U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

exclusive LX 3-2-1 formula — eat d-Con hungrily — yet never suspect it's bait and that each bite puts another nail in their coffins. d-Con, used as directed, is safe to use around small children, pets, poultry and livestock, yet it is guaranteed to keep your property rat and mouse free ! Remember, a rat bait is only effective when rats eat it. And millions of people have seen for themselves how rats hungrily eat d-Con — the rat killer that outsells all others put together! So insist on d-Con, spelled d dash C-O-N, d-Con. Where possible, d-Con prefers that its announcements be made by the station's farm director. The reasonI ing behind this, d-Con's advertising manager, Walter Camas, says, is that it helps personalize the message. It also permits the farm director to present the d-Con story in a manner and language which is familiar and sits well with the local listening audience. Since farm directors maintain such a close contact with their listeners, the live commercials permit d-Con to take advantage of this accurate local slant. Farm Director Important Tapping the local station farm director's knowledge of his listening audience has become increasingly important, Mr. Camas believes. "Farmers and farming have been undergoing major changes in recent years. In many areas the farmer is closer to being a business man, and a fairly substantial one at that, than the traditional and not wholly accurate image that most people still carry about with them. Farm stations, in general, have kept pace with the farmer's growth and his need not only for more information, but for new types of in/ormation." The upgrading of the farmer, Mr. Camas says, varies in each area. The farm station, therefore, must keep close tabs on its market to make sure that the material it presents is abreast of the changing local pat illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll^ iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiii':!:iiii WGBF MCE EAT THDfilUnS TO DEATH ON D-CON MOUSf-PRUFE d-Con Stimulates Station Activity In order to stimulate and give recognition to farm stations that provide merchandising assistance to support the firm's advertising campaign, d-Con instituted a "Fact Trophy" award. During the eligibility period of the first competition last year, over 90 stations supplied entries. Seen are two examples described by d-Con as typical of the type of activity created as a result of the award competition. KFH Wichita, Kans. (I.) installed a product window display in the lobby of its building for three weeks. It is estimated that 1,500 people daily saw the display. WGBF Evansville, Ind. (r.) devoted the space on its highway sign for 14 days to a d-Con message that was seen by thousands of autos. terns and conditions. In view of these conditions, d-Con believes that its message can be most accurately pegged when presented live by the farm director; and to a much greater degree than any ET or rigid copy that does not permit the director to lend the weight of his personality and knowledge of the market. d-Con's radio plans for 1960 will follow the successful pattern of recent years, Mr. Camas states. Fully aware of the importance of the merchandising support provided by farm stations, the firm is also continuing with a promotion designed to stimulate and reward these activities. d-Con will present its Fact Award to the station giving the most merchandising assistance to the company in 1960. Annual Competition "We conducted our first Fact Award competition last year," Mr. Camas explains, "and got such a good reaction that we will continue with it as an annual event. As an indication of the appeal the award appears to have with farm stations, we sent out the first announcements U. S. RADIO February 1960 in mid-October and by the time the eligibility period closed at the end of December we had over 90 stations which had submitted material outlining their merchandising efforts for d-Con." As an example of the type of entries that were submitted, Mr. Camas described the efforts of KXL Portland, Ore. "The station used a billboard facing a busv Portland street that had an estimated daily circulation of 6,400. The copy carried a station message and played up Teaturing d-Con Rodenticides.' A total of 350 copies of a display card was sent to our primary outlets, 100 feed and seed stores, 100 hardware stores and 150 grocery stores. "The card prominently displayed a d-Con ad, and suggested that the retailers 'hear the pre-sell on KXL.' To round out its promotion, the station ran a full-page back cover ad for d-Con in TV P revue, a local magazine with 50,000 weekly distribution through a grocery chain, and another advertisement in the official publication of the Oregon Food Merchants Association." • • • 31