The collection consists mostly of reports, lists, newsletters and
bulletins, and a great variety of other promotional material received
by a member organization, the National Association of Broadcasters,
1951-1956. Though fragmentary, the material does illustrate attempts to
maintain the attraction of radio as an advertising medium in
competition with newspapers, magazines, and television. The collection
is divided into five groups: Broadcast Advertising Bureau; subject
files; bulletins, newsletters, and news releases; co-op advertising
data; and miscellaneous.
The BROADCAST ADVERTISING BUREAU group consists of bylaws, minutes of a membership meeting, and a report on the bureau's first three
months of operation. Located here also are catalogs and an index of BAB
materials available to members. The catalogs are especially interesting
in that they provide content descriptions of publications. The SUBJECT
FILES include reports, lists, reprints of articles, summaries of recent
research findings, radio spot announcements, and related material.
Arranged alphabetically by subject of promotion or study, most of the
files concern products, sales and advertising trends, and sales
effectiveness of radio in comparison with other media. Only those files
which contain studies or reports are dated. Particularly noteworthy are
the files on car radio listening entitled “Listeners on
Wheels,” the files on television, and the series of twelve
reports on the cumulative audience of advertising. There are also files
on such targets of radio advertising as women and businessmen. The
BULLETINS, NEWSLETTERS, AND NEWS RELEASES cover a wide variety of
topics on radio advertising, from general promotion of the medium to
specific advice on how to increase advertising effectiveness. The CO-OP
ADVERTISING DATA consist of cards and bulletins on cooperative
advertising plans for radio.
The information supplied includes the type of advertising desired,
the products to be covered, and the split of costs between
manufacturers and product dealers. There is often information on the
type of advertising campaign favored by a company. The MISCELLANEOUS
material consists of publications, reprints of articles, and related
promotional items similar to those found in the subject files. In most
cases there were too few items in any one category to justify a
separate file unit, so the material has been arranged
chronologically.
