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by L. E. RANDLE, JR. Manager, Market Development, Associated Distributors, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.

Our color television programming should be divided into three broad phases:

1. To get the dealer actively into the color television business,
2. To encourage the television stations to program more color,
3. To merchandise color programming.

It is difficult to separate the first two phases, by their nature they must go hand in hand creating, as they do, the supply and demand at the same time.

However, of major interest throughout all three phases was our cooperation with the television stations, so I shall confine my remarks in this report to that area, presenting a few specialized campaigns that might be of particular interest.
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It was obvious at the outset of color television that to successfully merchandise this new product we must solicit all possible aid and color program hours from the local television stations.

This in turn required us to show one hundred per cent backing of a long range color sales program. Plans were laid and activities were started until currently there are two stations in Indianapolis actively engaged in color telecasting, the NBC outlet, WFBM, and the ABC outlet, WLW-I, a Crosley station. The CBS station, WISH, carries all CBS network color plus running a film schedule in color on their own

Phase one of our program grew steadily with phase two, with result that in the Fall of 1959 we accurately advertised that more hours of color television emanated from Indianapolis than any place in the country.

This consumer appeal plus a solid dealer organization resulted in a sales figure in December of 1959 that gave RCA Victor Color Television 10% of the total television industry sales in central Indiana.
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Our first major effort in 1959 and one of the most successful long term programs we entered into with WFBM was our "Color Assured, Color Insured" promotion.

With the advent of the fifth anniversary (die 5. Generation) color model early in 1959, we felt the time was ripe for spectacular promotional effort. The main feature would be a plan whereby the color set price would include a years free service.

• Anmerkung : Aufgrund einer Abholung einer "runden" RCA Farbbildröhre aus 1953 aus dem Fundus der Deutschen Museumsstiftung in Heusenstamm haben wir ein europaweit seltenes Unikat erhalten, womit die Amerikaner mit der Farbe in ihren Geräten angefangen hatten.

At a meeting with Eldon Campbell and John Hurlbut of WFBM a campaign built around the slogan "Color Assured, Color Insured" was built up.

The station offered strong editorial support with daily reports on color in newscasts, plugs by air personalities, frequent promotion announcements, etc., all designed to whet more interest in color by pointing out the number of hours of color programming, specific color programs on the air and the excitement and reliability of color television.
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Our part of the program was dealer participation and advertising coordination to publicize the slogan "Color Assured, Color Insured", assurance of five years of manufacture, dealer's confidence and color programming, insurance of satisfaction guaranteed with free service for one year.

Advertising was set up for a months program on television, radio, and in newspapers. Point of sale, window banners, mail stickers, displays and bumper strips were created.

The "Color Assured ..." program lead directly into another WFBM activity built around the 500 Mile Race - a contest beginning the first of May that featured a fifth anniversary color set as grand prize. This contest helped prolong; our Color Assured theme, aiding hard sell dealer tie-in, into June.

WLW-I was also a major part of our May campaign with a dealer tour of their colorcasting facilities and cocktail party. Outstanding attendance of 150 prompted another successful party a week later. With the large amount of publicity from two TV stations and local newspapers plus excellent sales results, dealer enthusiasm was at an all time high.

The last two weeks in May saw WLW-I promote color programming, color TV ownership and "Color Assured, Color Insured" all around 500 Mile Race coverage in color. This promotion included press releases, celebrities, bus and taxi advertising, sky balloons, sandwich boards, newspaper ads and TV promos.
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Our fall 1959 program started with dealer teasers using the theme of "Prosper With The Peacock". This was kept up throughout the fall while at the retail level we revitalized the "Color Assured ..." program and featured the guarantee of a years free service, parts and labor.

Dealer sales training, newspaper layouts, merchandising techniques and tie-in possibilities were a constant program. It was December of this year that our 10% penetration figure was achieved.
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One of the programs that was outside the realm of station cooperation was our color TV rental plan inaugurated early in 1960. Free home demonstrations were always a good sales tool but we felt many prospects were reticent because of the implicit obligation to buy, whereas a rental plan relieved them of that obligation.
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Rental was advertised at $1.00 per day (on approved credit) with a maximum rental of ten days. Dealer follow-up for instruction in tuning and set performance was essential. The tenth day closing effort was 80% successful and the whole program was in effect two months. It was revived again during January, 1961.
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In the spring of 1960, we cooperated with WFBM on a Miss Springtime contest that awarded a color set a week for five weeks in conjunction with a contest put on by one of the stations leading personalities - Miss Francis Farmer. This promotion was unusually successful because of territory wide dealer participation that resulted in excellent prospect lists and dealer traffic.

This event ran until the first week in May 1961. At that time WFBM began telecasting in color various events of our 500 festival including a professional golf tournament, celebrities, and general activities around the Speedway. The local impact here was tremendous because of the excitement created by all 500 Festival activities.
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With the introduction of the 1961 color line plus the successful experience our dealers had in selling color television and public interest which had been so well demonstrated, we determined, WFBM in September 1960 agreed, that the best approach for us to take during the fourth quarter of 1960 was an even stronger phase three. This involved every possible means of merchandising color programming to the consumer. Naturally, this also included an effort to increase color programming from all sources.

We held with local dealers a meeting concerning our plans and made general mailings to build up enthusiasm for our first full scale promotion for the fall - Color Day U.S.A.

A dinner meeting attended by 250 dealers, newspaper and television station personnel, was held in October 1960, to introduce our total color program with an immediate project of Color Day U.S.A.

Sample live commercials were given by WFBM personalities along with a run down of WFBM's programming merchandising activities. Sample taped spots to be used on radio were also given.

The meeting was generally carried through by our personnel with a complete wrap-up for the immediate promotion given at the conclusion to all dealers.

Vaughn Monroe, who was appearing in town, taped more television and radio spots for Color Day U.S.A. and the whole effort resulted in 19 hours of color television on the day of Color Day U.S.A.

Actual sales figures, against a quota of 90, were 174 sets plus 120 out on home demonstration which should result, at our present ratio of closing, in an additional 100 units. We anticipate direct results of Color Day U.S.A. weekend to be in excess of 250 color television sets sold to consumers.

On the basis of this success we are stepping up our phase three activity - the "Most Colorful Weekend of the Year" will receive as much effort as Color Day U.S.A. with the emphasis on entertainment for the whole family. Each spectacular and the weekly color shows will also be heavily merchandised.

Future proiects currently being worked on with WFBM include a live colorcast of the Indiana High School Association's Regional, Semifinal and Final Basketball Tourneys and a more extended color coverage of the 500 Mile Race festivities during May, 1961.
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The long term cooperation between distributor and television stations has resulted in an outstanding dealer organization devoted to the sale of color television. This has manifested itself in excellent sales records and public acknowledgement that a television station actively engaged in color casting is identified with quality and progress in all of its programming whether color or black and white.

FIG. 1. The Color Day U.S.A. dealer kickoff meeting with 250 in attendance. This meeting set the theme of our merchandising effort to our dealer organization and the advertising media involved.

FIG. 2. A portion of the color display maintained at all times by the top color sales dealer over the Color Day U.S.A. weekend. This dealer H. H. Gregg Appliances, Indianapolis, sold 22 RCA Victor Color sets over the three day period.
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