Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OCTOBER 24,
1925
Using Current News Interest in the
Radio Show Window Display
An Effective Use of the Zenith in the MacMillan Polar Expedition by Lee S. Roberts, Inc., San Francisco,
Shows How the Radio Department of the Retail Music Merchant Can Be Efficiently Exploited
Through Direct Publicity That Brings Its Results in Increased Sales
RE the retail music merchant? giving to
their radio window displays the time and
thought commensurate with their true
importance as an advertising and selling me-
dium? The purpose of all window displays is
to attract and hold the attention of the passing
throng, and through strong selling appeals
bring prospects into the store to be converted
into customers. Taken by and large, there is
no better way to intrigue the interest and atten-
tion of the passerby than to hook up the win-
dow display with current news events.
The broadcasting of news over the radio
makes this type of window display particularly
A
football, and all of the annual classic encounters
are being broadcast this season by expert an-
nouncers, thus insuring added interest. At-
tractive window dispays of real footballs and
pennants of the rival teams may be constructed
at nominal expense, but if they are not avail-
able footballs can easily be made by covering
cardboard with brown crepe paper or cloth and
marking the lacing with black crayon. Pen-
nants and letters can also be cut out very easily;
and the sides and background of the window
can be covered with crepe paper or cloth to
match the general color scheme.
During the coming Winter months the retail
An Effective Zenith Window
applicable to the retail merchant handling radio merchant will have many opportunities to inject
apparatus and accessories. Public interest in a human interest news touch in his displays of
windows is sustained not only by the effective- radio merchandise. The method of combining
ness and unique appeal of a single window, but radio sets and accessories with a miscellaneous
by the cumulative effect of attractive and inter- assortment of articles having no relation to ra-
esting window displays as a whole. This re- dio is a thing of the past. The public is at-
quires that displays be changed frequently, and tracted to windows which show interesting dis-
retail merchants at a loss for new ideas can not plays, and to dealers who back up their exhibits
do better than plan a series of exhibits based with reliable merchandise calculated to make
upon the news of the day, and changed as fre- pleased customers out of casual information
quently as is necessary in accordance with the seekers.
kaleidoscopic range of current events.
Effective use of the news idea in radio win-
An indication of the effectiveness of this sort dow displays was made by the Wiley B. Allen
of display was the unusual interest recently Co., which conducts a chain of retail music
aroused by the unique window display created houses on the Pacific Coast, with headquarters
in connection with the Zenith Radio by Lee S. in San Francisco. The display was suggested
Roberts, Inc., music dealer of San Francisco. by the recent visit of the dirigible Shenandoah
The window was installed on the Post street to the Pacific Coast. The foreground of a win-
front of the Chickering warerooms. A relief dow in its San Francisco store was devoted to a
map showing the position of the MacMillan Po- display of Brunswick-Radiolas and several other
lar Expedition, of Zenith's own radio station at receivers, and in the background was a pano-
Chicago and of Lee S. Roberts' store was elec- ramic view of San Francisco Bay and adjacent
trically fitted so that flashes of light alternating suburbs with a model of the Shenandoah stand-
indicated the sending and reception of messages ing out in bold relief against the sky. The loca-
between these three points. Actual messages tions of the local Pacific Coast broadcasting sta-
from Commander E. S. McDonald, Jr., of the tions were also indicated. A large sign in the
MacMillan expedition, sent by the expedition's front of the display invited the passerby to en-
broadcasting station and picked up at the Zenith joy the wonders of radio, calling attention to
station, were relayed by wire to the Roberts forthcoming football games, election returns,
store at San Francisco and prominently dis- stock reports, news events of all sorts, combined
played in the window, along with various mod- with the usual musical and entertainment pro-
els of Zenith radios and a cordial invitation to grams.
"come in and hear the Zenith."
It is not necessary for the retail merchant to
Many retailers cashed in handsomely on win- go to the expense of installing costly and elab-
dow displays based on the recent world's series orate parquet floors and permanent hardwood
baseball games, which were broadcast through- backgrounds for his windows. Less attention
out the country. And the broadcasting was of may be given to creating a permanent structure,
such excellence and the description of each as temporary decorations and fixtures may be
game so vivid that retailers had a splendid op- used to excellent advantage, and entirely aside
portunity to turn into customers many of the from the importance of keeping down expense,
individuals in the throngs which stopped to the temporary layout will enable the merchant
"hear the game."
to present a different appeal and use a new color
Baseball is over, but football is with us and scheme with each change in the window dis-
will continue for many weeks. The attention play.
of millions of sport lovers is focused on college
The first essential is that the exhibit must
possess color, originality and atmosphere to at-
tract and hold the attention of the passing
crowd. The public is keenly interested in fresh
appeals—something new—and the panorama of
current news events gives the retail merchant an
opportunity to cater to this well-known foible
of human nature. In many cases the same per-
sons pass the same windows dozens of times a
week, and the more often the display is changed
and the fresher it is the greater will be the num-
ber of people who will stop to look—and prob-
ably buy—in the course of the year.
The retail dealer will find that the radio man-
ufacturer's advertising and sales promotion de-
partment will be more than anxious to co-oper-
ate with him in making his window displays
more effective and more newsy. The Radio
Corporation of America, for example, has inau-
gurated a permanent window display service for
its dealers, and supplies, without charge, sugges-
tions for attractive exhibits with instructions for
their installation. The suggestions are season-
able and employ all forms of human interest
appeal. A new suggestion is sent out every
two weeks. Other manufacturers are co-oper-
ating with their dealers to this same end—help-
ing the retailer to make the most effective use
of his windows throughout every season of the
year in pushing his sales of radio.
From the standpoint of increased sales for the
music merchant, the current programs of con-
certs and recitals by world-famous artists, spon-
sored by Steinway & Sons and A. Atwater Kent,
can be made the basis of a splendid series of
window displays designed to sell phonograph
records as well as radios. The combination
makes a very effective exhibit for the music
dealer. For instance, when Margaret Matze-
nauer, contralto of the Metropolitan Opera
Company, is scheduled to give a concert over
the radio, a strong window display with a dou-
ble selling appeal could be created, featuring
various models of radio sets and also a selec-
tion of Victor records by this artist carried in
stock in the phonograph department of the
store.
New RCA Service
A complete dealer advertising service to aid
the retail merchant with his local advertising
work has been organized by the Radio Corp. of
America, in charge of J. R. Lunstead, formerly
manager of the Eastern district advertising de-
partment. The new service will keep the dealer
informed on all RCA sales and advertising ac-
tivities and their direct relation to dealer helps,
and will aim to localize the far-reaching gen-
eral advertising campaign which RCA is carry-
ing on. The service to dealers will include pre-
pared advertisements which may be run locally
over the merchant's name, a news photo serv-
ice for window paste-up, leaflets, posters, win-
dow display suggestions, cut-outs, direct mail
matter and other features.
Frank L. Youse in Spokane
SPOKANE, WASH., October 16.—Frank L. Youse,
formerly in charge of the Seattle branch of Sher-
man, Clay & Co., has succeeded William Austin
as manager of the Spokane store. Mr. Austin
was recently transferred to the San Francisco
offices of the company.