Abstract:

Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn Inc. (BBDO) is a worldwide advertising agency network headquartered in New York City. The company began in 1891 as the George Batten Company. In 1928, it merged with Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With locations in eighty-one countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, UAE, and seven in the United States, BBDO is among the world’s most awarded advertising agencies. The records cover the entire span of BBDO’s existence, beginning with the George Batten Company in 1891. The collection includes advertisement tear sheets, films, ledgers, marketing reports, personnel files, photographs, press coverage, publications, research reports, slides, and speeches.

Scope and Content:

Consists of Irv Koons's business records containing correspondence with clients, marketing research studies, and public relations material.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The DuPont Corporate Plans Department is primarily responsible for coordinating all of the company’s strategic business planning activities. The records of DuPont Corporate Plans are fragmentary in nature and document only a small segment of the department’s responsibilities. These records are arranged into two series: Multi-client reports and Silverstone tracking study. The bulk of the material is contained in Series I and consists of multi-client reports, which are marketing studies prepared by outside consulting firms.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The External Affairs Department of the DuPont Company was created on January 1, 1986 by the merger of the Marketing Communications and Public Affairs departments. The records of DuPont External Affairs are divided into two series that reflect the department's principal functions--advertising and public affairs. A large portion of the collection consists of retail sales profiles and trend reports that include background information, research proposals, cost estimates, survey questionnaires, and related correspondence.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly known as the DuPont Company. It was established in 1802 and began by manufacturing gunpowder, later moving into chemical compounds. At the beginning of the twentieth century, DuPont had the need for more advertising as the company began expanding its product line beyond gunpowders and explosives. Between 1907 and 1909, an Advertising Division was formed within the Sales Department; a separate Advertising Department was established in 1921. This collection consists of background research files on ad campaigns run in individual industrial departments for various products and to promote the company as a whole.

Abstract:

Ernest Dichter (1907-1991) was one of the pioneers in consumer motivational research. He started his own consulting business in 1946. It was incorporated in New York as the Institute for Research in Mass Motivations, Inc. in 1952 and renamed the Institute for Motivational Research, Inc. in 1955. This collection consists of photographs, negatives, slides, contact sheets, and audio cassettes.

Abstract:

Joseph M. Rule (1922-2017) was a chemist and industrial marketing analyst in the Marketing Research Division of the Development Department at the DuPont Company. Later he became senior community affairs consultant in the Public Affairs Department. This small collection consists of materials from Rule's work for the Marketing Research Department. The materials include market research reports, DuPont Elastomers architectural files, and advertisements.

Scope and Contents: The bulk of the Marketing Services series comprises trade and consumer research records. The series is split into the following four subseries:Subseries A. Staff Records, 1959-1984Subseries A contains the correspondence of four staff members: (1) Paul Roder, Marketing Services Coordinator (1959-1984, bulk 1971-1984); (2) Marvin Belkin, Manager of Consumer Research (1973-1974); (3) Marilyn Franck, Senior Account Supervisor (1982-1983); and 4) Madeline Albert (1980-1982).Subseries B. Trade Research, 1970-1984The Trade Research subseries is divided into six parts. (1) Marketing Survey Reports regard regional sales and marketing trends and are arranged by state and company (1970-1984. This section (2) contains Marketing Survey Supporting Records (1982-1986). (3) The Special Marketing Survey Reports regard distribution of specific brands (1981-1982). (4) Special Study Reports are small, specialized reports on various brands in various geographic areas (1952, 1966-1985). (5) Cooperative Newspaper Advertising Reports for Selected Wines track Seagram wines in local store advertising (1980-1984). (6) Miscellaneous Reports pertain to wines and champagnes (1979-1984).Subseries C. Consumer Research, 1964-1996The Consumer Research records are divided into domestic and international reports. (1) The Domestic Reports (1964-1985,30 feet), mainly commissioned by Seagram, were performed by consumer research consultants on various aspects of the liquor industry including marketing, sales, advertising, packaging, and consumption patterns and preferences. Some reports include demographic information. There are also more general reports on consumption and consumers. Noteworthy reports include the Louis Harris and Associates polls (1977-1978); Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc. (a.k.a. W. R. Simmons & Associates Research, Inc.) Brand Rating Indices (1964-1968) rating magazine readership based on demographics and consumer preferences and Studies of Media and Markets (1967-1980) tracking users of various products (i.e. Automobiles; Home Improvements and Furnishings; Hair and Shaving Products; etc.) and the media to which they subscribe. (2) The International Reports (1965-1996) contain the same information found in the domestic reports.Subseries D. Library, 1934-1990The Library records are divided into six sections. (1) Administrative Records contain invoices and...

Scope and Contents:

Series III, Rates and Market Research, includes material related to rate changes and various court cases involving Pennsylvania Power and Light. However, the majority of the series is related to an instance in 1956 when the company was ordered by the Public Utility Commission to refund $6,320,736 system wide due to excessive charges. The order was a result of a Superior Court mandate that required the utility giant to eliminate as an operating expense the annual amortization of amounts it paid in excess of original cost to purchase utilities which it merged into its twenty-eight county system.

Abstract:

Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was a leading manufacturer and vendor of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. It was incorporated in Delaware on October 17, 1919, and changed its name to RCA Corporation on May 9, 1969. This small collection consists of materials produced by RCA's Marketing Research Department, including an inventory of equipment at television stations nationwide. There are images, primarily from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), showing products, booths, and people. The collection also consists of product literature obtained at NAB events. Most of the materials date to the 1970s.

Abstract:

Commonly referred to as simply "Seagram" or "Seagram's," the Seagram Company, Ltd. was for a time the largest producer and distributor of distilled spirits in the world. The records of Seagram and its subsidiaries trace the company's transformation from a small business run by Samuel Bronfman to a diversified multi-national corporation.