U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

report from networks ► CBS: Arthur Hull Hayes, president of CBS Radio, recently spoke on "Radio in a Television Era" at Alliens, (.a. The talk was given at the Kith annual meeting at the Georgia Radio and Television Institute, undei the joint sponsorship ol the University el Georgia's Henry \\ . Grady School ol Journalism and the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. Concerning network radio, Mr. Hayes noted, "Each [network] station hues still competition lor listeners in its own community from the huge increase in the number of tadio stations. Why, then, should stations continue their network affiliations:The biggest reason. I believe, is that a radio network, uniquely, can supply programming which it would be difficult or impossible lor the individual station to duplicate." In conclusion, Mr. Haves stated that there was a definite need lot more extensive qualitative radio research that would show not just the cos t-perthousand, but "the cost-perthousand . . . who." The answer to radio's real value can be found through "more thoughtful, more imaginative, more precise research than we have developed as yet." ► NBC: George A. Graham Jr., vice president and general manager of the NBC Radio network, states that sales in the six weeks ending January 13 totaled $3,200,000 in net revenue, making it one of the most productive six-week periods since the fall of 1956. All but $952,000 was new business. The network's advertisers and their agencies include: Lever Bros. Co. for Pepsodent (Foote, Cone and Belding) , General Motors Corp. for Buick (McCann-Erickson) , Mogen David Wine Corp. (Edward H. Weiss) , American Motors (Geyer, Morey, Madden and Ballard), Rolley Co. lot Sea and Ski (Foote, Cone and Belding), Kellogg Co. (Leo Burnett), International Minerals and Chemical Corp. lot Accent (Needham, Louis and Brorby) , Wagner Electric Corp. (Arthur R. VIogge) , Reader's Digest Association (Schwab, Beatty and Porter) and Sim lair Refining Co. (Geyei . \lorey, Madden and Ballard). ► ABC: The rematch between heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson scheduled lor March 1 3, will get exc lusive radio coverage by ABC. Robert R. Pauley, vice president in charge of ABC: Radio, announced that the fight package, which has been sold to the Carling Brewing Co. and the Mennen Co., is worth over $350,000, and that the cost to the network lor the broadcast rights may be the highest in the history of radio. Planters Nut & Chocolate Co., a subsidiary of Standard Brands, and Lewis-Howe (NR tablets and Turns) have signed up tor major schedules on the networks Flair. The Don McNeill Brrakfast Club has picked up extensive schedules from Sylvania Electric Products Inc. and the Hudson Vitamin Corp. The program's sales have increased 15 percent over last year. ► MBS: On February 6, Mutual opened its San Francisco news bureau, the first of two on the West Coast. The second, in Los Angeles, will be opened in mid-spring. KQBY San Francisco has assumed the responsibility of running the bureau there. Don Heath is the bureau chief with Bob Wildrop, former NBC newsman, assisting. As a pick-up for the West Coast and the Far East, the bureau will provide late evening news shows. • • • (Cont'd from p. 59) these two elements causes listeners to feel as if they are merely objects of a pile hman's routine, not sele. the listeners." "Radio programming is not designed for the purpose of occ upying a continual foreground in the listener's mind," he continues. "Radio is now used both lor a direct contact relationship, as in the news, sports and special programs, as well as for a background interest against which other activities may be performed." He also points out that "Commercials are remembered in two ways: First, with some feeling of tolerancel and even pleasure. Secondly, with leelings of tension. Commerc ials re-| membered best with tolerance and pleasure include jingle and humor ous sell, but onl\ when the humoi angle is relevant to the product, otherwise the product or service involved is forgotten. Commercials recalled with tension associations in elude the very hard sell and the socalled 'scientific' or otherwise ex-l aggerated claims. "Stations that have achieved au thority, or character, invest every utterance they make," Mr. White continues, "with an added value that exceeds the literal commercial message. A listener will generally take positive action from an authoritative voice, but remain relatively unmoved by an innocuous one." In summary, Mr. White notes.1 "The fact that radio programming and advertising reaches a broad market quantitatively speaking, seems tr have clouded the basic problem of assessing radio's effectiveness as a commercial medium. Not Box Office "The question of the nature ol radio's influence on listeners, if any,, has been assessed primarily by counting listeners. The effectiveness of this technique as an adequate measurement of advertisement efficiency has been contested by many advertisers and researchers. The basic framework for evaluating such influences is theoretically that of communications and not of box office "It would seem more logical to determine the images, feelings, memory traces and values which radio has communicated to its listeners regarding its programs and its advertised products." • • • 60 U. S. RADIO • February 1961