Trade Magazine Ads – WISL Radio Museum

WISL Testimonial Ad for Standard Rate & Data Service – 1950

February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 by jjtreese, posted in Advertisements, Trade Magazine Ads

WISL was in competition for national advertising dollars in the 1950s. One way to get noticed by national advertising buyers was to purchase print ads in various trade publications. Standard Rate & Data Service published a directory of media outlets and their contact details. This directory was distributed to the marketing departments of companies and advertising agencies around the United States. SRDS is still around today serving the advertising buying community in the digital world.

In 1950, WISL radio ran a series of ads in the SRDS directory and provided a testimonial to the effectiveness of this promotion. Here we find a full-page advertisement produced by SRDS featuring this testimonial and published in the August 28th, 1950 edition of Broadcasting Telecasting.

Standard Rate & Data Service Advertisement from Broadcasting Telecasting – August 28th, 1950

Radio Annual – 1953 Market Estimates Advertisement

February 18, 2022February 18, 2022 by jjtreese, posted in About WISL, Advertisements, Facts & Figures, Trade Magazine Ads

In the early days of radio, attracting national advertising accounts could make up a large portion of a radio station’s annual revenue. Radio stations were typically represented by national advertising firms that would broker advertising contracts for individual radio stations.

This advertisement was published in Radio Annual, a directory of all radio stations in the country. The directory would provide basic information on each radio stations including details such as, power, network affiliations and the names and roles of the station’s management team. These directories also sold advertising and radio stations could pay to include more specific messaging that would help to entice an advertiser to spend money in their market.

Here we have one such advertisement from WISL promoting the market estimates for Shamokin heading into 1953. We can see how economically robust Shamokin was in the early 1950s.

WISL Advertisement – Broadcasting Magazine 1951-52

May 8, 2021 by jjtreese, posted in Advertisements, Trade Magazine Ads

When WISL radio signed on in 1948 there was quite a bit of money up for grabs in the Shamokin area. Independence Street was full of businesses, local jobs gave residents money to spend and WISL had the medium that could bring the consumer to the stores. WISL did not just target the local advertising market, they also looked to the national advertisers for revenue opportunities. However, being a fledgling station, WISL had to promote itself to the advertisers, otherwise known as the agency advertising buyers.

Our featured exhibit is one of the print ads featured in Broadcasting Magazine during the years of 1951 and 1952. In the early 1950’s Shamokin was doing a booming business with a growing economy and WISL was spending money to make sure Madison Avenue knew where to send their advertising dollars. This particular print ad was published in the January 21st 1952 issue of Broadcasting Magazine.

WISL Advertisement from Broadcasting Magazine January 21, 1952

RCA Tube Advertisement

May 8, 2021 by jjtreese, posted in Advertisements, Trade Magazine Ads

Here’s an interesting find; A trade magazine advertisement for RCA-866A rectifier tubes printed in a 1956 edition of “Broadcasting Magazine.”

When WISL was built, the entire operation, from studio to transmitter, was outfitted with RCA equipment. RCA was one of the leading manufacturers of radio and broadcasting equipment from the earliest days of broadcasting through the 1970s.

WISL was a happy customer and this sentiment is reflected in a testimonial provided by Chief Engineer Ray Willard on the dependability of RCA’s rectifier tubes.

Mr. Willard wrote;

“I thought you might be interested in the report of two RCA-866A mercury-vapor rectifiers we have been operating at WISL. They have already recorded 20,500 hours of continuous service and are still going strong… not a record, perhaps, for this type tube… but at any rate, the practicability of purchasing dependable RCA tubes is obvious.”