U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

■ Ration Offers Pittsburghers omplctcly Furnished House I! A three bedroom house valued .11 fc 8,500, plus f 15,000 worth ol EurIshings was ollcred as first prize iu Ireceni KDKA* Pittsburgh contest. CiBhe promotion, part of i lie station's Ith anniversary celebration, ran for ght weeks and drew approximate50,000 entries. Each week a difEerlijil "sound charade" was played and jti( iteners were asked to identify the unds and then complete a 25-word itement on "why they would like to ve in the Big K Birthday House." eekly winners were awarded an >pliance starter set. On one Sunday iring the contest, KDKA held open nise at the home; over 3,000 listens came to inspect and share coffee id dougnuts with station personalies. HOMETOWN, U. S. A. i in lis) i isti od riday the 13th is Lucky Day or Binghamton Housewife o prove that Friday the 13th isn't unlucky day for everyone, Dick irby, WNBF Binghamton, N. Y. sk jockey offered his listeners the jportunity of winning a stereo hi-fi lit valued at $200. On his all-night show Ar/»7//.sr>//>/<7, r. Kirby announced that the person ho could guess the temperature at 00 a.m. on Friday, January 13, )61, would become the proud ownof the above mentioned stereo set. he "Wither-theWeather" contest hich ran over a two week period suited in a mail response of around )0 entries. The temperature turned out to be 5 degrees and the winner was Mrs. enry Bartnicki of Binghamton. But the story doesn't end here, he station made arrangements for Irs. Bartnicki to receive her prize at er home the following Sunday, /hen Mr. Kirby arrived for the prestation, he found that the Barticki's, their friends and relatives ad arranged a full-scale Polish "weli(1l)ming party" complete with a three lyer chocolate cake, homemade umpernickle, kolachki's, polish sauige and many salads. Somehow, in le midst of all the festivities, Mr. irby managed to get Mrs. Bartnicki ) receive the reward via a remote roadcast from the station's news ruiser. • • • *Denotes stations that are members of BPA (Broadcasters' Promotion Association) J. S. RADIO February 1961 radio MAGAZINE The Doane Agricultural Digest a subsidiary publication of the Doane Agricuturay Service Inc., St. Louis, a farm management organization specializing in appraising and agricultural research, ran a four-week campaign on WMT Cedar Rapids, la., to promote circulation. Using early morning farm programming with one-minute spots and a 10minute program the last week of the drive, the digest sold 589 subscriptions, according to the station. I HOME-SIDING i Sales increases resulting from participation on the "Party Line" show over WFDF Flint, Mich., were the incentive for the McLain-Powell Distributing Co. , distributors of aluminum and stone sidin, to sponsor the "Magic Four Hours" promotion with the station. Sales results, according to Maurice V. McLain of the company, "gave us a margin of profit nothing short of phenomenal in our business. We closed 12 complete home-siding jobs directly, and we are continuing to experience the advantage the promotion gave us." I TRAVEL SERVICE Using radio as its single advertising outlet, the Doug Fox Travel Service of Seattle, Wash., established 17 reservations to Europe in an eight day period. Mr. Fox placed all of his advertising in the hands of KTIX. The Seattle station reported that on a weekly expenditure of $50, the account grossed close to $20,000. APPLIANCE DEALER Taking advantage of the WBRN Big Rapids, Mich., "Horn Blowin1" promotion package, a local appliance dealer sold nearly $20,000 worth of merchandise on the three days of the campaign. Basically, the "Horn Blowin'" package consisted of 50 spots used over a four or five-day period and six hours of broadcasting direct from the sponsor's place of business. Whenever the sponsor "tooted" his horn, someone in the store received a special merchandise prize . 55