U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

21 Western Mineral Products Co. Agency: Placed direct, Minneapolis, Minn. Product: Zonolite (insulation material) Marketing Objective: Shore up sagging sales of insulation materials. Radio Solution: Extensive use of local radio for the first time. (Digested from U. S. RADIO, January I960, p. 28) IN 1949, Western Mineral Products Co., Minneapolis, manufacturing distributors of Zonolite insulation materials, was struggling to reverse a downward sales trend in the industry. At that time, Harvey W. Steiff, vice president in charge of sales, decided that a concentrated campaign on radio would not only maintain but increase insulation business. In 1960, \V'estern Mineral, its distributors and dealers ran campaigns on 106 stations in nine states. The frequencies of the spots averaged 10 to 15 a week, with most of the activity concentrated in a mid-September through January period. The amount of money spent in radio by Western Mineral itself has increased 500 percent since 1949, when the firm took its first step into the medium. The company co-ops on a 50-50 basis with its distributors. In addition, 155 dealers paid their own time costs for local campaigns. "The decision to go into radio as an advertisina; medium," Mr. Steiff said, "went against the generally accepted feeling in the building materials industry that radio couldn't sell its products. However, we felt that local radio could reach our potential customers. "In order to get the most mileage out of our radio efforts, radio personalities were featured in Zonolite newspaper mats, national magazine advertising, outdoor billboards and point-of-sale displays. The additional prestige that came from these campaigns was another factor in getting many dealers to participate in radio," according to Mr. Steiff. The 1949 campaign not only halted the drop in sales but broke all existing sales records for Western Mineral, according to the company. Zonolite spots were placed on 75 stations in the upper niid-^vest territory the company services. The dramatic results of AVestern Mineral's first venture into radio, Mr. Steiff pointed out, warranted continued use of the medium. Western Mineral limited its own radio buys to full power stations in .S5 key markets in the nine midwestern states which comprise its sales territory. These spots provided an "umbrella" for the local spots and shows sponsored by the company's distributors and dealers. Responsibility for placing local campaigns was placed with the individual distributors. Ho^vever, the firm supplied complete assistance to its distributors. "Our local dealers," Mr. Steiff said, "adopted our flexible attitude about programs. The end result was a wide variety of time buys. Many spots were used on earlv mornina; farm hour shows, high school basketball game broadcasts and newscasts." Future campaigns will use more radio than ever before, Mr. Steiff forecast, basing his optimism on dealer reports. "When the Independent Lumber Co. in Sioux Falls, S.D., went on the air, it doubled its sales over the previous year. The Central Lumber Co., Stillwater, Minn., went on a local station with a concentrated campaign of several spots a day, and sold more Zonolite in 10 days than it had ever sold in 12 months. Let me assure you that results of this kind did not go unnoticed by other dealers in our territory." Western Mineral Products has come to look upon the medium as a basic part of all its advertising and promotion activities. Radio's ability to permit the firm to blanket its territory, and still allow local distributors and dealers to pinpoint their markets, and mold the campaigns to their individual requirements, has proved to be a potent combination that pays off handsomely at the cash register. • • • KWBB WICHITA— Kansas' Largest City #1 Hooperated Station! 5 Years Leadership! Top Air-Sales Personalities Tops In News Too — Prestige built on good programming — Not gimmicks and giveaways! KWBB 1410 on everyones RADIO dial 5,000 Watts— (1,000— Ni+e) Represented by George P. Hollingbery Co. Clarke Brown Co. — Southern U. S. RADIO AIRF.AX 1961 85