Crowds Vie for Prizes at Woodland Yard's Build-a-Rama

Want to spur your Summer and F all sales ?

Then read further and see what Motroni-Heard Lumber Company, at Woodland, Calif., did to give its business constitution a lift after the usual so-so Winter months. Like a virile Spring po- tion, Motroni-Heard's "Build-A-Rama" on May 2O-2I set the store's registers to ringing just like the slots in Harrah's Club. Only in this case, the townsfolk were getting something for their dollars, too.

Even the name ( (Build-A-Rama) added impact to the afrair. Undoubtedly "borrowed" from the hundreds of (Blank)-A-Ramas being held coast-to-coast every year, the name effectively bally- hooed the Spring open house in much the same manner as p. T. Barnum's hired hucksters of old.

Focal point of the event was a half-ton Dodge pickup, offered as grand prize instead of the usual all-electric article generally given away at doings of this type.

And, in a community like Woodland, that truck, along with ap- propriate signs, did a pretty good job of advertising the event all by itself (being it was driven around town for a good two months before the show).

Brainchild of F rank Heard, current president of the Lumber Merchants Association, and store manag'er Lou McGoldrick, the Build-A-Rama was a "pro" job all the way.

The promotion originally broke in the local paper on March 81, with an ad picturing the truck along with a short pitch about thB opening'and the other prizes to be given away.

The next day, Motroni-Heard Lumber Co. began giving away one ticket for every dollar's worth of merchandise purchased, and there's where this promotion difrered from so many others.

Naturally lnterested ln seelng sales benefft, and not just durtng the promotlon, Heord anit McGotdrlck usod the ..one tlcket for overy dolla,r's purchaso,' ldea, along with the truck "leadet''as the backbone of the wholo Bulld-A-Rama.

The idea was effective, and almost immediately unfamiliar faces began to appear in the store-and in each case they would ask for their tickets "on the truck" before leaving.

As Manag'er Lou McGoldrick put it, "Our opening ad for this promotion was March 31, and t}le truck was put on display April 1. We had good response from our active customers immediately. Interest slacked off the last two weeks in April, but inclined sharp- ly from May 1st right up to the climax. Thi response in May was from new customers, old customers that had become inactive, with even g:reater interest from our active customers.

"This increase in response seemed to stem from the fact that many new door awards were being added by the participants, also Motroni-Heard Lumber Company was the only store involved."

Advertising in the local paper (Woodland Daily Democrat) continued at regular intervals and climaxed with a full page .,BuildA-Rama" spread the Thursday before the event.

A consistent advertiser in its local paper, Motroni-Heard received excellent "press" both before and after the event. And, too, both the very name, and the truck gimmick, carried a certain "spectacular" slant which is nearly always "palatable" to hometown and suburban editors.

In all, well over 2,000 people attended the open house. And cash sales, as well as account sales, boomed,

"We had different people coming and going both ways," Mc-

Goldrick noted, "and this I attribute to the fact that, by not hav_ ing to be present at each drawing, they could come at their con_ venience to check the numbers posted on the blackboard. We see a lot of new names added to our accounts, and a lot of new faces in our store, mostly, we feel, the result of our Build_A_Rama promotion."

Response from manufacturers and suppliers, too, was enthusi_ astic. Some 22 booths were in operation throughout the opening and several hundred sales leads were picked up from this source-. The booths were loaned by the 40th District Agricultural Assn. in an_excellent tie-up. They were manned by the suppliers.

In addition to the grand-prize r/2-torr pickup won by Don Brani_ g'an, the following prizes were awarded:

Set of Delta handy books, electric jigsaw, two awards of enough paint for an average room, barbecuJ charcoal, swim flns, thr-ee cases of Armstrong ceiling tile and wall of wood panel, four tickets to Giants-Cardinals baseball game in S. F., thiee awards of gas campstoves, 22-caliber Remington rifle, three cases of Johns_Man_ kevs to ville vinyl floor tile, gallon of paint, Johns-Manville ceiling tile and Kordite plastic tarpaulin, two boxes of Johns-Manville floor tile and two boxes of ceiling tile, and 72 free passes to local theatres. tr'ree coffee, Pepsi-Cola, Spudnuts and cookies were served free to all both days. The hours of the show were g:00 a.m. to g:p.m. on tr'riday, and 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The prize drawings were held every 45 minutes, with 10 num_ bers drawn for each prize and posted in the store to be claimed by the end of each business day, according to the full-page news_ paper ad announcing the event. The ad also described the prizes in detail.

The newspaper display was also utilized to good advantage in advertising some specials: several styles of paints, a g1.gg 2_foot hardwood stepladder, a 99.9b hot blast paint-scraper, a g8.95 per gal. Olympic stain special, a Radco window deal, e1c.

And free to the yard's first 48 customers was a package of two sponges.

_!99t!" were set up right behind the company's modern store (U-\/I 2/7/57), and the easiest route to the area from the street was right through the showroom. Needless to say, this didn't just "happen" by chance.

And speaking of "happen,,, successful promotions like this one don't just "happen.',

Both Heard and Mccoldrick used up a lot of ,,gray matter" on

Street entrance to Build-a-Rama was through Motroni-Heard's attractive showroom (top left photo). wnose entrance door saw more ac- tion than the swinging door of a cowtown saloon on Saturday night. The yard. (lower left) was oiiginiily estsablished in 1933 by J. c. Mot: roni and occupies a full city block fronting on Beamer street. Franx Heard has been a partner since 1938 and Doug Motroni became partner following his father,s death in 1950.

Pretty Judy Stotts (right photo), daughter of the company book. keeper, was staffing the refresh. ment stand

o name IhaI has meanl Sincere Scrvice in lumber since I9l4 . .

their promotion, not to mention quite a few hard-earned dollars' But. contacted a few weeks following the opening' both men termed the opening a "tremendous success," indicating there would be more "Build-A-Ramas" or what-have-you to follow.

"Think big and it'll pay big" seems to sum up this particular promotion. And who knows, maybe this might be a way to cash in on that pickup you've been wanting: to turn in!

Fronk C. Russell Retires

Columbiana, OhioFrank C. Russell, president and chairman of the board of the F. C. Russell Company here, has announced his retirement as president of the company he founded in 1938. He will continue as board chairman in an advisory and consultant capacity. Sycceeding him is Victor Casey, executive vice-president, who was formerly vice-president and manager of Stanley B-uilding Specialties Comiany, El Monte, Ctli_fr wh.ere he directed operations in ten western states and Hawaii.

Record Gluor'ler for Georgio-Pocific; Profits Up 3Oo/o' Soles Up l7o/o

A record first-quarter for Georgia-Pacific- Corporation, with net earnings'up 3O/o, sales up l7/o, and cash-fl^ow up 337o over the irevious'record first quarter of 1959, was reported to stoikholders by 9y"t R. Cheatham, chairman, and Robert B. PamPlin, President.

Net profits were $3,575-,324,1o-r the quarter ended March 31, as iompared wiih $2,750,223 for the first three months of'1959. Sales were W,I87,065, compared with $39,343,289 during the first tht"._-9tth. 1*1y.9.

Smsll Fire qt Continentol Moulding

A fire in a large sawdust bin smoldered out of control for an hour and orie-half late last month at the Continental Moulding Co., 13028 Avalon Blvd., before firemen contained it. Cause was unknown.