Boxoffice-October.04.1952

6
CHESTER FRIEDMAN
EDITOR
OXOfflW
HUGH E. FRAZE
Associate Editor
SECTION
PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR SELLING SEATS BY PRACTICAL SHOWMEN
Army A-Boards Augment
Promotion for 'Mine
Loew Theatres managers made capital of
the music angles in exploiting "Because
You're Mine" in key run situations. Disk
Jockeys and music store owners proved especially
cooperative because of the popularity
of the film's star. Mario Lanza.
In Richmond. "Va., George Peters, manager
of Loew's. had his entire staff working on
the campaign. Top radio stars on all radio
stations were supplied with albums of the
song hits featured In the picture and gave
the music score and playdates a boost at every
opportunity. Most of the stations used contests
to gain listener interest and awarded
theatre tickets to winners.
Peters' newspaper ad campaign was
launched with a series of six two-column
teaser ads with block letters reading, "Lanza
Sings Again." One letter was added each day
to keep subscribers guessing. Drama critics
of both paper.s used photo layouts in the Sunday
sections plugging Lanza's previous starring
roles and his part in "Because You're
Mine."
Market.^ tied in with the Quality Baers
product, downtown music and department
stores featured window displays of music and
picture tie-ins, drug stores promoted the Jergens
products with still montages, and
jewelry stores made a color blowup of Lanza
wearing a large diamond as the center of
their window displays.
Thf Richmond Opera group made availabU'
its subscriber list for a special mailing with
a personal message from Peters. Private and
public school music teachers were contacted
on the phone to call their attention to the
picture.
Eddie Weaver, theatre organist, invited
youthful vocalists to participate in a Youth
Parade contest on WRNL. After an elimination
had been conducted for three successive
Saturdays on his program. Weaver introduced
the winner at each performance on opening
day. The winner received a savings bond and
the contest was additionally publicized
through the city recreation and welfare department.
Posters were placed on every jukebox in
town advertising the theatre booking, 150
window cards were distributed and Sunbeam
Bread distributors displayed 11x14 cards advertising
the picture.
The local army recruiting office made 100
A-boards available for one-sheet posters, two
leading department stores distributed photos
of the star with theatre imprint on the back,
and table lent cards and napkin imprints
Typical ol the coopercition extended by
music dealers in the promotion oi
"Because You're Mine," the G. Shirmer
Co. in New York devotes a lull window
to records and sheet music on the
opening at Radio City Music Hall.
helped to advertise the attraction in hotels
and dining rooms a week prior to opening.
Lester Pollock, manager of Loew's in
Rochester. N. Y., used a similar campaign ano
mailed 5,000 fan photos of Lanza to music
and opera devotees. Plastic stick-ons were
(Continued on next page>
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em andWcanaaemen '9 I
Having attended premieres of motion pictures and world
championship boxing bouts, we have come to the conclusion that
audiences who attend these events have no more in common than
the political aims of Russia and the United States.
Both audiences betray the excitement of the moment. There
all similarity ends. The theatre audience is usually well-behaved,
dignified, composed. The fight crowd is composed of belligerent,
noisy, bloodthirsty individuals and groups.
In the theatre, people find their way to seats in orderly
fashion. At the sports arena, it's every man for himself, and if
the fan arrives to find his seat already occupied, he takes his
choice of bickering with an unsympathetic usher or subjecting
himself to trial by combat to regain his space. In either event,
he must be prepared to lose, for usually the usurper has too many
friends handy should the seat-holder have the temerity to engage
in physical violence—or the usher is conveniently busy in another
section, having been well paid in advance for his discretion.
The exhibitors who showed the television pickup of the
Walcott-Marciano fight last week already know some of the
peculiar vagaries of this sporting element. The New York houses
pegged a S3.60 general admission charge on the public. For the
money, the ticket buyers got the privilege of fighting a milling
mob and a cordon of police just to get inside the theatre. ."More
than a few gate-crashers outwitted the ushers and the gendarmes.
Closed-circuit television in theatres could become an important
adjunct of theatre business before long. The pattern of
behavior must be shaped and sports fans should be educated by
the pioneer theatremen who have large-screen television. This
potential audience must learn at the beginning to respect the rights
of others and the management before the theatre develops a roughhouse
atmosphere.
Larger and well-trained details of ushers can help in this
development. A standard policy of selling reserved seats will also
help—and certainly for S3.60, the patron deserves the guarantee of
being seated.
The promoters of all big sporting events issue large pasteboard
tickets to customers. What better advertising for this new
media of entertainment than a few thousand people waving their
tickets before friends when a big event comes along? .\nd many
sports fans make a hobby of saving seat-stubs from these events
as treasured mementos.
Can it be that the sports promoters are better showmen than
theatre managers?
— Chester Friedman
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BOXOFFICE Showmiandiser October 4, 1952 — 227 —
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