Variety (Sep 1942)

14 EXPLOITATION Wtidnesdaj, September 16, 1942 SEPost and N. Y. Times Merchandising Consultant Cues Publicists in N. Y. On Advantages of Sales Promotion Declaring that every successful merchandiser had either consciously or otherwise used show business methods to reach the top, Samuel J. Cohen, merchandising advLsor to the Saturday Evening Post and merchandising consultant to the New York Times, last week ad- viied publicists to steer clear of the strict confines of their craft and m?ke sales promotion their business instead. Addressing a meeting of the Pub- licity Club of New York, Cohen warned that idea men, such as pub- licists, in show business or in other Industries, would continue to be underpaid and unappreciated wall- flowers in any setup,, with others grabbing oft credit for sales made vnder the impetus of publicity, .^o long as they remain in a pa-iitinn •where they can't check actual sales re.<!ults. Cohen advised publicists to work Into distribution via sales promotion instead of publicity and and gave instances where sales executives in the retail and manufacturing fields h<:ve cashed in for years afterwards on ideas originally evolved by pub- licists. Pay for It, If Necessary The speaker also said that in sales promotion it was not advisable to depend on free .space for results. While not averse to free space, Cohen said that the best way of selling an idea is to get it into an advertisement exactly in the form in which il is wanted instead of tak- Inij a chance on the' manner and extent to which it would be used in news columns. Too many surefire merchandising plans have been clufTed due to unwise economy. Cohen said he foresees tougher 1in<es ahead for those publicists who fail to merge their activities with Eales promotions, because of restric- tions on civilian goods which are already seriously affecting the men's clothing, • electrical appliance, drug and—before long—the show business. AVar Production Board regulation of civilian supplies, he pointed out, has elveady indirectly resulted in re- duction of free space, with further cutting likely as the war goes on. Referring to an important industry heud who, he said, was looking lor sa?cs executives ' with a publicity sl;:nt, Cohen said that industries will require, and discover that it is easier to find, publicists with sales Ideas instead. Touching on picture business meth- ods, Cohen expressed the opinion that film exploiteers have failed to capitalize on the support of retail- Lee Blumberg Quits WB for Non-Pro Firm Lee Blumberg, in charge of the Warner field exploitation staff and with the company 15 years in Phila- delphia and New York, resigned last week to become advertising and promotion manager for a New York hosiery firm. He started on the new job Monday (14). Until Mort Blumenstock can de- cide on a successor, Paul Lazarus, in charge of sales advertising for WB, will supervise the exploitation department. Slides and Offstage Voices May Replace Special Fdm Trailers Due to restrictions on raw film stock, special trailers are out for the duration unless w^s and means can be found at some future date to ease the situation. Theatres using special trailers, including those houses which play stageshows, have been advised they will have to grin and bear it. Among other purposes of trailers, outside of those plugging forthcoming pictures, are those deal- ing with changes in policy, prices, holiday buildups, contests and the like. Most picture houses are expected to turn to slides, while some may use offstage voices to inform of new stage bills, etc. as has been done on occasion largely as a novelty stunt. Under an agreement of all the dis- tributors, a ceiling on the length of trailers for feature pictures has been set in accordance with the grade of the Alms. Lewis, Par Radioite Hollywood, Sept. 15. Martin Lewis checks in at the Paramount studio this week to be- come radio contact under George Brown, succeeding Bob Hussey, who recently resigned to become an agent. Lewis has held a similar Job in Paramount's New York office for several months, and was previously connected with Movie and Radio Guide. Pix Publicity Group Sets Prelim Details For Nat'l Scrap Dri?e Initial steps for the Public Rela- tions Committee, eastern group, par- ticipation in the industry's national scrap drive next month were taken at the meeting of the PRC last Thursday (10). Personnel to help on the campaign was requested through David Lipton, member of the PRC, now collaborating with Arthur Mayer, of War Activities Committee, who is also chairman of the scrap campaign of the film business. Both in turn are cooperating with Monroe Greenthal, presently attached to the War Production Board, in charge of salvage. Hays office ad code was not brought up for discussion. Current huge indu.stry bond campaign also was a vital topic at the session. BILL SUSSMAN MAY TAKE OVER 2 HOUSES •pace instead of hard, commercial, advertising tieups based on sound merchandising policies which de- partment stores, among others, could (carcely afford to pass up. FOREIGN FILM PJLS MAP C04)P WITH OWI Wilbur Morse, of the Office of War Information, huddled with the In- ternational Film Relations Commit- tee, meeting at the Hays office in N. Y. Monday (14), and went over the matter of IFRC members carry- ing out assignments for the OWI. The Committee has been cooperat- ing with the OWI In placement of certain material, and the meeting ■was merely a checkup to ascertain pr-gress of the work. Michael Hoffay, RKO foreign pub- licly director, was named editor of the IFRC feature service. He suc- ceeds Albert Deane. Paramount foreign ad-publicity chief, under the sy.«tem of rotating editors, each serv- Ini one month. It was reiterated at the PRC ses- sion that IFRC members are cutting ed-publicity matter to the brn» in order to conserve transporfation. Also reported that the IFRC victory emblem and slogan has been adopted by film companies for u.se in Argen- tina. Numerous other Latin-Ameri- can countries are also using the slo- gan, 'America, Free and United, which originally was created by Gerald Keyser, Warner Bros, foreign ed-publicity chief. It also has been adopted by numerous industrial firms In these Latin-American na tions. Though reported planning to re- main in distribution, with deals for executive sales posts said to be un- der discussion, William Sussman mea^itime is dickering for the acqui- sition of two theatres in Cumber- land, Md. Understood deal Is in as- sociation with his uncle, Herman tive houses in lower N. Y. state. Latter has one each in Pleasantville, Brewster, Mt. Kisco, Amenia and Wappinger Falls. The two Cumberland, Md., the- atres which the Sussmans may take over are the Maryland, 900-seater first-run, and the Embassy, a second- run which has a capacity of 700. Bill Sussman, long in distribution and widely known, recently resigned from 20th-Fox as eastern division sales manager. He had previously been a sales executive for Par at its h.o. F&M's Click Drive St. Louis, Sept. IS. Fanchon & M.-.rco Enterprises, Ipc, headed by Harry C. Arthur, J,-., sponsored a -scrap iron and rub- ber drive through its four deluxers and 31 nabes of the St. Louis Amus. C' .'s chain last week and the USO, v.'hich received the revenue from the sale of the stuff, was enriched $.i,000. The kiddies toted 729,232 pounds of .scrap and 65,570 pounds of oil! rubber to the ^Arious houses and laler the total was carted off to one lot where junk dealers made bids. In appreciation for their efforts F&M staged three-hour horse opera shows for the kiddies in the Mis- souri, Fox and St. Louis theatres, awarded four pinto ponies to the o.nes who produced the most scrap and also dished out other prizes. It was originally planned to award but two ponies, but one of the con- testants said he'd rather have the quadruped than a $100 war bond. Ushers Scrap Lockers Buffalo, Sept. 15. Ushers and house staff of Shea (Par) Great Lakes are hanging their clothes on hooks and have turned in their steel lockers to aid the scrap metal drive. Plug "Wake' to Feumies Slight switcheroo has been made on the advertising campaign on Wake Island' for its Rivoli (N.Y.) run in order to encourage additional femme trade. Rivoli ads now stress quoted from Kate Smith, and special radio broad- casts also play up the femme possi- bilities of the film. TWIN CITY, ST. PAUL Minneapolis, Sept. 15. One reason why theatre business here is showing so much larger in- creases than that of the other Twin, St. Paul, may be found in the fact that statistics reveal that the num- ber of St. Paul residents working declined from 120,000 last October to 112,000 in June, and the number seeking jobs dropped from 8,800 to 4,500, the trade believes. In Minneapolis, employment, wages and purchasing power have jumped considerably, due to the war industries. In St. Paul, however, many workers undoubtedly have left to take war jobs in other cities, the survey showed. & NETTER ON THE LAM De£cate (Harry) Kaimine Centre; Other Theatre Exchange Briefs Bruce Smith's Preem Minneapolis, Sept. IS. Columbia has scheduled world premiere of 'Smith of Minnesota' for the Paradise theatre Fairbault, Minn., Sept. 25. It's the home town of the former Minnesota All-Amer- ican halfback, Bruce Smith. The ex- collegian around whom the picture was built is now a member of the armed forces at Great Lakes Train ing school and it's hoped that he'll be able to obtain a leave to attend. His parents and sister will be guestf of honor. Pittsburgh, Sept. 15. Kaimine Recreation Centre, a new building at Camp O'Connell, for un- derprivileged children, was dedicated by members of the local Variety Club last week. Spot was named In honor of Harry Kaimine, head of WB theatre department, who started the project a year ago when he was Warner zone manager here. Orig- inal dough was obtained from pro- ceeds of testimonial dinner given Kaimine upon his elevation by thea- tre circuit, and remainder was raised few weeks ago by Kalmine's suc- cessor here, Moe Silver, with the help of Dapper Dan club, through an all-star vaude show staged in con- nection with big outdoor boxing card. George Elmo, former Par sales- man here but more recently com- pany's exchange manager in Cleve- land, has joined U sales force in Ohio city; and Abe Weiner, ex-UA head in Pittsburgh who went from here to Boston and then to Albany, has gone to work for U as a special representative for Bill Scully. Closed for five weeks for exten- sive renovation, Nemacolin (Pa.) theatre has reopened under manage- ment of Peter Profili, Vestaburg and and Fredericktown exhib, who re- cently acquired property which had previously been booked by Ideal Amusement Co. out of Johnstown. Joe Mazzei. local showman, dou- bling in brass these days. In addi- tion to being Galae Rubin's assistant at Art Cinema, local foreign film site, he's also a special policeman at the Union Steel Co. Chris and John Lampros, Farrell exhibs, have just learned of the death of their father in Greece sev- eral months ago. Paula Payson has resigned as sec- retary at the local RCA-Photophone office. She plans to be married shortly and will move to Detroit. Briefles: Glenn Carruthers. Grove City exhib. up and around again after a long illness.. .Lester Cutler, PRC producer who commutes be- tween Pittsburgh and Hollywood, will make the Coast his permanent address next month...H. E. Ham- mond's Lyric theatre in Erie swings back to full-time operation this week ...Mrs. Lew Lefton, wife of PRC franchise holder here, okay again after a serious operation.. .Femme ushers go into both of WB's ace houses downtown. Stanley and War- ner, this week. ..Allied Caravan due in Pittsburgh late this month, but dates haven't been definitely set. Ballentlne's Berth Harry Ballentine, branch manager of 20th-Fox in San Francisco, has been named district manager for the Coast district covering Los Angeles, San Francisco. Seattle and Portland. At the same time, Herman Wobber, Pacific Coast district sales manager, was made western division manager, extending his scope over Denver and Salt Lake City as well L. A., Al Laurice, veteran Fri&ca daleS' man, has been moved up and named San Francisco branch manager in the spot formerly held by Ballentine. Two other promotions went into effect In the mideastern district, James J. Grady, manager of Cin- cinnati branch, being made mid- eastern district manager. George A. Roberts has been switched to the homeoffice for special duties. Grady's territory will include Cleveland, Buffalo and Cincinnati, with head- quarters In Cleveland. L. J. Bugle, formerly city salesman at Cincy, be- comes branch manager. Ballentlne's rise is third promo- tion made from the ranks by Tom Connors. Edward X. Callahan^previ- ously was made northeastern district manager and Paul Wilson, south- eastern district chief. Setup now includes two division managers and nine district managers. Into the Field Again for Huddles With Dixie Pards Getting into the field oftener to discu-ss theatre problems, policies and the like, Leon Netter, Para- mount homeoffice .theatre executive, leaves Monday (21) for three differ- ent points where Par has partners. He will visit Charlotte, where Wilby-Kincey operates; Charlottes- ville, Va., headquarters of Hunter Perry of the Dominion circuit; and Asheville, where the Par partner is Carl Bamford. Netter recently was in others parts of the south where Par operates. His going Into the field oftener, also true of Leonard Goldenson and Sam Dembow, Jr., makes It less necessary for the partners to come into the h.o. often. WB's Can. Sales Meet Warners on Sept. 28 and 29 will hold a sales meeting in Canada, where the company sells its product full-line. This tops four regional meetings held by the company in the states, where pictures are sold five at a time. Ben Kalmenson will preside at the Canadian sessions, to be held ' at Toronto, while others to attend from the homeoffice include Joe Bernhard, Roy Haines. Mort Blumenstock, Arthur Sachson and A. W. Schwal- berg. Entire Canadian territory is supervised by Wolfe Cohen. No Phllly Variety Show Philadelphia, Sept. 15. Tent 13 Variety Club is cfropping its annual dinner for the duration. The event, usually held in Decem- ber, has been one of the outstanding social and civic functions in Phila- delphia with more than 1,200 at- tending each year at $10 a head. Funds raised at this dinner ere used for aid to Infantile paralysis suf- ferers. The club wiU hold a drive instead for the funds with Jack Beresin heading the campai;<n committee. Aiding him will be Lieut Leon Levy, USN, treasurer, and Jay Emanuel, Alfred J. Davis, Ben Amsterdam and Charles Goodwin as members of the' committee. The club also announced it was cancelling its annual golf tourna- ment held In former years at the Philmont" Country Club. Jolea Lapldos to WB Jules Lapidus, eastern district man- ager for Universal for three years, headquartering at the New York ex- shange, joins Warner Bros. Monday (21) as metropolitan N. Y. district head, succeeding Sam Lefkowitz, who recently resigned. JPrior to making deal with Lapidus, Charles Stern, district manager for United Artists at Boston, was reported under consid- eration. In the distribution branch for 15 years. Lapidus was formerly U branch manager at Pittsburgh where he started as salesman for Metro and was with that company 10 years. Lefkowitz, veteran sales exec, has become N. Y. branch manager for UA. Burt Champion's Rivoli, N. T. Burt Champion, on the Paramount publicity payroll handling 'Wake Island' engagement in N. Y.. is scheduled to take over advertising- publicity post at the Rivoli, where film is current. Jim Dunne recently resigned to join 20th-Fox. This may be officially announced this week at a meeting of the Skouras-Par operat- ing committee. Before coming Into Par recently. Champion had been associated with Lynn Farnol and formerly United Artists. Jones Back to Atlanta T. X. Jones, Wilby-Kincey execu- tive, returned to Atlanta Friday (11). Herman Robbins, head of National Screen Service, was home ill several days last week. Recovered from a strep throat, Archie Berish, head booker at the Warner exchange, is back at his desk, Roy Haines, eastern sale% man- ager tor Warners, was in Boston last week to discuss sales in that terri- tory. Gus Solomon, who has been selling for Warners in northern New Jersey, has been transferred to the N. Y. City territory. CoDhalm, Cnriey Switch Albany, N. Y., Sept 15. Manager Mel Conhaim moved from Warner Bros.' Rltz to the Strand, while Jules Curley transferred to the Rltz. Conhaim came here from a Warrfer house in Elmira in late 1940 to take the place of Bob Rosenthal. Curley, who for some time had been in charge of advertising and pub- licity in the upstate zone offices, last year assumed the post at the Strand. He succeeded Andy Roy, shifted to Stanley, Utica. Jerrv Atk.in nqw ■ W6Tlf mif with "diSiricf -Tnartiger Charles Smakwitz on publicity and exploitation. The Albany, one of the city's old- est picture houses and shuttered last June by Warner's, will be relighted after a new front is installed. The front, which will extend to an ad- jacent store and to the floors over the theatres, is to be modernistic. Cost wiU be $4,500. Ned Collins' Kndos Denver, Sept. 15. Ned Collins, manager of the Egyp- tian, Delta, Colo., was awarded the Rick Ricketson annual plaque for 'showmanship, resourcefulness and effort,' and as a reward for this has has been moved to Denver as a booker for the southern district for Fox Intermountaln Theatres, of which Ricketson is division manager. Fox has opened and Is operating until Nov. 15 the Pando theatre at Camp Hale, an army ski-training center, near Leadville, Colo.- Robert Nelson, city manager for Fox at Leadville, will supervise the Pando until the army tak^es over. Bob Lang Aids namrlek Seattle, Sept. 15, Bob Lang, new assistant manager at Music Hall (Hamrlck-Evergreen), where Bill Hamrick is manager, Lang succeeds Jack Corcoran, re- signed. F-WC to Reopen L. A. House Los Angeles, Sept. 15. Marquis theatre, long shuttered, has been leased for a long term by Fox-West Coast and will be re- opened next month after a polishing job. BKQ'a Uptown, Detroit Uptown theatre, Detroit, has been added to the RKO midwest theatres division in charge of Tom Gorman. Louis Lutz continues as house man- ager.