U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

few radio programs in the whole nation thai has continued for 39 weeks each year— and under the same sponsoi , "Putting and keeping Little Talks on the air would have been quite impossible without the sponsorship of the the K.eyes f ibre company. 1 am sine listeners appreciate that, from the day these broadcasts started, they have never been interrupted by advertising. Never once has the com pan) sought to control the contents of the program. I am completely free to say anything I please." Keyes believes this policy of nonintervention has paid off in better community relations. This was the company's original goal in sponsor ing the program and Keyes intends to maintain its policy of no commercials. The company's view is explained by John S. Parsons, the advertising manager. "The program developed from quite a different point of view than the sale of products. In fact, we have never commercialized this program in any way but have considered it as a community relations vehicle throughout. It has unquestionably built many friends for Keyes," he said. Most of Marriner's programs us ualh begin and end with the short announcement thai " This program is brought to you by your good friends, Keyes Fibre Company of Waterville and Shawmut." From time to time, Keyes will use the show to encourage support of various community fund-raising drives. Besides supporting the Marriner program. Keyes relies heavily on radio to push its consumer line of molded paper plates. Last year, the company ran a spot campaign during the summer in nine major cities throughout the country. Parsons explained that they have found "local radio particularly effective for warm weather promotions, when we want to push our molded paper plate and dish line for picnic and other outdoor uses." Most of the advertising budget is allocated to trade magazines because the bulk of Keyes' product sales are made to institutions, supermarkets and shippers. The company produces more than 300 different varieties of paper pro ducts, including fruit packing ma terials, egg flats and egg cartons. The company's domestic sales last year totalled more than $19.5 million. Regional sales offices are scattered over the United Stales from boston to San Francisco and as far south as Jacksonville. Keyes also has licensed operations in Canada, England, lie land, Denmark, Norway and Aus tralia. The company was founded in 1003 in Shawmut, Maine, where it still maintains its ground wood pulp mill. The principal manufacturing plant is located in nearby Waterville. Since the late forties the company has been literally bursting at the seams. Increased sales prompted the company to build a plant at Hammond, Ind., to serve the middle west. In 1957, Keyes doubled the capacity of the Hammond plant. Meanwhile, the company modernized its Waterville plant to speed up production. Keyes is far from finished. Last month, the management announced that ground had been broken in Sacramento, Calif., for a multi-million dollar pulp molding plant. The new plant will be the largest industrial addition to Sacramento in the last nine years. Keyes expects to open the plant in the middle of 1962. The factory will manufacture molded paper products for the food industry, in eluding plates, pre-packaging meat and produce trays, food service trays, cake circles, apple packs and egg trays. It will serve 11 western states as well as Hawaii and Alaska. The company estimates that about $5 million worth of products will be produced annually for the first few years. More than five years of planning and research backed up the company's decision to launch its latest venture in Sacramento. The management made the choice after an extensive study of several possible west coast locations. Keyes is a company on the move. And one reason for its success is its desire to maintain friendly relations with its local community, particularly with the local labor force. This spurs its continuance of a radio program without commercials. ■ pilllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllll! Why Keyes Fibre sponsors a program without commercials Keyes Fibre 14 years ago decided to embark on a radio program that was designed to foster community respect for the company. For more than 500 broadcasts it has maintained this policy of attracting community interest and developing good will. This is the Keyes Fibre philosophy as explained by John S. Parsons, the company's advertising manager: He says: "The program on WTVL developed from quite a different point of view than the sale of products. We have never commercialized this program, but have considered it as a community relations vehicle . . .We have never attempted to promote the company's line of products via the program, although we have used the program to encourage support of various community fund-raising drives . . . It has unquestionably helped build many friends for | Keyes ..." | Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^ 32 U. S. RADIO August 1961