U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

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FARM Ever since the Pied Piper oi Hamelin packed up his pipes and took off for parts unknown, farmers have been searching for allies in their battle against rats. The nation's rat "bill" is said to be millions of dollars each year. Radio — farm radio in particular — appears to play an important role in combating this problem. One of the most effective of the modern-day Pied Pipers is the d-Con Co., a member of the Sterling Drug family. This "piper" has been using farm radio to the tune of 75 to 80 percent of its total advertising expenditure each year since the product was marketed in 1951. (u.s. radio estimates the firm spends over $500,000 a year in radio.) d-Con is currently running spot campaigns in 312 farm markets over 321 stations. The firm has also been buying segments of the Grand Ole Opry, the National Barn Dance and a few other local farm programs. "Farm radio was the only medium used to test the market for this rodenticide when it was first introduced," Frank A. Corbet, d-Con's president, explains. "A small number of test spots were used to tell the story of this new product, and the listeners were requested to send orders in directly to the company. Using no other form of advertising," Mr. Corbet continues, "the response was so great that within two weeks orders poiued in at a rate that taxed the production facilities of the plant. Radio got this company going, and it is still our most important medium." "One of our most important tasks," Hamilton Hicks, the firm's educational director, says, "is to inform and educate the farmer in the proper use of our rodenticide." To accomplish this aim, Mr. Hicks devotes a considerable amount of his RADIO U. S. RADIO February 1960 time to travel and being interviewed on the air by farm directors. "For the most part," Mr. Hicks says, "these interviews are purely educational. We try to pass along the latest information about the rat problem, and how the farmer can most effectively get rid of these pests." Although Mr. Hicks carries on his educational program all year, he concentrates on the fall and winter months, when the problem of rats on farms is at its height. d-Con's radio advertising philosophy hews closely to the line followed by the firm's education department. Although there have been indications that some farm stations are seeking to broaden the scope of their programming with music and other entertainment and information segments, d-Con only makes spot buys on straight farm shows. "We found that we get our best results witli programs that are de 29