U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

5 E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Agency: BBD&O Product: Telar Anti-Freeze Marketing Objective: To establish a new product in an already crowded market. Radio Solution: Saturate 150 markets with radio spots. (Digested from U.S. RADIO, October I960, p. 32) AS cold -weather snapped down around the ears of car-owners more than 500 stations in 150 markets were beaming a new word in the anti-freeze vocabulary to listeners. The new word was "Telar," the name of a new "all-purpose, permanent" anti-freeze developed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. And du Pont was engaged in one of its most extensive campaigns in years to make the introduction of Telar a success. With its entr)' into the antifreeze market, du Pont's Telar was bringing over $400,000 in business to spot radio. This figure was just about double the amount du Pont spent in spot radio in 1959, when du Pont allocated spot money to Telar's sister products, Zerone and Zerex. To put new Telar in the running with competitive anti-freeze products, du Pont's advertising manager for antifreeze, William W. Carty, reported, "Our advertising for Telar was running 'across the board' in all areas where it is distributed." 150 Markets \V^ith the $400,000 radio budget set up exclusively for Telar, du Pont was reaching into 150 radio markets. In each market, the company was buying the maximum number of stations. The range was from three to six stations per market, sometimes more. Mr. Carty considered an estimate of 500 stations in the total campaign a bit "conservative." In scheduling the campaign, he explained that du Pont found radio's flexibility an extra "plus" for Telar. Depending on the whims of freezing weather's entry in various markets, the Telar schedule had to have staggered starting states. Spots, which were all minute ET's, broke as early as September 15 on northern stations. On the other end of the weather vane were stations in the sovith. Some started the Telar campaign as late as November, others waited until early December, Mr. Carty explained. "In order to break the campaign in a market at the right time, we needed to kno^v when the area would get its first freeze. Calculations were made in advance by a team of researchers, working with weather service firms," he said. "We knew, for instance, that in Wilmington, Delaware, the first freeze was likely to be around November 11. Accordingly, our radio campaign there was scheduled to begin around that date." ^V^hether a campaign started early or late in the fall, he said, it was scheduled to run through December. Thus, the peak of the Telar push on radio was reached in all the 150 markets by the middle of November. "du Pont took 30 spots a week per station," reported Bob Syers, du Pont timebuyer at BBDO Inc., New York, the company's agency. With, all the 500 or more stations carrying the spots during November and December, the total coverage per week ran to 15,000 spots. "We wanted to reach people when they woke up, while they drove to work, while they drove home. With radio we could be close to people wherever they may be," said Mr. Cartv. Although Telar is sold in service stations and auto supply stores, duPont did not attempt dealer tie-in promotions for Telar, Mr. Carty pointed out. "However," said the Telar ad manager, "transcriptions of our radio commercials were made available to our antifreeze distributors at no cost to them. Many of our distributors sponsor local radio shows, and were able to use our commercials during their regular broadcasts. The distributor paid for the time, du Pont does not have a cooperative advertising program for any of its products." Tie-In Material "But," he added, "we offered tiein material to radio stations which often added effectiveness to the spots themselves. Stations were informed that the services of our anti-freeze field representatives were always available to them. Their contributions might be helpful, for instance, in arranging programs on the proper care of a car." With its budget enlarged over last year's for the annual anti-freeze campaign, du Pont was aiming to make a high brand impression on the consumer. In light of the heavy line-up of advertising for competitive brands, the bid for brand impression was a strong one. Du Pont's radio campaign, with high traffic time frequencies, was aimed where it would hit the target closest to home — when the consumer was driving his car. • • • U. S. RADIO AIRFAX 1961 69