of the nationals in their own territories. Commercial Length: At press time, RAB hadn't completely tabulated its second-quarter report, but these impressions were gleaned from those who had worked most closely with the data. Overwhelmingly, 60-second commercials are the favorite. It was believed that tabulation would bear out the strong impression that 10-second announcements were second most often used. The 20-second and 30-second lengths are both used on only a minimal basis over-all — although a few advertisers seem to uve them frecjuently. Program Buying: RAB estimated that a minimum of 90,000 programs of varying lengths were purchased by national and regional ad\ertisers in second quar ter of 1958. Because of the monumental detail work necessary to put its report together, RAB had not gotten to the job of breaking down the programs by length at press time. But, again on the basis of strong impression by those who compiled the report, it's clear that fiveminute programs are most often bought. Second-ranking category, RAB is sure, is the half-hour program although it is a small segment of the total. The leading form of five-minute program, RAB points out, is obviously the news show. Network Lineups: In years past, radio networks required certain minimums from buyers. The policies varied with the network but station lineups tended to be long and national (with exceptions). In recent years, much attention lias been devoted to the concept of network flexibility — shorter-term contracts, shorter-length networks and so forth. Inspection of RAB's list of network clients and the number of stations they buy, however, indicates a tendency toward uniformity in number of stations ordered by most of the better-known national advertisers. Job of Convincing Sifielighls: Radio still has to convince some advertisers that it can sell their products even without the aid of a picture. However, inspection of the list of second-cjuarter advertisers reveals howmany advertisers who have traditionally relied on pictures now also use radio — and paint pictures inside the minds of listeners. For example, two brassiere manufacturers use radio — and usually women's foundations advertising is built strongly around a picture of the garment — with or without a model and with or without dreams of romance. The R.\B second-quarter client list, which is available to national advertisers and agencies, is the second in a series of such reports to be made available by RAB. It is based on a one-third sample of the industry (see RAB Helps Break Through Radio Measurement Barrier, p. 3-1). • • • RANKS 11th IN THE NATION in per family income ($7,339.00) Source: 1957 Survey of Buying Power COLUMBUS GEORGIA 3 county metropolitan area USES THE LOCAL & NATIONAL FAVORITE WRBL TELEVISION: COMPLETE DOMINANCE • MORNING • AFTERNOON • NIGHT - 97.3% RADIO: Area Pulse— May, 1957 LEADS IN HOMES DELIVERED BY OF ALL QUARTER HOURS 55% Day or night monthly. Best buy day or night, weekly or daily, is WRBL— NCS No. 2. WRBL AM — FM — TV COLUMBUS, GEORGIA CALL HOLLINGBERY CO. U. S. RADIO September 1958 47: