f !*' SELLING NEWSPAPER SPACE HOW TO DEVELOP LOCAL ADVERTISING By JOSEPH E. CHASNOFF NEW YORK THE RONALD PRESS CO. 1913 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY To MY FATHER PREFACE IN the present volume I have attempted to pre- sent in concise form a practical essay on how news- paper space may be sold efficiently. Of the many- sided problem in newspaper making I have taken only one part, that of local display advertising. The selling of space to national advertisers is not within the scope of the present theme. That sub- ject does not differ in some of its fundamental as- pects, but it is one deserving of separate considera- tion. This book is based upon a series of lectures which I delivered to the students of advertising in the School of Journalism at the University of Mis- souri. The fifth chapter is the result of an investi- gation into some of the advertising problems of Missouri newspapers. Indeed, the experiences which newspapers generally have found valuable in developing local display advertising make up the largest part of the work. My experience as an advertising "solicitor" in the metropolitan as well as the small town field convinced me of the need of a BETTER WAY. If the book will give to only a few publish- ers a clearer insight into the advertising problems 5 6 Preface of their newspapers; if it will offer suggestions to their advertising managers in developing new business; if it will help a part of that large num- ber of advertising men engaged in the actual work of selling space, by suggesting the means by which they may more effectually control situations; if it will stimulate thinking along advertising lines and direct men of aptitude and ideals to enter the advertising side of newspaper activity; if, finally, it will be the means of bringing forth from co- workers other books on the subject, then, indeed, I shall feel that this volume has been of some real service. I am deeply grateful to a number of newspaper publishers, as well as their managers and salesmen, who have shown friendly interest and co-operation. For helpful suggestions, I am especially indebted to Walter G. Bryan, of Chicago; and to Walter Williams, Dean of the School of Journalism of the University of Missouri, my former teacher and colleague. J. E. C. Saint Louis, Missouri, January, 1913. CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER ONE THE SALESMANSHIP THAT SERVES . 1 1 CHAPTER TWO MAKING A MEDIUM 27 CHAPTER THREE CONVERTING THE RETAILER . 45 CHAPTER FOUR HELPING THE MERCHANT 63 CHAPTER FIVE "NEW BUSINESS" 89 CHAPTER SIX ADVERTISING FOR ADVERTISING . . . .115 LIST OF PLATES PLATE i Does Not Carry Confidence . 71 2 A Talk on Linens from the Woman's Viewpoint ... 74 " 3 A Service Idea that Sold Athletic Goods 75 " 4 An Example of the "Low-Price" Appeal 77 5 _A Well-Displayed Page of Store News 8 1 6 The Picture Faces the Wrong Way 84 7 A Definite and Timely Sugges- tion 93 8 Two Ads of a Series that In- creased a Photographer's Busi- ness 33 per cent 101 9 A Dignified Dentistry Advertise- ment 103 10 A Forceful Appeal for the Gas Range, the Cool Kitchen and "Mother" 107 1 1 An Effective Appeal to Mothers 109 12 How a Restaurant May Adver- tise 1 10 9 \ VS., io List of Plates PLATE 13 Creating Public Sentiment to "Buy at Home" . . . .113 14 How Canadian Newspapers are Making Readers More Re- ceptive to Advertising . .119 15 Soliciting through Newspaper Advertising . . . . 121 1 6 Increasing Circulation by Ad- vertising Advertising . . .123 " i 7 _Gives "Reason Why" Women Should Read Advertisements . 126 " j 8 Gives Men "Reason Why" They Should Read Clearance Sale Ads . . 127 19 Focusing Attention on Distinct Lines of Advertising . . .131 Selling Newspaper Space CHAPTER ONE THE SALESMANSHIP THAT SERVES AN ESTIMATE OF NEWSPAPER SPACE >\ DVERTISING space in a newspaper of JL\. the right sort is essentially a sound and worthy commodity. The daily or weekly news- paper in every community goes into the homes of that particular community. The circulation is concentrated. The merchant can come before the readers with a direct appeal. He is able to get repetition, frequent change, and immediate appear- ance of advertisements. In addition, the newspaper has a hold upon the affections of the family circle. The natural interest in the news and editorial columns makes the news- paper an eagerly watched- for visitor. This inform- ing friend is admitted into the home where perhaps no other sales forces go. In these homes, common hopes, ambitions, and tastes exist. Needs arise. The newspaper is the outsider that is sought for counsel. People subscribe to a newspaper for the news, ii 12 Selling Newspaper Space True. But its advertisements are a part of its news, and these advertisements reach the reader in a receptive mood and their suggestions are fol- lowed. Good merchandisers have proven the power of newspaper advertising. Retail stores could no more get along without the newspaper than the newspaper could get along without the retail store. Commercial progress has given an enviable place to newspaper advertising. It is no longer a debatable policy. SPACE VALUES Admitting that advertising is necessary to the welfare of the newspaper, have we not been side- tracked by the desire to sell large space rather than the right space? Have we not failed to rec- ognize that the greatest amount of advertising does not necessarily mean the largest profit ? Have we not over-stressed the appeal to use space, disregard- ing the real value to the consumer of the com- modity offered? Have we not overlooked the truth that every advertiser who is talked into using too much space is an enemy earned? For how much is business worth which does not pay the advertiser? How much is business worth which does not lead to more business? And what shall it profit a publisher if he sell space which proves un- profitable to the advertiser? The Salesmanship That Serves 13 This is the question before the newspapers of to-day. Its answer is not sending us to ethics or sentiment. Good business sense is bringing about an impending and deeply significant change in the selling of advertising space. The process is most natural. All advertising has gone toward size rather than perfection. We have been too busy in expansion to consider results. We have had an appetite for big space. Every publisher has printed big editions which did not pay him one cent, and did not pay his advertisers any better. This is a false policy. The life of a newspaper depends on advertising patron- age. The most prosperous newspaper in the coun- try would be put out of business if the local mer- chants withdrew their advertising. It usually can- not, certainly should not, get this advertising unless it gives value received unless it makes this adver- tising profitable both to itself and to the advertiser. What the newspaper needs is better understand- ing of how to market its advertising columns. The prevailing faults may be easily corrected. They consist of over-salesmanship on the one hand and under-salesmanship or copy-chasing on the other. The first is the fly-by-night policy imbued with the old idea that "Anything to get business for to-day's issue is all right." The second is the type of solici- 14 Selling Newspaper Space tation which contents itself with "Anything for to- day?" or "You ought to have an ad this week." In a central Missouri town a publisher sent the of- fice boy around to renew a contract. The merchant had been considering the use of more space, but the "lack of interest," as he expressed it, of the pub- lisher caused him to renew for the old amount. Over-solicitation and under-salesmanship are both non-productive. The first does not conserve the soil of business; the second does not cultivate it. Both are sellers of space merely. Real salesman- ship is developmental. It never "solicits." It points out opportunity; it is informative; it is edu- cational. It makes old business pay and develops new business. It is the salesmanship that serves vitally the advertiser, and at the same time benefits the publisher and the public. Creative salesman- ship is basic to newspaper permanency ; it will grow in importance as a factor in advertising. DIFFICULTIES IN SELLING SPACE If the fact were universally admitted that newspaper advertising is an essential to success in business, if merchants everywhere understood the selling power of newspaper advertising, we should still need the creative salesman of advertising space. Why? Because of competition? Not entirely. The Salesmanship That Serves 15 To strengthen belief in advertising? Yes; and to point out new and specific uses of newspaper adver- tising. Human nature does not usually, of its own accord, "bring home" ideas. Direct applications must be brought to our attention again and again. Then we will act. Since the salesman plays so important a part in the sale of definite visible objects whose value is often determined by weight or measurement, it is obvious that in selling so intangible a commodity as advertising space, the personal equation looms large. It is a well-recognized principle that once a salesman of typewriters, for example, gets far enough to get permission or excuse to bring a ma- chine into a man's store or office, the sale is half made. But the advertising salesman cannot invite you to "look over his line." He cannot leave his space "on trial." He cannot even "deliver" imme- diately, because "delivery" rests upon the support given him by persistent, backed-up copy. He sells "future." Emerson said, "He is great who can alter my state of mind." In selling advertising you influence a mind to influence other minds. Moreover, as soon as the average prospect real- izes that he is confronted by an advertising solicitor whose business is to part the prospect from his 1 6 Selling Newspaper Space money even if this parting is for the prospect's own good he draws within "a shell of caution." This obstacle is common in all selling. The difficulty usually arises because the salesman intro- duces his purpose before he introduces his proposi- tion. The moment you say, "I am a solicitor for The Daily News" you erect an obstacle. Unless the prospect wants to advertise, his tendency is to think and to say "Nothing to-day." Our minds are quite automatic. The moment we hear or see a thing the mind reacts; we make an evaluation which is favorable or unfavorable. The story of how a salesman of pianos overcame unfavorable evaluation and reached out for the point of contact illustrates the use of imagination and initiative two elements fundamental in sell- ing space. This, in substance, is the salesman's analysis of his problem, as told by A. W. Rolker : 4 'If I could only devise an approach that would make people want to listen to what I have to say!' he said to himself. ; Why not turn the old method around and con- centrate interest on my goods first, leaving the firm to come in after I have my man interested? If 1 make my story strong enough, I need never men- tion the word "sale" the prospect will turn him- self into a buyer. My task is founded on the same The Salesmanship That Serves 17 principle as the advertisement. I must have a strong "headline" to reach out for my prospects. To say: "I'm Bill Brown, of the Peachblow Piano Company," never lifted any woman off her feet.' "Now, when the door opens, Bill Brown opens with a catchline. He says : " 'Madam, would you mind if we put a piano into your house free of all charge?' "Formerly Brown estimated a hundred door- bells to land a favorable response. Before the new sales method was a week old the average dropped to seventy, and finally to sixty calls and sales were according." REQUIREMENTS OF THE SALESMAN I asked ten newspaper publishers of unques- tioned ability, "What is the strongest feature of your best local advertising representative?" Their replies sounded the keynote of what the salesman's equipment should be. These requirements may be summed in two words : (A) KNOWLEDGE (B) PERSONALITY (a) What the Salesman Must Know Under knowledge I would include, first of all, a knowledge of the power of honest ad- vertising; next, an understanding of the me- 1 8 Selling Newspaper Space dium; finally, appreciation of the advertiser's prob- lem. A salesman who is thus qualified can impart matters of interest that will hold and impress the prospect's attention. Any idea in the customer's mind that you do not know, any intimation of a lack of authority on the subject you present, is apt to be fatal to the sale. The only precaution is actually to know. A believer in truthful advertis- ing who understands and applies the selling points of his newspaper to fit the advertiser's needs is ready to talk with a confidence that wins. He can present a new point of view to the merchant about the merchant's business. He can do this because his mind is a register of every advertising success or failure, and he understands that successful ad- vertising is the result of close analysis of local con- ditions and of consistent adherence to some plan that meets the conditions of the particular commun- ity and the particular store. Since the merchant has not the time, nor at first the interest, the news- paper representative works out a plan that will de- velop good-will and increase sales. The destinies of newspaper, merchant, and public are in the ad- vertising salesman's hands. He can do more to discourage dishonest advertising than the preacher, because he knows the commercial value of truth. The Salesmanship That Serves 19 Show any merchant that you are interested in his business; present ideas that will "cash in" for him, and he will be glad to see you often. The harmonious mental attitude between the prospective advertiser and the salesman results from a feeling of confidence. Belief always pre- cedes conviction and action. Moreover, this state of mental unity comes quickest when the salesman shows that he knows and believes what he is talk- ing about. Desire is not always awakened by argu- ments. General statements do not call images to the mind of your prospect. This is why the repre- sentative suggests the exact size and idea for the copy. The merchant begins building images of increased sales, and these cause a feeling resulting in action. "Every merchant I know," says William C. Freeman, "and I have called on a great many in the twenty-five years that I have been an advertis- ing man, has always been willing to listen to some definite plan that meant, if adopted, the betterment of his business." But you cannot present a definite plan until you know the prospect's problem. You must be able to consider the proposition from his viewpoint. To ascertain this, it is necessary to get the prospective advertiser talking. The mere suggestion of a new 2O Selling Newspaper Space point of view will often start the mind working along definite lines. Perhaps a question or two about a merchant's business, or a bit of information presenting an outsider's idea of the store will do this. If your knowledge of his affairs is accurate if you appreciate his problems he will talk freely. One publisher estimates the art of selling space in these four words: "Be a good listener." The American business man is glad to talk about his business if you will give him a chance. Confidence springs from appreciation. Intelligent listening will find the point of contact between your plan and his business. "You must be nine-tenths judgment and one-tenth talk, and use the nine-tenths judg- ment to tell when to use the one-tenth talk." I would sum successful salesmanship in this way : Be an intelligent listener; always talk the prospect's proposition, not yours. If you understand some- thing of a man's business, and know the possibilities as well as limitations of that business, presenting the right plan at the right time, the merchant will sooner or later adopt your suggestions. (b) What the Salesman Must Be "The best representative I have is a man who believes in newspapers so thoroughly that he com- mands a hearing because of his knowledge and en- thusiasm," said a publisher. The Salesmanship That Serves 21 There you have the second great requirement, personality. Personality is the "man to man" rela- tion which business is made of. In no work is strong personality a richer asset. The advertis- ing salesman is judged by those nice outward evi- dences of character; his dress, his manner, his tone should give a favorable first impression. At the core he must be honest and sincere. I have already emphasized the fact that the advertising man car- ries no sample case. His proposition is rated un- consciously by his personality. Tact, the applied science of putting yourself in the other fellow's place, is included in personality. Tact presupposes that the advertiser is more inter- ested in making money than he is in making a com- panion of you during business hours. Enthusiasm in selling is the expression of belief; its source is knowledge of what you have for sale ; the result of enthusiasm in the seller is enthusiasm in the buyer. In the make-up of the creative advertising sales- man is another faculty. Enterprise, enthusiasm, energy, are splendid qualities, but even combined they do not supply the place left vacant by a lack of imagination. A well-grown, vigorous imagina- tion is the key that opens understanding to indi- vidual nature. Personality may be developed and strengthened. 22 Selling Newspaper Space Knowledge can be acquired. Both together form ability. THE PUBLISHER'S PART Before we can have efficiency, ability must be di- rected. Publishers used to think that the only way to get business was to hire plenty of u leg talent" and let it "hit the line" hard. Now we are finding that this is only one of the important parts in sell- ing newspaper space. The publisher, or his direct representative, has an important inside work. Organization and co- operation are two words the significance of which in selling we have only guessed at. A unified sell- ing force has a stimulating effect on each sales- man. No one man gets all the knowledge he needs while selling. There is not a salesman of adver- tising anywhere, no matter how experienced or able, who will fail to profit by knowing what every other man on the paper is doing. We improve and gain from the experience of others as well as from our own experience. It takes picked men who know advertising and have enthusiasm plus. To create a team-work spirit, the head of the advertising department must hold frequent meetings of the staff. In these ses- sions, circulation, advertising rates, advertising pol- The Salesmanship That Serves 23 icy and all problems pertaining to the getting of advertising on the right basis are discussed. I could name some of the largest newspapers in the country that hold frequent meetings of the adver- tising department. The heads of these depart- ments will tell you that all salesmen are made bet- ter salesmen by this training; and that the develop- ment of sympathy with the spirit of the newspaper is worth while of itself. Every Monday afternoon the manager of the Seattle Times holds conference with his advertising salesmen. At the beginning of the new year's business he spoke, in part, as follows : "I want every man in this room to feel that he is at peace, both with his work and with the adver- tising community. "By this I do not mean that we are to be lazy or that we lack competition. Peace may be defined as orderly activity. The very sharpest football game on record was possible only on a field where peace, law and order prevailed. Not only did the crowds keep order in looking on, but the players played according to rule. "PEACE DOES NOT MEAN LAZINESS; NOR DOES HUSTLING NECESSARILY MEAN WAR. "I want every man in this room to realize this 24 Selling Newspaper Space feeling of optimism and permanency in the minds of the management of The Times, and make use of that realization in his work. "I want every man in this room to feel that he is so assured of his position that he does not need to do extraordinary things. He need not make a quick dash, nor try to make a wonderful record. Spurts are followed by depressions. Each of you has been trained through some years in the adver- tising department of The Times. You ought to do your work more easily this year, but I shall cer- tainly expect you to do as much as you did last year, and the steady, cheerful, peaceful grind will do better than the rush, the roar, and the hurrah ! "I want every man here to feel confident of the value of The Times, of the force of The Times' management behind him, and of his own ability to get a goodly share of the advertising patronage on his route. I want him to feel that, in case he loses a customer on business grounds, he can come into this office and report that loss without fear of con- sequences. At the same time, I want him to real- ize that if the department detects any slack in the peaceful and orderly work which he should per- form for us, he is in danger of reduction in the ranks, or of something even more drastic," The Salesmanship That Serves 25 The inside work of making a strong medium; of keeping systematically needed information about advertisers; of following up prospective adver- tisers; in short, of unifying the whole organization so that there will be little lost motion; moreover, the promotion of business by advertising for ad- vertising ; all this increases the producing power of personal salesmanship. THE ORGANIZATION IN ACTION The publisher's part is to make a good medium, to back up his representatives financially and mor- ally, to co-operate with them by keeping them in close touch with the medium, and supporting their efforts by printed advertising to prospective adver- tisers. One of the most successful publishers in America impresses upon his representatives the im- portance of this truth: "No business is worth very much unless it leads to more business. No year is successful unless it points to a still more successful year." This is what real progressiveness means. The advertising salesman's part is to believe in the power of honest advertising, to understand thoroughly the medium, to appreciate the problems of advertisers. The moment the publisher and his representa- tives understand that their business is not to sell 26 Selling Newspaper Space space merely, but to make more business for the advertiser, the aspect of the problem changes. The only way to make permanent advertisers for the' newspaper is to make permanent customers for the advertisers. This is fundamental to lasting profit in selling space. It benefits newspaper, advertiser, public. Such is the salesmanship that serves. CHAPTER TWO MAKING A MEDIUM WHAT IS A GOOD MEDIUM? TWO main elements make an advertising me- dium the first, numbers; the second, the buying power of (these numbers. All advertis- ing media have some value. But whether or not a medium can be profitably used by an advertiser is a question to be determined only by careful an- alysis of the individual business and the particular medium. It is well to understand at the outset that the value of a medium is relative, depending on the proposition to be advertised. For example, automobiles cannot be sold through a medium reaching only families whose earnings average $2 a day, even if the circulation is a mil- lion. On the other hand, the same medium could sell a cheap commodity at less cost than a medium which had a small, select circulation. The adver- tiser, then, must judge a medium by the number of possible buyers of his goods which the medium reaches. In general, the local merchants of small towns and the majority of advertisers in cities seek largely 27 28 Selling Newspaper Space the same class. They want to reach the largest number of substantial, home-building families. The consideration of numbers and buying power are the main elements. There are, however, other questions to be answered. 1. Does the medium reach the people within a purchasing radius at a time when they are re- ceptive ? 2. Is there opportunity to repeat the message; to make continuous impression? 3. Can the advertisement be changed often enough to meet ever-changing conditions ? 4. Does the medium bear the stamp of public confidence which makes the readers responsive? Measured by this fourfold standard, we find but one kind of medium which can answer "yes" to all of the above questions. It is the newspaper. STRENGTH OF THE MEDIUM Leaving for the present the question of numbers, the buying power of these numbers, and the matter of rates, the line of cleavage between the strong and the weak newspaper as a medium is determined by the closeness with which they measure up to the foregoing requirements. Any consideration of the strength or the strengthening of a newspaper must therefore be based upon these requirements. Making a Medium 29 i. CIRCULATION. The answer to the first ques- tion, "Does the medium reach the people within a purchasing radius at a time when, they are recep- tive?" is to be found only in a circulation analysis. This should include : ( i ) total daily average circu- lation; (2) number delivered to homes; (3) num- ber of news-stand and street sales; (4) circulation by local districts ; ( 5 ) circulation in contiguous ter- ritory; (6) circulation outside of purchasing radius (as in other states) ; (7) free copies. Circulation and rate never tell the whole story. All circulation beyond an advertiser's field of activ- ity is dead circulation so far as that advertiser is concerned. An advertiser's business is seldom as good in one local section as in another. It is true, of course, that in every community it is possible to reach practically every buying class of people through the newspapers. What the adver- tiser should look for in making his selection is the newspaper or newspapers which have a circulation of the largest per cent of possible purchasers. There is perhaps less waste of circulation in newspapers than in any other medium. People within the town are within the easiest purchasing radius. The great bulk of the out-of-town circu- lation is usually among people close to the town or city who make numerous trips there. They too are 30 Selling Newspaper Space within the purchasing radius, and the firms whose names are known to them are the firms which get their business. Yet in many cases the out-of- town circulation is useless, partly because it is too far away, and partly because the advertiser and the newspaper are not making the most of their oppor- tunity. When a store advertises a special bargain price for one day only, it means that the larger part of the out-of-town circulation is disregarded. If the newspaper would arrange with the advertiser to change his copy for the out-of-town edition, using in this edition mail order copy, the "resultfulness" of the total circulation would be greatly increased. Of course, there would be some additional expense attached to this process, but the medium would pay out proportionately better. The newspaper naturally reaches the public when it is most receptive to buying suggestions. The very act of reading requires attention and renders the reader open to suggestion ; moreover, his habit of looking to the newspapers for the news of both" people and merchandise is a potent factor in plac- ing him in a receptive frame of mind and adds materially to the value of the newspaper as an advertising medium. 2. REPETITION. The second requirement when considering the strength of the medium is the op- Making a Medium 31 portunity afforded for proper repetition. It is possi- ble to reach the same people day after day at lower cost and with greater effect through the newspaper than through any other medium. There is, how- ever, one fact which many publishers do not esti- mate at its true value. When a newspaper is printed at the same time every evening, or morn- ing, and delivered in exactly the same place, sub- scribers get the habit of going out for the paper at a regular time and finding it in the same place, and this in itself greatly increases the advertising value of the medium. Habit is but proof of the influence of repetition. The co-operation of the circulation department with the advertising office in procuring a large, solid circulation, and de- livering the papers on time, greatly strengthens the medium. 3. IMMEDIACY. Our third requirement, imme- diacy of the appeal, is another natural advantage of the newspaper. There are many advertisers who can afford only advertising that will bring direct returns. Newspaper advertisers have the oppor- tunity of realizing on this to the utmost by adjust- ing their copy to ever-changing conditions. 4. RESPONSIVENESS. The stamp of public con- fidence is perhaps the most important essential in making a newspaper an advertising medium. That 32 Selling Newspaper Space which the newspaper has for sale is news news of the day and news of merchandise. The news- paper's quantity and quality of circulation depends upon the sort of news it prints, and the reader's confidence in the newspaper is built upon its fair- ness in printing and commenting on the news. And it is the advertiser who profits from this bond of faith between the public and press. The very es- sence of a newspaper advertising medium is reader- support. The paper that is made up and published for the subscriber will get subscriptions. Upon these subscribers the paper will have a hold that will make its advertising space profitable. The newspaper cannot hope to establish a medium in a permanent way unless it properly serves its sub- scribers. So we come back to our first statement that the newspaper's commodity is news. The strength of the medium rests upon the kind of news it sells. The advertiser should judge the medium first as a newspaper; not that it should please his personal fancy, but that it should secure the good-will of the readers. "A newspaper is built up of trust," says Charles H. Grasty. "The impalpable, intangible, invisible thing Confidence the confidence of the reader, the confidence of the advertiser, is the solid rock upon which the newspaper property is founded." Making a Medium 33 Therefore the publisher who sells anything less than the truth to the buyer of circulation sells his honor in the bargain. Good-will of the people has a cumulative value. A newspaper name may be worth a hundredfold more than all the property you could crowd into a building. Since results, since the very strength of the me- dium depends upon public good-will, the advertiser should co-operate with the publisher to make first of all a good newspaper. Every honest advertiser who refuses to keep company with the fake and the fraud encourages the publisher who bars such advertising. This will make all advertising more effective. "The advertiser who puts anything but the truth into the newspaper space he contracts for, barters his good name and the good name of the publisher." The old conception of the newspaper was that of a common carrier of news. Though this idea is no longer general, many publishers still view the ad- vertising columns as bulletin boards on which any man may spread his offer, if he has the price. How- ever, fewer newspapers are now accepting the ad- vertising of fake financial promoters, get-rich-quick companies and quacks. They are learning the com- mercial value of honesty. The following history of a victim of the old theory shows that one fraudu- 34 Selling Newspaper Space lent advertisement can do as much harm as a "double-leaded" news-story. A man who had been a reader of a certain news- paper for twenty-five years, and confided in it all that time, did not believe the newspaper would advertise swindlers, while on the editorial page it was condemning crookedness. Several years ago he bought stock in the traction company of his city, paying $82 a share for it. The company got into financial trouble, and the newspaper led a persist- ent, bitter attack on its management. One day it had an editorial saying that the street railway com- pany's shares were not worth the paper they were printed on. Trusting the paper's judgment, the man sold his stock at a big loss, and, trusting the same paper's advertising pages, put his money into the stock of United Wireless. Now the promoters of the wireless company are in jail, the property of the traction company is in good shape, and its stock, which is paying dividends, is selling for $88 a share. The victim has changed newspapers. Not only should the advertising columns be clean, but it will profit the advertiser and the pub- lisher's duty is to point this out to him to lend a hand in making the advertising columns, to the ex- clusion of the news columns, the one great show- window of merchandise. The free write-up, or Making a Medium 35 "puff," as it is called, does not mislead the reader. It merely destroys his confidence. There is a marked tendency among retailers themselves to dis- count the free write-up. There is pretty good evi- dence that the reason a merchant wants the write- up and special favor is because his competitor gets them. The news of merchants should be handled like other news. The newspaper should understand that no advertising is worth having unless it pays the advertiser, and the advertiser should understand that free notices, as well as editorial domination, lowers measurably the newspaper as an advertising medium. As to this, interests of the publisher and the advertiser are identical. A good newspaper for the reader makes a good medium. Advertising that pays the advertiser pays the publisher and the public. The same far-reaching policy that actuates the editorial department should control the advertising department of a newspaper. One fraudulent or exaggerated advertisement can do as much harm as a page of fraudulent news. The fake advertise- ment fetches money that frequently wrecks homes ; it is even worse than the fake story. Both hurt pub- lishers and advertisers because they directly hurt the public. It is, therefore, to the mutual benefit 36 Selling Newspaper Space of publisher and advertiser to make a good news- paper for the reader one upon which he knows he can rely. TESTING THE MEDIUM Local conditions vary so much that there is no universal test of a medium. Advertisers have a right to know exactly what they are buying, and the publisher should see that they get absolute facts to enable a thorough circulation analysis. On the other hand, merchants should not be blinded by space rates. They should rather bear in mind that it is not the cost of the medium, but the results which a medium brings that determine its real value. A publisher usually knows what his space is worth, and the advertiser should understand that no newspaper dumps high grade goods on a bar- gain counter and sells them off at half price, unless they are defective. If a newspaper sells space cheap the advertiser had better look for the reason. The publisher might with profit bring to the atten- tion of his advertisers the following advice given by an advertising man who has had many years of experience both in the selling and buying of news- paper space : "Don't be swept off your feet by a low price. Remember the newspaper man is a merchant just Making a Medium 37 the same as you are ; and he is charging you what the goods are worth. Coffin plates at a cent apiece are cheap if you have any use for coffin plates but have you?" Usually there is as much difference between the results from a ten cent an inch and a fifty cent an inch paper as there is between a ten dollar suit of clothes and a fifty dollar suit. In one Missouri town a real-estate firm advertised in a paper which had a ten cent rate; the contemporary's rate was twenty-five cents. After advertising in the former medium for a while the twenty-five cent paper was given a trial. Later the real-estate advertiser went to the twenty-five cent paper and said, "We had been getting only ten cents worth; we are getting twenty-five cents worth now." A lesson was learned. A circulation analysis may decide the value of a medium. Other considerations, such as whether the circulation is claimed or certified, whether it ap- peals to the better class or to the masses, the com- parative amount of advertising of all kinds carried, the comparative amount of advertising of the par- ticular business carried, whether the paper is the fa- vorite department store medium, whether the paper carries objectionable advertising all these points throw informing light on the value of the medium. 38 Selling Newspaper Space The one certain test is a fair try-out campaign, for this determines every phase of a newspaper's strength and weakness. THE QUESTION OF RATES The standard of payment as regards quantity of circulation is rate per agate line, or inch, per thousand per insertion. Metropolitan newspapers sell their space from one-third to one-thirteenth of a cent per line per 1,000. In Chicago the one-time rate of the daily newspapers varies from one-half cent per line per 1,000 to one-tenth cent per line per 1,000; the con- tract rate varies from one-fourth cent per line per 1,000 to one-thirteenth cent per line per 1,000. The average one-time rate of five New York newspapers, representing the average city type, is one- fourth cent per line per 1,000; contract rate, one-fifth cent per line per 1,000. Following is a list of rates in ten cities outside of Chicago, which gives the total circulation of the newspapers representing average city types, the combined rate, the average rate on one-time basis, and the contract basis : I I J w vo I I i I I 8 3 4O Selling Newspaper Space An authority dividing newspapers on the basis of circulation into three classes, as follows: (i) 15,000 to 50,000; (2) 50,000 to 100,000; (3) over 100,000; gives the average rate for papers of the first class per inch per 1,000 circulation as .0250; the average rate for papers of the second class as .0209 ; and the average rate for papers of the third class as .0202. The average rate for all three classes of papers considered is given as .0239. A fair rate for the country weekly news- paper is one cent an inch per hundred subscriptions. Sworn circulation is worth more than claimed or estimated circulation. Circulation built without ex- traneous inducements is worth more than contest- built circulation. Every newspaper should have a rate card, and all business should be "put on the card." There is* some question about the flat rate as opposed to the sliding rate, but at the present time most news- papers have a graduated rate card. The flat rate appeals to the small advertiser and the new adver- tiser who do not know what their own propositions amount to; but at the same time the advertiser who has gathered enough statistics about his busi- ness to know what he can profitably pay for news- paper space, prefers to contract for a quantity. While there can be no question that the grad- Making a Medium 41 uated rate is an inducement to buy a sufficient quan- tity of space and advertise regularly, objection is urged against the written contract that the mer- chant does not always know how much space he will need. Some department stores invest two per cent of the sales in advertising. As a rule, how- ever, the amount is somewhat higher, ranging from three and one-half per cent to five per cent. The age of the store and the character of the goods ad- vertised should determine this. The Philadelphia Press quoted the following rates, on a basis of 80,653 sworn circulation, for display advertising : Daily 20 cents per agate line. On yearly contracts of 500 lines; 1,000 lines; 2,500 lines; 5,000 lines; 7,500 lines and 10,000 lines; discounts of I2j4 per cent, 17*^ per cent, 20 per cent, 22^ per cent, and 25 per cent, respectively, are al- lowed. Sunday 25 cents per agate line, flat. (Sunday circulation 171,778, sworn.) As a substitute for the written contract an Okla- homa publisher has this plan : 42 Selling Newspaper Space Regular rate, 37 cents an inch. 1,000 inches, 35 cents. 2,000 32 3,000 29 " 5,000 " 25 " 10,000 " 20 " The advertiser pays 37 cents until he has used 1,000 inches. As he passes each mark he is given a cash credit according to the rate he qualifies for. The publisher says the arrangement works well. The practice of charging extra for full position is quite common among the stronger newspapers, and, in the competition for attention among adver- tisements, this practice is fair to advertiser as well as publisher. Matrices, drawings and etchings are made by the newspaper for the accommodation of the patrons, sometimes at the ordinary commer- cial charge, but there are a few cities which furnish these free to advertisers. Problems of competition usually result in stripping the newspapers of their just due. Merchants think that they object to the term "high rates." As a matter of fact, they resent only and rightly the feeling that some one' else is buying space cheaper or getting more favors than they are. There is no limit to rate-cutting once it is begun, Making a Medium 43 just as there is no limit to the free write-up. Both are harmful to the publisher and to the advertiser. Every advertiser should be privileged to the same rate and the same treatment as any other advertiser on the same basis. It is not the cost of a medium, but the result from the medium that determines value to an advertiser. ONE PRICE TO ALL The general public in a small town, and the ad- vertisers, no matter how large their city, know pretty well how a newspaper treats its advertisers, and this is a key to public sentiment regarding the whole policy of the newspapers. Only the one- rate paper can occupy a position of influence and independence. Any other policy is based on the l''_^ business slogan of many years ago, "Let the buyer beware." An investigation of newspapers in Mis- souri showed that in over sixty per cent of them, and especially in the small towns, space was being sold at bargain prices. Nothing will discredit a medium so quickly. Before the advertiser will place a high value on a medium you must regard it highly yourself. Bargain prices, as well as "special" and "confidential" rates, do more to destroy advertising than any other thing. Another practice common to many small town 44 Selling Newspaper Space newspapers is the charging of one price for foreign advertising and another for local. The local ad- vertiser has every advantage of the foreign adver- tiser; he understands the medium better; he knows the buying power of the readers; he knows local conditions; and he is situated more favorably for direct returns. The rate and the basis of discounts allowed should be the same for all, foreign or local, printed on the rate card, and strictly adhered to. In making a rate card, the following items should be remembered: Give all necessary information regarding your paper, as, name of publication; circulation; name and population of city; character of paper (morn- ing, evening, or weekly) ; number of pages; col- umns to the page ; length and width of columns, etc. Print rates, stating cash discount, if any. Save the advertiser all the trouble you can by presenting this information tersely and in an orderly fashion. Place on your rate card every condition you intend to enforce. CHAPTER THREE CONVERTING THE RETAILER THE PROBLEM OF RETAILING IT frequently happens that an advertising sales- man represents a strong newspaper and under- stands fully the merits of his medium; he may have at tongue's end the special information con- cerning number and kind of subscriptions, editorial influence, rates; yet he receives little consideration because he fails to fit his medium to the prospective buyer's problem. Since the retailer is the greatest distributer of merchandise in the world, and his principal medium is the newspaper, the advertising representative must first of all understand the problem of retail- ing. Notwithstanding the fact that the modern store and the modern newspaper have grown up together, you cannot sell space to the unconverted merchant unless you can tell and show something that will be of value to him. In a word, the problem of retailing, as the prob- lem of all commerce in this day of quantity produc- tion, is selling. To create, divert, and sustain de- mand is the issue paramount in merchandising. 45 46 Selling Newspaper Space Every merchant knows that he can get plenty of goods if he has a rapid outlet for them. Every merchant is forced to buy heavily because with present-day high living and store competition has grown up a public which is most fastidious in its selection. The public goes where it finds what it wants. It seeks well-assorted stocks. Even in the smaller towns merchants are carrying larger stocks than they ever did before. At the opening of the season shelves are filled and bills are due. Action is demanded and demanded quickly. The buying inertia of the customer must be stimulated. In mid- dle season buying enthusiasm must be kept up. At the end of the season stocks must be quickly turned into cash. To keep old customers and add new ones the merchant must hold out special induce- ments from time to time. Perhaps in his commu- nity there are certain classes of people that are not buying from him; perhaps his regular customers are not buying as much from him as they should; certainly there is at least one class of buyers which he has not fully developed. Such problems of selling make it good business for the merchant to use every possible factor at hand which will keep goods moving. Of course, the basis of merchandising goes deeper than selling. Trustworthy goods must be Converting the Retailer 47 bought right and be offered at fair, honest prices. In the main all stores have much in common. Yet we know that they are never alike. And the differ- ence rests in the attention given to those seemingly unimportant selling forces, the "non-essentials" which give a store personality and reputation. The most valuable asset is reputation the confidence of the customer, the good-will of the public. Mer- chandise makes stores alike; service makes them different. Both are essential to permanent success in selling. It is quite true that the public finds out sooner or later about the merchants of the town. But it is equally true that in present-day merchan- dising the storekeeper cannot wait to be "found out"; he cannot wait for business; he must make it. In the list of selling forces are honest goods, courteous sales people, liberal policies, store ser- vice, window and interior displays, advertising. In the broad sense, every store is an advertising store, because anything that attracts attention to a store is advertising. Anything that people find out about you is advertising for you. But in the sense we are considering advertising here, advertising is the means of conveying to the minds of many, through print, a particular message. It is the selling force which puts in action all of the other selling forces. It is the service which makes known all other serv- 48 Selling Newspaper Space ice. It should never be considered apart from business. It is but the dress woven of all those myriad threads of business; and the quality of the dress depends on the threads in the fabric. Since a store's advertising is merely the expres- sion of what the store has to offer, every merchant who would succeed in advertising must understand this fact : upon the store itself depends the effective- ness of all his advertising. What the store has to offer in merchandise, in price, in policy, in service ; the way a store satisfies customers these are the fundamental things that make the one advertiser successful and the other unsuccessful. The store must be in fact what it appears to be on paper. WHAT NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING CAN DO The merchant cannot reach the public person- ally. Yet that public, to borrow the phrase of E. St. Elmo Lewis, "is sensitive. It goes where it is invited and it stays only where it is well treated." This makes it imperative upon the merchant that he send a representative to extend his invitation. Of all the forces which he has yet discovered to do this work, newspaper advertising is the most ef- fective. It reaches more people in the shortest time at the lowest cost. It sells more goods than any other salesman, because it is ushered into the Converting the Retailer 49 home by the friend of the family, the daily news- paper. The newspaper is a voice which speaks at the same moment in thousands of family circles, carrying faithfully its messages. And it influences not as the public speaker, who sways an audience by his oratory, but as a friend who comes to each individually, speaking quietly but effectively. The character of a store may be above reproach. Its values may be exactly what the customer wants ; yet the customer and the merchant may never meet unless the newspaper introduces them. I have said that reputation is basic to success in merchandising. It is only necessary to point out that advertising creates confidence and builds up reputation. The spreading of a store's reputation would be slow without continuous publicity and so far as the re- tail merchant Is concerned, publicity through the daily newspapers. If a store, in merchandising and service, is entitled to reputation to begin with, there is nothing which will prepare the public to accept and appreciate its merits so quickly or so im- pressively as newspaper advertising of the right sort. The B. F. Goodrich Company capitalized $57,000,000 of good-will. Good-will, the result of advertising. Studebaker estimates his good- will as worth over $19,000,000. Scores of in- stances might be mentioned to show that advertis- 5 Selling Newspaper Space ing of a worthy store holds and spreads public good-will. When one considers the tendency of the times which, with its numerous services, has so greatly facilitated shopping, it is clear that the withdrawal of newspaper advertising would be a calamity. Its force in business is dynamic. The most interesting news of the day to a woman who plans a shopping tour to-morrow is in the advertising pages of her evening paper. The most interesting news to that woman to-morrow will be the advertisements in her morning newspaper. No more striking example of the attainment of newspaper advertising could be mentioned than the department store. The de- partment store knows to-night whether yesterday's or this morning's advertising was good or bad. With it the purpose of advertising is simply to sell goods and insure a good name. It does this because it helps the customer to buy. The department store, nothing more than many stores in one, offers a lesson to all other retailers in large and small towns. It is at it always. With it advertising is a business proposition. Moreover, the department store knows that unaided advertising never made a permanent success. This is a most important lesson, for, when you stop to think of it, there are too many merchants Converting the Retailer 51 who have not learned the purpose and power of advertising. Is it not amazing that in the purchase of his stocks, in the employment of his salespeople, and in the conduct of every other branch of store- keeping, the merchant is guided by principles of good business; but when it comes to advertising, which is one of the most important activities of his business, too often he moves blindly? MEETING THE OBJECTIONS I have stated briefly the problem of retailing, and I have tried to point out the place and purpose of retail advertising, not in theory, but in fact. I have tried to show that advertising is nothing magi- cal ; that its influence rests in serving as the honest expression of a store. Now, while there are few merchants who do not spend something for advertising, we must face the fact that there are equally few who are alive to the real value and use of advertising. As proof of this, we have but to point to the great multitude of storekeepers who do not make the careful and indi- vidual business analysis which would enable them to buy advertising space as an investment instead of an expense, and to write advertising copy which would be resultful ; in short, to carry out an adver- tising program along scientific lines. 52 Selling Newspaper Space THE PRESTIGE THEORY The first class of merchants with whom the ad- vertising salesman is confronted is composed of those who frankly "admit" that they do not need advertising. These merchants will tell you, in all seriousness, that the prestige of their store is so strong they do not have to advertise. Some of them will tell you that they have all the business they want. A few have never advertised ,at all, or, if they have advertised, have done so ineffectively ; yet they are "convinced" that advertising does not pay. An active contention among the "prestige theory" type of merchant is that a good customer is his best advertisement. Let us admit this. At the same time, let us point out to these merchants that the very fact of their prestige indicates superiority in some branch of merchandising. Perhaps his merchandise is of a better sort; perhaps his salespeople are more cour- teous ; perhaps it is the personality back of the store. More than likely it is all of these. It is a recog- nized principle in merchandising that it costs more to get a customer than it does to keep one. A mer- chant with prestige, therefore, can advertise at lower cost and with greater result than any other. If the merchant already has prestige, he need but tell the reasons for this to the public, and he will Converting the Retailer 53 not only gain new customers but insure the trade of old ones. The most valuable thing any store has is its name and reputation. A merchant insures his stock against fire and loss. Why, then, should he not insure his name and reputation ? Moreover, every merchant must reckon with the persistent advertiser in his community who is con- stantly taking business away from the non-adver- tiser, while the latter goes on boastfully claim- ing that he does not need to advertise. I grant that people may trade with the non-advertiser be- cause they like him ; but in this day of commercial- ism, friendship will hardly prevent the purchase of better values elsewhere; nor will prestige alone be able to stand permanently against prestige plus publicity. Prestige, unannounced, may stand up against advertising for a time, but its losses are well distinguished. The end is the end which has overtaken many a commercial institution. "If I had a business that would not stand advertising, I would advertise it for sale." THE CHARITY THEORY In every community there is another class of merchants which looks upon advertising of all kinds as a favor or a charity. They will tell you that there are so many kinds of propositions that come 54 Selling Newspaper Space to their attention, such as the theatre programme, score cards, church papers, and the like, that they cannot afford to use all; therefore, without rhyme or reason, all advertising is a charity; and on this basis the newspaper is "turned down." Or perhaps they feel indebted to institutious or individuals, and advertising presents a means of returning the favor ; therefore, the appropriation is split and newspaper advertising is deprived of a fair show. The advertising of merchants who con- sider ks bestowal a favor is sometimes persistent enough, but it is nearly always of the "label" or "card" type. It may keep the name before a pub- lic which already knows the name, but it does not even attempt to sell merchandise. Such advertis- ing, we may as well admit, does not pay. When a merchant considers advertising an expense he usu- ally makes it that. He takes little or no interest in his copy because he thinks it makes no difference. THE "NOW AND THEN" ADVERTISER The largest division in our classification is, per- haps, merchants who come under the head of the "now and then" advertiser. These merchants ad- vertise for various motives. Sometimes because their competitors advertise; sometimes during a "big sale." They never have a particular plan; Converting the Retailer 55 they make no analysis ; but they follow reluctantly after the enterprising merchants of the town. At the opening of seasons, and perhaps at the end of seasons, these merchants appear with large ads for a week or ten days. Sometimes they use the newspapers heavily. They also circularize the town; and for a while they may do a large busi- ness ; then you never hear of them for six months. Among this class we may include also the retailers, who are quite conscientious in the belief that they have nothing to advertise unless it is a special sale. They have not discovered that advertising is the news of business; that the public is fully as much interested in knowing about store service and in get- ting buying suggestions throughout the year as it is in the twice-yearly cut-price sale. They have not learned that all readers are not bargain seekers. CONTINUOUS ADVERTISING WHY? To these merchants the advertising salesman should point out that merchandising is very much like publishing a newspaper. "YouVe got to begin all over again every morning. All that remains of yesterday's edition or yesterday's sales is a little added prestige; a little added reputation." Last year the publisher of a new weekly news- paper in a town of 2,000 tried for four months to 5 6 Selling Newspaper Space get a merchant's advertising. He called on this merchant a furniture dealer once each week. At the end of the seventeenth week the dealer said, "All right, I'll give you a trial. Fix me up a page ad and we'll see if advertising pays." The thinking publisher replied: "It has taken a persistent sales campaign lasting four months, con- sisting of not less than seventeen visits, to sell you my proposition. Now you propose to do in one printed talk, which will probably receive less than a five minutes' 'hearing' with the average reader, what it took me seventeen personal talks to do. I cannot conscientiously accept your offer of one page. I will accept a trial campaign of seven- teen smaller ads." The merchant saw the logic and sincerity of the publisher. He is to-day a per- sistent advertiser. The merchant opens his store fifty-two weeks in the year. He hires his salespeople for six days in the week. His window display is before the pass- ing public every day. Why should his whole atti- tude change when it comes to printed publicity? Why should he fail to understand that newspaper advertising is essentially the same as these other sales forces, only that its possibilities to bring busi- ness are greater? When business is bad they quit advertising. Converting the Retailer 57 Some one has said that is what keeps it bad. Very often it is due to this cessation of advertising. Mer- chants have been known to do the largest volume of business during the months of July and August by starting a campaign for business. Vigorous ad- vertising overthrows every dull season theory. It clears away stocks, keeps salespeople employed, pays bills. One-time advertising pays only in exceptional cases. It takes persistent follow-up. The mer- chant who advertises to-day and expects business for the rest of the month has a false notion of the power of newspaper publicity. Repetition is neces- sary for response. It is far better for the advertis- ing salesman to be conservative in his claims. Let him point out that the public cannot be expected to rush into a store in response to one advertisement. Moreover, every merchant who has advertised per- sistently will bear witness to the statement that very often the customer responds without saying so. In fact, it is quite common for a customer to enter a store and make a conscious attempt to conceal the fact that he is responding to an advertisement. I have seen such men walk into a store and ask to look at suits of clothes, and, after much question- ing, confess that what they really wanted to see were those $30 suits for $22.50. I have seen I 58 Selling Newspaper Space women go to the handkerchief department in re- sponse to an advertisement of 15 cent handker- chiefs for 10 cents. Yet they would not ask for the article in this way. Under such circumstances most women prefer to ask merely for handkerchiefs; but they are much pleased when the salesman shows them the handkerchiefs which they have read about the morning or evening before. A merchant must be taught, if he does not know it, that spasmodic advertising is inefficient. An ad- vertising salesman once pointed out to a merchant who advertised once a year that an engine of i-cat power running all the time is many times more ef- fective than one of 4O-horse power standing still. This is not idle talk when applied to advertising. The so-called advertising graveyards are filled with those who used this tremendous power publicity with 4<>horse power campaigns which covered only a certain distance and then came to a stand- still. ' Many a "i-cat power" campaign is successful and growing, because it u runs all the time." The advertising that pays biggest returns is the result of actively developed ideas backed by vigor- ous selling plans. To cut out advertising entirely is to sever communication between your business and the public. Converting the Retailer 59 A business will prosper more if its advertisements in the newspaper appear each day than if one ad- vertisement seven times the size appears once a week. It is usually best to start advertising on small persistent space. A grocer did not believe in advertising. He started on a small scale in newspaper advertising, as he said, because he liked the solicitor and wanted to see if advertising would pay. His five-inch space in a daily newspaper was changed daily. At the end of the first month he could see no effect except the monthly statement of $48. He was persuaded to keep on. At the end of the second month he was sure of two regular customers who came entirely because of the prices in his ads. This merchant has not missed an issue for five years. His ads are timely and forceful. The population of a town is constantly under- going a change. The merchant who lets a year or a month or even a day go by without advertising disregards the trade which the newcomers bring. Moreover, business is a day-to-day affair. Pur- chases are made every hour, and, until an hourly newspaper is started, the daily newspaper should certainly be utilized to the fullest. A little water every day will grow a plant more quickly than a bucketful splashed on it once a week. 60 Selling Newspaper Space The reaction which continuous advertising has upon a store is also worth considering. When a merchant begins to advertise constantly and persist- ently a lively spirit is developed within the store, which of itself produces more business. It unifies a selling organization. It stimulates salespeople's enthusiasm. The spirit of the store is, indeed, the store. NEWSPAPER COMPETITION The advertising salesman's true function is to educate. I know it is a difficult matter to take the time and expense to inform merchants properly; to plan and execute campaigns which will really produce results. On the other hand, the most stable newspapers in the country are working on this basis. Even in the face of bitter competition, newspa- per publishers should urge merchants to use all the newspapers, together with any other forms of advertising that a merchant can use with profit. As a rule there is a place for all the newspapers of a community. Competition should not be allowed to be the means of destroying advertising stability. Unfavorable criticism of the other paper seldom hurts it. u The bullet attracts attention to the tar- get." Be specific in the merits of your newspaper Converting the Retailer 61 when its merits are questioned; but do not waste your time talking about the "other" newspaper. Convert the retailer to the idea that advertising is a means of presenting to the people of your commu- nity the news of his business and your paper will get what it deserves. Show him that it is a business proposition and that he should advertise, not as a charity, not as a duty, but simply because advertis- ing is service with a cash value. WINNING THE ARGUMENT; LOSING THE BUSINESS "I won the argument; I convinced him that he should advertise with us; but I did not get the business." In this simple statement is hidden the reason why a salesman often fails. You may convince a man by reasoning with him ; but it is safe to say that unless favorable feelings are awakened he will not act. The salesman can- not afford to advance differences, because in the cus- tomer's estimation the salesman's good sense is measured by the number of views they have in common. Study your arguments to convince yourself, but do not beat the customer in debate. Present your selling points from his standpoint. Then he may win the argument but you will win the business. 62 Selling Newspaper Space This does not imply insincerity. It is simply adapt- ing your presentation to the laws of human nature. Moreover, you must believe in continuous adver- tising because you cannot forcibly express to an- other an emotion that is not really felt. There is no bound-to-succeed method of converting a mer- chant to persistent advertising. To get business on the right basis requires constant study of the mer- chant's problem and the merchant. CHAPTER FOUR HELPING THE MERCHANT CO-OPERATION INSURES RESULTS A MERCHANTS test of advertising is 2jL whether or not it brings sufficient results. It is an extreme test but a universal and just one. Seldom, however, will an advertiser believe that the failure of his advertising to produce business is due to weak copy or faulty store service. He blames the medium, no matter if it naturally pos- sesses tremendous pulling power. And the news- paper may find it difficult to keep an advertiser "sold" by arguing that a good medium merely in- sures the right readers; that results are measured by readers plus the message and the manner of its presentation; that it is not the newspaper, but the copy the way copy is backed up and followed up which is really to blame for insufficient results. Co-operation is the only solution of the problem of what and how to advertise. It is here that the newspaper can render service to the advertiser. In- deed, suggesting live copy with strong selling help automatically converts the merchant to persistent use of the newspaper; it solves earlier problems 63 64 Selling Newspaper Space of where and when to advertise. A local mer- chant increases his space in proportion to the results he obtains. The local advertising representatives both in cities and towns have an unusual opportunity if they will equip themselves with an understanding ot "what is good advertising?" In the small towns a retail store can seldom afford the exclusive service of an advertising man, and the merchant will usually admit that he is either too busy with more pressing affairs or that he knows very little about "fixing up an ad." In the cities the salesman who shows an intelligent appreciation of copy so that the store's advertising manager may intelligently discuss with him questions of appeal and display is apt to be received favorably. The advertising salesman brings an outside point of view which is sympathetically colored by an un- derstanding of local conditions. He hears what people say of a store; he knows how it compares with other businesses. If his is the salesmanship that serves he is a valuable man for any advertiser. Consider this : The salesman of local newspaper advertising un- derstands personal selling, which is admittedly an asset in determining attitudes of approach in writ- ing copy. Moreover, he knows his circulation, the Helping the Merchant 65 interests of his readers, the responsive chords. He is in close touch with the! field of operation from every angle. He is in a peculiar position to gauge returns of various campaigns. He understands the printing equipment of his office. If he is alert to the store's needs and policy he will give the adver- tising copy a fitting personality. A good place for the publisher and salesman to start is by helping advertisers secure more results from the space they are now using. I have in mind a number of places where ad- vertising managers are producing business on this idea. In one of the towns, Tulsa, Oklahoma, a newspaper representative increased his business more than one-third within six months by selling copy Instead of space. In a northeastern Missouri town of 18,000 pop- ulation an advertising manager made it a practice to scrutinize closely every piece of copy, and in a friendly way offer suggestions to advertisers. This won their confidence, and he has ceased to become a "solicitor" ; he is rather "advertising counsellor" to the merchants of the town who advertise in his paper. Analyze the advertisements of the merchants in your city and you will find that the result-producing ads are written in accordance with certain princi- 66 Selling Newspaper Space pies, whereas the failures violate these principles. One style of weak copy may be called the "lazy" advertisement. You see it in every newspaper in every town and city. Usually the copy consists of the tiresome repetition of a store's name with the statement, "Call and see us." Two other types quite common are the exaggerated advertisement, detected by indiscriminate use of superlatives and unplausible statements; and the over-anxious-to-sell advertisement, characterized by wrong point of view. ELEMENTS OF GOOD ADVERTISING Advertising conditions differ in every town and city. They differ in every business. But the cen- tral idea of good advertising is always the same. It is the same for the corner grocery, the general store, the large city department store. The adver- tisement must be informative; it must be honest and plausible; it must approach the reader from the reader's point of view. STUDY THE GOODS. Before writing a trade- compelling advertisement the store in general and the articles in particular must be carefully studied. The ad good for one store should not fit any other store. It should be individual. The so-called "card," quite common in small towns, is one of the Helping the Merchant 67 best examples of how not to advertise. The adver- tising of merchants in these small towns should be particularly personal. Many customers of the small town merchants are personal acquaintances, and by putting the dealer's personality into his ad- vertising his copy will be more productive. A sig- nature cut for the store serves as a trade-mark which will become an asset through persistent ad- vertising. Advertising should be written only by persons acquainted with the merchandise and the conditions under which the goods are sold. ' Unless this is done what you write will be sterile of in- terest. Study the goods in the store; know how goods are made: read books on the subject; learn mer- chandise. Every piece of merchandise has a story, some vitally interesting story. Pick out the selling points. The ability to analyze a proposition, to find its real strength or weakness, is a paramount requirement of the advertiser, for advertising can- not be sincere unless the writer knows what he is writing about. You must have a vivid image of what you are advertising before you can give the reader a clear picture. Moreover, action is dependent on feeling, and feeling rests on the images given the reader. TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH. We are in a tran- 68, Selling Newspaper Space sition period. Yesterday John Wanamaker was the exception in retail advertising. To-morrow the merchant who does not observe the Wanamaker maxims will be the exception. Here they are : Advertisements shall be written only on personal inspection of the merchandise. Tell the whole truth about the merchandise though it hurts. Speak truly of the store and its mer- chandise. Conceal nothing the customer has a right to know. If cotton is mixed with wool a Wanamaker advertisement must say so. If the article is a "second" it must be so presented. Be fair to the merchandise is the one com- mand understate, but never exaggerate; don't impose on poor dumb merchandise re- sponsibilities that it cannot bear. If even an accurate statement of the fact is so surprising that it is likely to be disbelieved by the reader, enough must be explained of the inside news of the special offer to make it carry confidence. Give a reason for a special price or extra quality. Keep in mind that next to merchandise and service it is the advertisement that adds to or detracts from the store's reputation and character. Helping the Merchant 69 Advertise each piece of goods with the idea of building up business for the whole store instead of merely procuring the sale of one article. The Paquet Company, a large department store in Quebec, recently conducted a "Clean Sweep Sale." Instead of the customary clearing sale which tells of "newest goods at lowest prices/' the Paquet store made this announcement : WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE GOODS. IF WE COULD THEY WOULD NOT BE HERE NOW. Everything described below has been in stock for more than one year, with the excep- tion of a few lines of staples. We do not pretend that they are the latest and most fashionable goods that you can buy. Some of the lines which are subject to the whims of fashion are decidedly out of style. The only reason they are here now is because no one wanted to buy them. In some cases the ma- terials are off color and the patterns are bad. They occupy valuable space which is needed at once for the display of new goods. They may not appeal to you at all on the other hand, the prices are low enough to make every item on this page a bargain as the word is generally understood. READ. 70 Selling Newspaper Space Then followed the prices. It may be added that this was the most successful clearance sale this store has held in its history, although it is sixty years old. A relic of the "patent medicine" style of adver- tisement is shown in Plate i, taken from a series used by the Bowersock Mills and Power Company. Aside from poor typographical display and faulty diction, this ad is misleading. "Grand Free Trial Zephyr Flour Sale/' it is headed. If you will read the advertisement carefully you will find that the only chance the customer has to get a half-sack of flour free is for the flour to go wrong, in which case a woman would have on hand a lot of spoiled bread and a "never again" determination. If it is true, as the ad says, that this is the "World's finest flour," and "The Only Guaranteed Flour," which most readers will doubt, then the customer will be dis- appointed because she gets nothing free. In either case, the sale of this flour would have to be made in spite of the ad. I happen to know that Zephyr Flour is a worthy commodity. I show the ad chiefly as an illustration of weak, unplausible copy used to advertise meri- torious goods. And the result of the campaign tends to prove further the truth of my criticism. The Bowersock Mills and Power Company carried on a three-year campaign on this flour, mostly in Grand FREE Trial Zephyr Flour SALE! AH Your Money Back if Zephyr Doesn't "Make Goodl" At Dealers NamejLBelow, Tomorrow Be sure to at?end tomorrow's great FREE Trial Sale of the World's finest flour Zephyr Flour. Lay in your supply now take advantage of the big sale no matter whether you won't need any flour for a week or whether you are "out of flour" now. Zephyr Flour Here's Our FREE Trial Offer Order one sack of Zephyr Flour at this sate. Use It down to one- rin!f the sack (or bread, pies, cake all your baking. Test it your own way. Then decide. Hit has failed in any respect, send the remaining 24 pounds Sack to jour grocer. He will refund you the price of the whole sack. The Only Guaranteed Flour We want you to 1 use Zephyr Flour. The only flour backed by a guaranty. \Ve want you to know that the guaranty means exactly what it says: That Zephyr Flour must make rood every C -That It most equal the highest cumber of "'-That It must completely satisfy yon is to litlilncss-ftneness ot graio-laste-ery dual- . -Or you receive all your money back! nccra in your borne. The tale Is on tomo (Dealers' Names) Bowersock Mills and Power Co., Lawrence, Kansas PLATE i Does Not Carry Confidence 72 Selling Newspaper Space weekly newspapers. At one time it used 100 news- papers, and the cost of the campaign was around $10,000 a year. In each town the dealer's name was printed, and the ads appeared each week in the weekly newspapers and twice a week in the dailies. The campaign was admittedly unsuccessful. FINDING THE BUYERS. Upon an understanding of the readers whom you are trying to make buyers rests the fate of every advertising campaign. It is natural that an advertiser should think only of how anxious he is to sell ; yet this is fatal. It is the wrong point of view. Such a writer lacks imagina- tion. "Why should the reader buy?" is the leading question. Appeal must be determined by a close study of the public. The various classes in a com- munity must be understood. You cannot expect the same selling points to strike a point of contact with all classes. An ad should tell about specific things to specific people. Pick out a certain class. Study that class. Find the responsive chord. Choose a headline that strikes the point of contact. To be effective the appeal must fit the particular community and the particular class to which the advertisement is di- rected. If you will observe this rule advertising will always be newsy. WHAT BUYERS WANT TO KNOW. Every mer- Helping the Merchant 73 chant knows the compelling power of the low price and the cut price. There can be no question that the public is particularly susceptible to the price appeal. A man will respond to a bargain price al- though he does not revel in bargain hunting. Most men do not like to shop. You do not find a man telling others of a $30 suit he purchased for $22.50. A woman, on the other hand, finds hap- piness in shopping; in the anticipation of shop- ping; in telling her neighbors about the results of her shopping. This may explain, in part, why so large a percentage of merchandise is sold direct to women, and why they influence indirectly the pur- chase of nearly all goods. The over-use of bargain copy does advertisers more harm than they imagine. There are times when bargains should be advertised, but other store news is often more vital. At the beginning of the season most women, and men too, are interested in fashions ; in mid-season buyers want to know about store service. A store's advertising should not be conducted like one long clearance sale. An ad that chats in an editorial sort of way may be intensely interesting. Such an ad, headed "Triumphs of Linens," Plate 2, is an example of this. The ad- vertisement of Plate 3 is another example of how store service may be interestingly advertised. This Triumphs of Linens Whose lanen .closet is beginning to show signs of exhaustion? Strange how few Towels are worn- out and how rapidly they vanish in spite of laun- dry lists, itemized and checked with care. Napkins disappear with peculiar facility, and Table Cloths have been known to stray, notwithstanding their size. All this means n\ore business for the retailer who merits it Makes no odds how much or how little you may wish to spend this is the store that deserves your preference. Whether you desire Linens for a mod- est cottage, an imposing residence, a permanent or seasonal hotel, a boarding house, a restaurant, a dormitory or a sanitorium we are ready to supply you bountifully and save you amply. Whatever your need it's served best here. Chamberlin Johnson-DuBose Co. PLATE 2 A Talk on Linens from the Woman's Viewpoint That new idea of brightening up the used golf ball with a little whitening did you think what a sav- ing it means? It saves money, it saves time, and it saves a player's good dis- position no worry about lost balls. It's just one of our Service Ideas. We want you to get the maxi- mum pleasure from your playing, even if it does mean that a player buys fewer balls (because he doesn't lose any). And when play time comes for you tomorrow, we have every piece of equipment which will add to your fun whether it's golf, or tennis, or baseball. For Service. Just off the Campus on Ninth. PLATE 3 A Service Idea That Sold Athletic Goods 76 Selling Newspaper Space copy was suggested to the store by an advertising representative of a newspaper, and resulted in the successful sale of athletic goods ; it strikes a respon- sive chord. Two extreme examples are reproduced in Plates 4 and 5. The John Taylor Dry Goods Company ad, Plate 4, makes effective use of price appeal at the end of the season, when it usually takes low prices to sell goods. In the Martin & Martin ad, Plate 5, the purely news style is seen. This adver- tisement was printed at the beginning of the spring season. It is splendid in typography and unique in idea. It points a tendency which is to make adver- tising the news of the store a real aid to buyers. Both of these advertisements brought unusually large results. A good advertisement, like a good news story, is honest, interesting and instructive. If the article is one purchased by women, get be- hind the motive that a woman has for buying the article. Study her needs, her motives, her feel- ings. Think all the time of reasons people have for buying the goods. Study why goods should be bought, not sold. THE ENGLISH OF THE ADVERTISER. The most common faults of advertisement English are : indis- criminate use of superlatives; attempts at clever phrases; negative instead of positive tone. te l.r..tf CotM BI.nl... ..-..':---. -. August Clean'ng 3rd Floor Apprrl Section S.I.'Musli. Dndtrw 11 Ti I i ill .. >*.. I- MM .-. jAugust Clearing Sale I JOHN Wk,t, Good. Cl..r,n, C .2- JL?;'! W ' trrir&s gCS^I^fei C Cl.r,n< Women'. Glove. ii-vFH" ,.:;, ."" '!;- .& ""J: H..Jke,eh.e{ Cle. Ho...ry Sect.0. Cl..r,.< The Au,.u,t Silk Sale for Which All W,t !!~?";?>i^; 1 - _! 39c *^- 59c 79c d(ff HAMILTON. ~MO.- 8'uccessor to Hare's Studio Upstairs I South Side R. R. 11/HAT DOES IT "* mean to you this "Home Com-* ing" Day? Is your boy or girl to be here? any old friends? Perpetuate the day with a photograph taken here under the skylight where I can control the lights and shadows, and get you what will be an everlasting pleas-ure. The cost will be small and it may be the last chance. HAMILTON, Successor to Hare's Studio. Upstairs tST South Side R. R. PLATE 8 Two Ads of a Series That Increased a Photographer's Business 33 Per Cent. 1O2 Selling Newspaper Space able to produce not only a faithful but a character likeness for any one who will give us an oppor- tunity to demonstrate our ability in this line." ThV result of this advertisement furnished an interesting proof of the power of indirect advertis- ing, for the Mann Piano Company traced sales in the week immediately following aggregating $2,000. At the same time this advertisement of- fers a suggestion to other photographers. The appeal to the instinct of imitation is strongly de- veloped, and if a person sees the picture of a well- known citizen he is apt to go to the same photogra- pher to have his own picture taken. In every town photographers should be on the regular advertising list of the newspaper. It is a business in which advertising can be especially effective, and the newspaper will do well to de- velop it. OTHER FIELDS FOR NEW BUSINESS THE PROFESSIONS. Professional men have been reluctant to take up the proper use of paid public- ity. As yet they are content with simple insertions of names and addresses. A great educational field, however, is being overlooked. An example of what might be done more generally is found in the den- tistry advertisement, Plate 9. Truths of vital in- "We pointed out some time ago that the teetb of the Im- mense. American population re- main unattended to. People need to be urged rather than reasoned with to seek the den'- tist's care. The kings of Ameri- can life insurance act upon the principle that the man who knows' he should insure his life will not take out a policy un- less be is solicited. It falls in the category of solemn duties which the insistences of the ag- gressive agent persuades him to recognize in season. But thpre is no agency of that kind for stirring the consciences 'of adults. to insure the health of their own teflth as well as the health of their children's teeth. We do not extract children's teetb Without thought. If pos- sible we save them, and that is important because the perma- nent teeth erupt so much nicer if temporary teeth remain in the mouth until the permanent teeth are about to erupt. Do not wear artificial teeth If you can help it. Call at our Dental Parlors and* let us save your own teeth. They are al- wTiys better than any artificials 'any dentist can make for you. We give you a written fcnar- antee with all the dental wof-k we do and each guarantee is thoroughly reliable. We do not ask you tt> pay even a deposit in advance; you may pay us when the work is fin- ished to your entire satisfac- tion. Let ns talk to you about ypur teetb. Consultation costs you nothing. Call at our Dental Office any day on the 3d floor. Dr- Tepper, Proprietor. PLATE 9 A Dignified Dentistry Advertisement IO4 Selling Newspaper Space terest are vigorously presented. The paragraph about children's teeth contains information every father and mother should have-.- All of the pro- fessions have a social service asjvell as an indi- vidual one to perform in advertising. PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATIONS. Large corpo- rations are beginning to see the value of advertis- ing. Public good-will follows the torch of publi- city. Suspicion hovers about secrecy. Even the few corporations which have a practical monopoly of their wares are beginning to use newspaper space. And, contrary to the old belief of these monopolies, both large and small, they are the concerns which can advertise and get the largest returns. Where there is one merchant in a town he is almost certain to get all the business developed by his advertising; if there is more than one merchant the others are pretty certain to get a share of any new business he creates. In this respect the mail-order houses in the larger cities are not altogether the awful men- ace which the small dealer usually considers them. The other day a farmer walked into a furniture store and asked the proprietor if he had any sort of a kitchen cabinet; he had read of one advertised in a mail-order catalogue, but preferred seeing be- fore buying. If mail-order catalogue advertising brings a customer into a local store and makes him "New Business" 105 inquire for the goods, certainly a dealer can do the same thing through use of the printed page. Public service corporations, whose activities are usually limited to one city, also are beginning to advertise. The Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides practically all the electric power in Chicago, has used a lot of newspaper space in the last year. At Kirksville, Missouri, the Kirksville Light, Power and Ice Company has been an unusually good advertiser. All its copy is educational in na- ture, and is designed to create new business. This company spends considerable money in advertising the many uses to which electricity can be put. The attitude of the company towards the community which it serves, and the idea back of its advertis- ing are illustrated in this quotation from one of their ads : "More people received electrical Christmas gifts in Kirksville this year than ever before. It may be that you have received devices such as an electric flat-iron, vacuum cleaner, toast- er, washing machine, sewing machine motor, etc., and do not quite understand operating it on the most economical lines. "If you have any doubts of this kind we will provide free instruction. Telephone 234, and we will send a courteous representative, io6 Selling Newspaper l^pace who will give expert advice with our com- pliments." A series of "Gas Talks" was used in the news- papers by the Louisiana (Missouri) Light, Power and Traction Company. The newspaper ads were followed by personal solicitations, and the company is well pleased with the results. A forceful appeal for the gas range, the cool kitchen, and "Mother" is made in the advertise- ment of Plate 10. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Tradition alone says that public libraries shall not advertise. There is op- portunity to increase the users of libraries by newspaper publicity. In a number of towns a start is being made in this direction. LAUNDRIES. Laundries usually do not adver- tise, but could do so very profitably. Almost everybody is dissatisfied with his laundry work at least a large part of the time. Every one would be easily susceptible to a suggestion that a certain laun- dry did better work, even in just one little particu- lar point. Laundry ads have too often said: "Brown's laundry does the best work telephone 678." Suppose a laundry in your city should an- nounce: "Every time we break a button which isn't very often we sew on another, an exact du- plicate, before we send the garment home to you." She Sacrificed One Sunny Disposition One Sound Constitution One Clear Complexion And the Sparkle of a Pair of Eyes The altar was an ancient cook stove. The time, July and August. The six who called her mother saw what was going on when it was too. late. Moral Don't permit any woman you care for to cook for your family on anything but a good, gas range ^-especially during the torrid days of July and August. Buy her a "Composite" Cabinet Range, one that will do away with the drudgery of handling fuel and ashes. One that will shorten her cooking hours and Insure A Cool Kitchen Order a "Composite" Range at our downtown or any of our outlying stores small monthly payments if you like range delivered and connected for do* mestic use free. Telephone Randolph 4567. The Peoples Gas Light & Coke Company, P*opbs Gas Building, Michigan Boulevard. PLATE 10 A Forceful Appeal for the Gas Range, the Cool Kitchen and "Mother" io8 Selling Newspaper Space The appeal in this advertisement may be particu- larly strong to bachelors, but it is reasonable to sup- pose that women do not enjoy sewing buttons on their husbands' shirts. DAIRIES. Many dairies put a bell on their deliv- ery wagons, and this is their sole advertisement to induce people to buy their milk. Pure milk is a question constantly in the minds of housewives. Dairies are overlooking the big opportunity in tell- ing housewives, and in showing them, how careful the dairies are with their milk, how clean all their apparatus is kept, and how healthy all their cows are. Impure milk has come to be feared so much that the question of price is hardly considered once a person is convinced that a certain milk is pure. The advertisement of Plate 1 1 is from a series printed in Chicago newspapers; it finds the point of contact. The time is ripe for a dairy in every town to increase business by the right kind of advertising. RESTAURANTS. "Where to Eat" is a question which newspaper advertising should answer. Yet few are the restaurants which invite patrons to their tables by publicity. This condition gives at least one restaurant in every city an opportunity to get new customers at small cost. One specific selling point featured in the ad for Thompson's, Plate 12, makes one want to taste "Thompson's Doughnuts" ISN'T it a splendid thing for the little children in Chicago that the price of milk is the same no matter what dairy company sells it? There is no temptation to buy the cheapest; there isn'jt any cheapest, and the only thing to govern the selection is quality. It's a pity that the quality isn't as uniform as the prices. Up to a certain point purity and cleanliness are regulated by (aw. It's in going away above all such standards that .Borden's milk is so supefior. You can't buy better milk and cream than Borden's. Ask a Bordcn driver for a. copy of the little book on "Good Milk." It is .free. This attractive little book in white and gold will tell you many things that everyone should know about milk, PLATE n An Effective Appeal to Mothers Thompson's Doughnuts Stone -crushers and ostriches' stomachs are the only things so far discovered that can properly handle common "sinkers." Nor normal man will ever tackle one unless he's got an awful grudge against his gizzard. But Thompson's Doughnuts are not sinkers." It' 8* true, they're direct descendants of "linkers" but they're as far superior to them at the modern business man is to the anthropoid ape. They're one of the mot digestible and toothsome articles of food that ever Matted the gastric juices flowing in the human stomach. They're as crisp as the crullers you used to get in your mother' kitchen and u Bfiht u homemade bread. And 'Til tell you why they're good: It's because they're made of the purest materials that money can buy; K'S' because they're made With fresh country egvs, rich milk and the finest flour, with real creamery butter tor shortening, and cooked in the finest pure leaf lard; it's because they're made in a spotless, white-tiled bakeshop; iff because there's no butterine, no cottonseed oil, no imitations or substi- tutes of any kind employed to cheapen their cost. That'* ivftjf they're good. Get Your Breakfast at PLATE 12 How a Restaurant May Advertise "New Business" in and, when one gets there, perhaps other things. Publishers should put restaurants on their lists of prospectives. Some wide-awake restaurant owner is certain to see the opportunity which newspaper advertising offers if the salesman will but point out that opportunity. TO AWAKEN PUBLIC SENTIMENT In awakening public sentiment for worthy causes, newspaper space may be profitably used. Take, for instance, a "Buy-at-Home" campaign. Newspaper advertising has been the means of or- ganizing manufacturers, and has done more to bring the idea of buying at home into public favor than any other factor. In Kansas City, Missouri, the Associated Kansas City Manufacturers are conducting a campaign in The Star, changing copy for each issue, pointing out the scope of Kansas City-made goods, and what it will mean to Kansas City residents if home goods are purchased when- ever possible. Plate 13 illustrates one style of copy used in this campaign. "SPECIALS" USE AND ABUSE We have mentioned only a few sources of de- veloping new business which in most cities, and especially the towns, are overlooked. One of H2 Selling Newspaper Space the easiest ways of getting new business is the "special" edition and "special" page. Both have long been favorites in many offices because they present an immediate means of getting reve- nue. And this fact constitutes the basis for the abuse of "specials." The short-sighted policy of getting up an edition or a page solely for revenue, without regard for the advertisers' best interests, has undoubtedly done all newspapers much harm, in that they have misled the "now-and-then" adver- tiser into believing that he was a real advertiser. And too often "specials" have fooled the publisher into thinking that he was making money. Out of ten "without reason" editions published by near-city dailies in the last six months, four of the publishers admitted a dead loss, while three said that although the immediate revenue was in- creased the ultimate amount would be about the same. All of them had failed to consider that "every dollar too much taken for advertising will cost the publishers $10 eventually; that every ad- vertiser who is talked into using too much space is an enemy earned." This does not bar all feature editions and "special" pages. A group of small ads under one heading has greater attention value than any single small ad. Moreover, the particular readers who Making Kansas City Bigger Story No. 1 Mrs. Edward Brown lives on (he East Side. She Is a patriotic Kansas Citian and a worker for anything that Will benefit Kansas City, because she has a young husband whose success depends upon the prosperity of Kansas City and because she has two boys who are growing up and who, before many years, must set ont to seek jobs, good jobs, ones that will insure them advancement and* increasing pay. Mrs. Brown became Interested in the campaign for Kansas City Made Goods. She resolved that she would do her part. She began Insisting on Kansas City Made Goods from all the merchants with whom ehe dealt Then ehe talked to her neighbors. She aroused their enthusiasm and before long a club was formed In the neighborhood the object of which was to boom Kansas City Made Goods. The membership com- prised only women, every woman pledg- ing herself to buy Kansas City Made Goods -whenever possible; to ask all merchants from whom she bought to keep Kansas City Made Goods on their shelves; and finally to urge every woman of her acquaintance to use Kan- sas City 'Made' articles wherever prac- tical. Think what a factor Mrs. Brown has, made herself in the progress of Kansas . City! Associated Kansas City Manufacturers PLATE 13 Creating Public Sentiment to "Buy at Home" 114 Selling Newspaper Space are interested will give a more concentrated atten- tion to a large layout. The department store page is nothing more than the advertisement of many small stores in one. The counter attraction of these small ads does not interfere, because there is one central, dominating idea behind the whole page. So with a group of ads on a page or in an edition which have a common purpose all related to the same idea ; often such a page is a result-bringer for the small advertiser, and this may convert him to use regular space. But when regular advertisers are talked into using space which is not justified by returns, and when new advertisers are put in a solely- for-re venue page or edition, the newspaper is in the long run the greatest loser. It requires fully as much time and work and money to develop new advertisers for newspapers as it does to develop new customers for a store. New business on the right basis is a task worth the effort, but it is not a task for a "quitter." CHAPTER SIX ADVERTISING FR ADVERTISING WHAT ADVERTISING CAN DO FOR ITSELF IF advertising can build for every other business in the world, why is not advertising a good thing for the newspaper business? If the news- paper can sell goods for merchants through ad- vertising, why cannot the newspaper sell its own commodity through advertising? The answer is that it can. But the publisher will say: "A good newspaper is its own advertisement; I have a strong soliciting force and am gaining steadily." Is not this argument against advertising identi- cal to that of the "prestige merchant" ? He thinks his store is its own ad; he, too, has salespeople ; he, too, claims he is gaining. A publisher should have enough confidence in the value of advertising to use the columns of his own paper, as well as other papers, letters and cir- culars, and other media. This does not mean that the feeble, half-hearted attempts so common among newspapers will produce. Walter G. Bryan, who is at present conducting a campaign of advertising n6 Selling Newspaper Space for The Chicago Tribune, summed up the situation in a recent article : "At present, with so few exceptions as to be counted on the fingers, a publisher's publicity con- sists in an occasional circular, badly printed as a rule, addressed from an inaccurate and deficient list, with no symmetry or connection with trade- paper advertising among those whose business it is. to put advertising on a business basis. If local or national advertisers handled their publicity in this same loose, careless, indifferent way, how long do you suppose they would last? With local and na- tional advertisers out of business, how long would any of our publishers last?" Mr. Bryan relates an incident of a publisher who finally came around to the belief that his paper should advertise, and here's what he decided upon billboards exclusively. At most there couldn't have been over 2,000 advertising prospects in his town. A $10,000 appropriation meant $5 per year a prospect. u This paper has not told its story or created any sentiment locally, and the foreign ad- vertiser has been entirely overlooked in the transac- tion. With this same appropriation or less, every local and suitable foreign advertiser in the United States could have been effectively reached a number of times and the value of this newspaper burned Advertising for Advertising 117 into advertisers' minds. As it now stands, the local prospects were struck by the force of the billboard man's argument that the newspapers themselves endorsed by using billboards; thus other adver- tisers are led by this fallacy to spend part of their appropriation, which should go to newspapers, on billboards." The requirements of a good advertising cam- paign are the same for newspapers as for mer- chants. The copy must be informative; it must be honest and interesting; it must approach the regu- lar and prospective customer from the customer's standpoint; the campaign must be persistent; it must be so unified that every link in the chain is strong. A surprisingly large number of newspapers make themselves believe that they are advertising, al- though their "campaign" consists of an occasional small ad, which usually reads : "It pays to advertise in the Herald" Such copy fills space, but it never convinced anybody. It is not informative. Another class of newspapers goes to the opposite extreme. Filled with circulation figures and tables of the comparative number of columns of adver- tising carried, these publishers assume that their newspapers are as well known and of as much im- portance to others as to themselves. The peculiar Selling Newspaper Space features which make newspaper advertising par- ticularly valuable to certain advertisers are never mentioned. What if clothing stores advertised: "We sold $5,000 worth of suits last week; our nearest competitor sold only $4,000 1" Before we talk columns of advertising carried, quantity of cir- culation and space rates, we had better create a de- mand for our propositions. We must fasten in the advertiser's mind the pith of how and why to ad- vertise. We must tell him these things from his point of view PERSISTENTLY. Advertising for advertising has passed the ex- perimental stage. There is a stronger argument to publishers than "you ought to advertise." Sev- eral campaigns have been started recently which prove beyond a doubt that it pays on the dollar and cents basis. In Canada a line of advertising copy in favor of newspaper advertising, telling what advertising is doing for the public, has already brought marked results. The secretary of the Canadian Press Asso- ciation says that more than twenty publishers in whose papers these advertisements are running have carried more business by far than in the same period of any corresponding year. These pub- lishers are prepared to give most of the credit for this increased business to the advertising campaign. You Can Thank Advertising \T EXT time you Step intotfce comtr store, ^ take a look around Of.all the article* on ttie shelves, how many were on your shopping list five years ago? Make it ten years, and you will firrd that most of -the things you buy to-dayand could not do without were not even made then. You net ud Women l I You net mil Homm Olinp, 1 )* wint (4 k kcMm Yo rc<) fe(tn botAl J<* "> bo ' i " *"* "' * P M - Mlm< " t Yo ink Km nealth, " * ' **!'* '** " * "'*' WK.. or . * It b idvtrtiii| that miB If e> buy "iht bn(" tor you to cuy we ov dvertiftng that enrwrlM! tne I? tnrprirnf oianurYaureM ha* inventor to m.V/ . ca.fcrt, an4 6l tol/ you i^^'-^irKti3: Where Do You Shop? T"\0 you shop ift a WISH, active store, ot In a duU) U stored Advertising make* bfigftt stores. FafWrfe to atf vertise gos hand in hand with dullness and stag* nation. AJfertiilng brwho i iy c<*. Kin ind dust, srrmnent Ow6 Advertising inikn the *** it holihful and activ Step *nft yftor WIMS inri needs are uppermost in the mind of the merchant. Shop ih Ike store vhkh reflects you, which you dominate. Shop whera your money returns to you in better good*. bet(.cr values. te tfi *rvi<.. Shun the shop (hat n dumb arid dark and dreary; keep away from (he shop that never speaks to you, never smiles at you, never bothers about you. Rewa.il by your usK>m inV and who is doing his uimo ra build up this comfrtuniiv. who takes you into hre conndence by local newspapers. Smile back at the shop which smiles at you> Shake hands with it kep company. wilh U you! favor will be returned to you tenfold. PLATE 14 How Canadian Newspapers are Making Readers More Receptive to Advertising I2O Selling Newspaper Space While the good of such a campaign cannot be meas- ured with any degree of accuracy, it is said that a number of advertising campaigns will shortly be commenced as a direct result. The creation of a keener interest and firmer confidence in advertised goods on the part of the consumer is certain to come from such advertisements as are reproduced in Plate 14. A Harvest Number of The Kansas City Journal several years ago carried $12,000 gross $8,000 of which came through the mail. The campaign consisted of three letters and two post cards, besides some newspaper space in The Journal, costing ap- proximately $ 1,000. The same paper spent on an average of over $10,000 a year in a four year campaign, advertis- ing its advertising. That the campaign paid is best shown by the fact that (luring the last year the Journal's profits exceeded $100,000, having almost doubled in the four years. An intensive campaign for The Tulsa (Okla- homa) World increased the business of this paper over 33 per cent. A few newspapers in the smaller towns have begun advertising for advertising with equally sur- prising results. One part of the plan followed by the Hannibal Courier-Post is this: Every time a "Why Should I Advertise" "T fiave been here for -forty 'years. Everybody knows me, Why should I advertise?" This Is an argument the advertising solicitor hears from pld and established firms as to their reason for not telling the people about their goods .In newspaper advertisements. The trouble with these firms Is they are not up with the times. They do not realize advertising Is a development of modern business compe- tition. In nine cases out of ten if you will walk along the same street on which the "old and established" firms are located, you will find that in the last few years other firms in the same line have sprung up and have established a trade equal to, if not superior (.0 that of the old and estab- lished firms. Is there a hidden business secret that has enabled these new firms to build up in a couple of years a trade equal and superior to the "old and established" firm of 40 years' standing. There is no secret The reason for their growth Is shown in the two words: NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING. The government census experts estimate that In a city of Hannibal's size, the Incoming and outgoing population amounts to' a complete change In every seven years. That is, each year one seventh of the popu- lation changes, Mr. Old and Established Merchant, considering the whole popula- tion there are comparatively few of the families still living in Hannibal who remember when you started in your line. Those who have come in since have seen the advertisements of your young and thriving compet- itors in their newspaper so much they do not know you are in business. Experiment a little. Stop the first ten strangers you meet on the street and ask them to name the merchant in your line. Your feelings will probably be hurt with their answers, for they will name the ones who advertise. The best way to keep out competition In your line, Mr. Merchant, Is to advertise. -The best way to become a leader In your line Is to adver- tise. The Courier-Post offers you a dally paid, circulation of nearly 6,000 in Hannibal and immediate territory to tell of your goods. This is more than three times. the paid circulation of any other newspaper published In this vicinity. PLATE 15 Soliciting Through Newspaper Advertising 122 Selling Newspaper Space merchant gives an excuse for not advertising, the advertising manager goes to the office and writes an ad for his paper replying directly to the excuse given by the merchant. He figures that if one mer- chant makes an objection to advertising, the same idea maybe in the minds of several other merchants. But even if the ad fit only this one merchant, it would be written just the same. Plate 15 is an answer to one man's excuse. This is not only an excellent way to sell space, but it is developing busi- ness by the use of the very thing which the news- paper is trying to sell newspaper advertising. The Chicago Tribune set aside a definite ap- propriation for preparing and executing its present campaign. An increase of more than 66,000 lines of display and over 33,300 lines of classified adver- tising in six months over the same period in 1910, notwithstanding the fact that 1910 was the banner year of The Tribune's entire history, is tangible evidence of what advertising can do for itself. The Tribune's campaign is unique not only because of its magnitude but also because of its twofold object. As stated by the management, it is this : first, to se- cure new readers for The Tribune on the ground that The Tribune prints more opportunities to shop economically and wisely than any other Chicago paper; and second, to educate further The Trib- Do Newspaper Readers Read Advertising? For number of year. Th< Tribune, like other new.paper., h> dverti*d it* nwi. editorial *nd phtaW l.-M^r. ,. ,n rtforl to obuio re circuUtioo. But until The Tribune ^>"> ^* y?jjjj"[ ^SsSiMli s^slgitgil r Th purehaMr^anlr^protr.l.'.n m .u^y,,,."" ' ht Th. Tribon. 1 ! .olum. of drliun t ii rot . much '"'" S?"^ ""TK' "**'''*'""" ' T^Tri M tl!lr'nU^^V^J.^"^iu7iS The World's Greatest Newspaper ^43tMS^^ PLATE 16 Increasing Circulation by Advertising Advertising Advertising for Advertising 125 une's present readers in the appreciation of adver- tising. Besides an actual increase in display advertising, the campaign to secure new readers through pre- senting the news value of advertising resulted in an increase in circulation for The Sunday Tribune of over 20,000 copies. This when the campaign was only two months old. THE MESSAGE TO READERS There is no factor which will render the readers of a newspaper more receptive, and therefore more responsive, to the advertisements of merchants than an active, interesting campaign telling readers why they should read advertising. As The Tribune states in the advertisement of Plate 16, "Do News- paper Readers Read Advertising?" it has been cus- tomary to advertise the news, editorial, and picto- rial features in an effort to obtain more circulation ; but the value of advertising to readers has passed unvoiced. The advertisement headed "The Average Woman/' Plate 17, is one women will read; it is from a series by John M. Hertel. "Men Ought to Understand Clearance Sales Better Than Women Do," by J. R. Hamilton (Plate 1 8), is one of a series designed to develop The Average Woman Is the Financial Safety Valve of the Home. By JOHN M/HERTEL The average woman can make a dollar go farther ilia u the average mau v5hc b able to do this because she reads the advertisements in the news- papers. Even the average woman of wealth is just as eagerly 'scanning the adver- tisements as is the average woman of limited means< The principle is the same. While the woniajygf limited means is interested mostly in a sale of $3 petticoats at Sl.QS^tuc woman of wealth is deeply concerned iu a sate of $100 suits for $65. While the woman of. limited means is trying to stretch a ten-dollar bill to cover all her immediate ifeeds for the week or month, the woman of wealth is trying to make her monthly -allowance of $300 go as far as she can. Both women know that merchants offer bargain inducements in adver- tisements. That is why they read them. They know that the shrewd and enterprising merchants vie with each' other in luring trade. They know that when a merchant offers 17 yards of domestic for $1 he does not make a profit on the sale, and that it is an extraordinary inducement to get new customers to come. The average woman reads the small ads as carefully as she does the big ones. That is why advertising pays so handsomely to those who advertise. This newspaper today has many interesting announcements in its ad- vertising columns. The merchants are telling all about the new styles and novelties of the season. You can't know -all about them unless you read the advertisements. The woman who does not read the ads is a financial drawback to her hus- band, when she ought to be the financial safety valve of the family. Begin today and read the advertisements. PLATE 17 Gives "Reason Why" Women Should Read Advertisements Men Ought to Understand Clearance Sales Better Than Women Do By J. R. HAMILTON J7VERY man's business training teaches him to under- **-' stand the reasons behind the rise and fall of prices whether those prices be on merchandise, on stocks and bonds, or on everyday labor. Yet when we conic to the stunmcr clearance sales the stores are usually filled with ICOHICH and not with men. This must, be due to carelessness and i:ot to ignorance. If (lie price of that/0* ynii have horn envying o much should dro]> ////// /ni- cent today, how long would it take you to ix-at it to a real estate oflice ? It' you knew where you could get a twenty-five per cent increase for your labor, how long would it take you to get to the spot where that extra twenty-five per cent was being paid ? If you knew that the price of your rent could l>e cut in half, how long would it take you to find out where your landlord lives'? Well, the price of your cJolhcx and your hnln, your xhoex and your xhirts and of ci:eryt.hini/ else that you wear and use is Ix-hnj cut today. Now, low loin/ is it going to take you to get to where the culliiifj is being done? Being a man, you understand hiisincss. You know there is no ehicanery about these Clearance Sales. You know the Inn- of Kiifi/ily and demand. You know that the merchant, never lived who could guess how much of any article he was going to sell. You know that every l>it of siir/iltiti mcrchnndi.tr al! over this city hfin to he sold and has to he sold now. Therefore you know that these cut prices a re not. From now on, Ihis paper will he filled with clrnraiicc .srt/r.s- until the dull season is over. You can fill your chiffonier with shirts and underwear, you can till your wardrobe with clothes, you can buy furniture, rugs and houseneeds of every kiml in many eases for trim than I lie merchant himxclf had to jxiy. And all yon have to do to learn about these values is to foUow the udver tisiii;/ in this paper day by day. If men had as much appreciation as women have, of what these sales mean, the man's stores of this eity would be bulijiny at the sides from now on. Most men haven't, learned, and they don't seem able to learn, that to dou- ble your Iniyhiy coi>acity is exac-tlyVquivaleut to doubling your carniiuj en purity. So take a lesson today. Turn to the advertising itow and sec how much it holds for you iu the light of these Clearance Sales. PLATE 18 Gives Men "Reason Why" They Should Read Clearance Sale Ads. "We Saved Nearly $100 On Our First Purchase SSji' """< '"" "'"""' u - - " Day's Shopping- ~^r =r ^i-J.'r a. E " How \ Did Want a ^^i^rlSff^'fiiZ*" "sL7^r,j,?hnT' d ,oon,oi^r.Triii wwte Suit 2T5t:.'," ';':* .r' --s..^,. j u ., r u.. io, , i,, .!. $ 0^1 Th. Worid-^Cr..,.., N.,.p.p r 1C All^aMrlkMl. .K l.llow,, .>npl< .a 1' J ',.",,' ,". : -',.'^M"M irsf-s? 1 wh " -"' *" *"" "" "* PLATE 19 Focusing Attention on Distinct Lines of Advertising Advertising for Advertising 129 the reading of advertisements. These ads were syndicated to a number of newspapers. THE MESSAGE TO ADVERTISERS A short series of talks to merchants by Herbert Kaufman, and another series by Seymour Eaton, were printed several years ago in a number of news- papers. A more extensive series was "Advertising Talks," by William C. Freeman. Such campaigns have a good effect on newspapers while they last, but publishers nearly always make the mistake they warn their advertisers against, namely, of coming suddenly to a standstill with their advertising. In The Tribune campaign, each advertisement is written to interest people in a particular kind of advertising. For example, one read "The Silent Things That Are Part of Our Lives," telling of the influence of furniture upon the home and call- ing attention to the money-saving opportunities in furniture advertisements appearing in The Tribune. At the same time, a letter was sent to the furniture dealers of Chicago pointing out that May is moving month ; that housewives were plan- ning for new furniture ; that it was time to increase advertising. A proof of the advertisement referred to was enclosed with the letter to all furniture dealers. Moreover, the advertising representatives 130 Selling Newspaper Space who called on furniture dealers at this time again enforced the idea that "the time to make a maxi- mum selling effort is now." Each separate line of merchandising was taken up in this way, so that there was very little lost motion between the newspaper advertisements, the letters and circulars, and the salesmen's visits. Each reinforced the other. Three advertisements, each representing a differ- ent line, are reproduced in Plate 19. The dim beginnings of advertising for advertis- ing have been so highly successful for the few news- papers which have properly applied the elements necessary for a well-built campaign that other pub- lishers will surely follow. What can advertising do for a publication ? It can make readers more receptive to the an- nouncements of all advertisers. It can build circulation by educating the public to the news value of advertising. It can prove why merchants should advertise, quietly overcoming their prejudices. It can teach merchants how to advertise prop- erly, getting the most out of copy they are using. Finally, it can fortify advertising salesmen with an answer to the old cry that newspaper publishers "believe" in advertising only when others advertise. Advertising for Advertising 133 Such an advertising policy will render service just as truly as the service rendered through the editorial columns. And it will pay publishers through increased and permanent patronage. STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO 5O CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $I.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. JAN T a Vfr* MAY 1 t9g -ys. FEB 11 FEB 11 1937 REC'D LD l 01941 wv-t^ AR 18 1946 -: - JUL =?EC'D LD LD 21-100m-8,'34 ITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY _