i GIFT or Prof . G . H . R9.^..rmond ^, 'imf^'*^^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/advertisinghandbOOhallrich THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK liiiijjiiiiiii i iiiiiimij iiiiijjiiiiiiiiiiiiiJMiJiiiiiiJjiiiiiuiiiiijiiiiiiiiiu^ llkQrawOJill Bock (a Im PUBLISHERS OF BOOKS F O R^ Electrical World v Engineering News-Record Power V Engineering and Mining Journal-Press Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Electric Railway Journal v Coal Age American Machinist ^ Ingenieria Intemacional Electrical Merchandising v BusTransportation Journal of Electricity and Western Industry Industrial Engineer THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK A REFERENCE WORK COVERING THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ADVERTISING BY S. ROLAND HALL ADVERTISING COUNSELOR FORMER ADVERTISINQ MANAGER FOR ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT COMPANY AND VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY FORMER PRINCIPAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS OF ADVERTISING AND SALESMANSHIP First Edition Third Impression McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, Inc. NEW YORK: 370 SEVENTH AVENUE LONDON : 6 & 8 BOUVERIE ST., E. C. 4 1921 )i3 Copyright, 1921, by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. f/^^ d. ^ ^^. THE MAriiB PKESS XOKK t»A <^c^ FOREWORD This book has come into existence because its author and its publishers believe that there is a growing field of usefulness for a more comprehensive handbook of advertising practice than has up to this time been available. If it shall be said by the readers of this volume that it deals largely with principles and practices that are generally accepted as being sound, and that it contains a relatively small amount of the "new thought" of advertising, the answer to that criticism must be that its author, in writing and compiling the text, sought to be of assistance to the general business reader, the one of small or moderate adver- tising experience, rather than the professional advertising man. After all, the weaknesses of advertising are due largely to the neglect of the primary principles of the art, the things that are understood to a greater or less extent but not executed carefully. A book is not, therefore, necessarily less useful to the man of reasonable experience because it deals with funda- mentals and the accepted practice. There are perhaps a few thousand advertising practitioners so well advanced in the art of their business that they can learn nothing from a well compiled reference book. There are, . on the other hand, tens of thousands of business men inter- ested to some degree in advertising who have frequent occa- sion to refer to and review such information as is contained in these pages. And there are many younger men and women studying the art of advertising who will find such a volume as this a friend in need. It seems the fashion in these intensely practical latter years for every author of a business book to hasten, in the first few pages, to explain that his work does not contain a sentence of theory. That fashion will not be followed here. There is nothing wrong with the original meaning of the word theory. Theory means merely a principle that practice V tP t\ r\ ^^ ^. ^ vi FOREWORD or experience has shown to be true. It is a theory that well planned advertising aids the salesman who is attempting to market the advertised product. Who will find fault with this principle or fact because it is a theory? Any text-book worthy of the name must set forth many theories. The resourceful reader will be able to adapt theories to the particular problems he is called on to solve. To learn how to adapt from the experiences of other advertisers is not the least important thing, for no matter how valuable one's experience may be, his life is not long enough for him to have personal experience in every department of business effort. He should take what he can from the experience of others and — to repeat an important truth — learn to adapt. No attempt has been made to lay down exact formulae. Many persons interested in advertising err sadly in search- ing for exact rules that they can apply. There are some rules that can be safely followed — those dealing with the mechanical and physical sides of advertising practice — but when one comes to the field of advertising appeal, campaign practice and the like, no rules that are worth much can be laid down. A rule would have to have so many exceptions that it would likely be valueless. The danger of following rules is that one will apply them dogmatically. The most that any handbook of advertising can give the reader are examples and instances that will enable him to form his judgment more intelligently. Such a book as this one must, of necessity, be freely illus- trated with advertisements that have been actually used. No fair-minded teacher wishes to embarrass an advertiser by making use of his appeals as poor examples, and yet we cannot hope to get better advertising unless authors, editors and teachers are free to comment on published work that shows room for improvement in one way or another. An advertisement is not always wholly bad, and rarely is one wholly good. Copy may be fine and display mediocre. Or the display and illustration may be good and the copy weak. Therefore, those who may consult this book are cautioned that, unless the text specifically refers to an example as being altogether good, or generally poor, the advertisement FOREWORD Vll in question is to be taken so far as the purposes of this volume go as illustrating some one point. It is frequently said, by those whose advertisements are criticized that the advertisement in question had a successful record. It is undoubtedly often true that an advertisement poor in some respect is nevertheless good enough as a whole to produce a satisfactory result. But this is no argument against having the weakness corrected; the same effort, with the fault removed, might be twice as successful as it was in its original form. A stammering salesman may have a good sales-record, but it stands to reason that with his speech- impediment removed, he could do much better. The material here presented represents the gleanings of some twenty years in advertising practice, business research and writing, and considerable experience as a teacher of advertising and salesmanship. The general subject of advertising is a broad one. Half a dozen good-sized volumes could easily be filled with valuable reference matter. In preparing such a book as this, therefore, it has frequently been a problem to its author as to what should be included and what omitted. What is here given is not by any means the all of good advertising practice, but there is sufficient to provide a general guide. Finally, I am grateful to a long list of advertisers, publishers, printers, engravers and others who have courteously furnished many interesting examples and much valuable data. S. Roland Hall. College Hill, Easton, Pa. January 1, 1921. Al^ k, J^ CONTENTS Page Foreword v Section I. What Advertising Is and Does 1 II. Marketing Campaigns 32 III. The Advertising Agency and Its Work 64 IV. Psychology of Advertising 77 V. Slogans, Trade Names and Trade-Marks 106 VI. Package Advertising 127 VII. Address Labels and Pasters 135 VIII. Dealer Aids 141 IX. The Writing of Copy 165 X. Manuscript-Editing and Proof-Reading 213 XI. Making the Layout 235 XII. Type and Printing Practice 251 XIII. Advertising Display 316 XIV. Advertisement Illustration 347 XV. Printing Plates and Papers 382 XVI. Catalogs, Booklets, Folders, Mailing Cards . . . 432 XVII. Advertising Mediums 483 XVIII. Magazine Advertising 493 XIX. Newspaper Advertising 505 XX. Technical, Professional and Occupational Publications 519 XXI. M ail-Order Mediums and Advertising ....... 533 XXII. Farm Publications and Farm Home Advertising . 546 XXIII. Trade-Paper Advertising 555 XXIV. Religious Publications 560 XXV. Posters, Painted Boards Bulletins and Sigj^s. . -. 562 XXVI. Street-Car Advertising. 580 XXVII. Moving Pictures ' ' . . 591 XXVIII. Directories and Catalogs ' 598 XXIX. Calendars 600 XXX. House Publications or Magazines 602 XXXI. Theater Programs and Curtains Novelty and Specialty Advertising ' XXXII. Advertising the Large Retail Store 623 XXXIII. Letters and Follow-up Systems 646 XXXIV. Foreign Language Advertising 679 XXXV. Laws Affecting Advertising 683 XXXVI. Forms and Systems 711 Index . , , , 737 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK SECTION 1 WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES No satisfactory simple definition for advertising has ever been written. The word itself is derived from the Latin advert meaning ''to turn the attention toward. *' Yet there are kinds or types of attention-turning, lecturing, for example, that are not ordinarily included within the meaning of advertising. A lecture may have an advertising effect but the message is deHvered orally and would more properly be classed as personal salesmanship than as advertising. Commercially, advertising is a form of selling, and yet ad- vertising is used extensively to forward or promote movements in which nothing is for sale. The telephone companies, for example, during an epidemic, when their switchboards are short half of their operators, use advertising to induce the public not to telephone. Large corporations have used adver- tising to enUghten public opinion as to their practices. ''Spreading information through printed word and picture" answers fairly well as a general definition, though not one that is proof against criticism. The word advertising as ordinarily used refers principally to advertising in newspapers, magazines, street cars, on bill boards, etc. But show-cards and other window or counter displays, signs, moving pictures, the daily mail, catalogs, samp- hng, all come within the broad classification of advertising. Even the package in which the goods themselves are put before the public may be an effective advertisement. A mistake is often made in concluding that because some 1 ,TU^ •4'DVERTISIN<^ HANDBOOK product is not well adapted to advertising in the newspapers or magazines, it is something that is not or should not be ad- vertised. One manufacturer of the United States who for years clipped all items referring to certain kinds of contem- plated construction and followed up these leads with good letters and printed literature used to boast that he didn't have to advertise and didn't believe in it! He was making vigorous use of one form of advertising but didn't know it. Advertising, though referred to as "si new business," is really a very old art, though its development has come largely in the last twenty years. The ancients advertised and some of their announcements cut in solid stone are in a good state of preservation today. Noah's persistent warnings about the coming of the great flood was a form of advertising, though he used no printed or written appeals as far as we know. His campaign was not effective, however, because few believed him, and no campaign can be said to be effective unless the group or audience addressed be- lieves the message. The old-time town-crier was also an advertiser though he used the oral method of ''making known." Advertising may be very extensive, as in case of a four-page insert in a magazine, a full page in a newspaper, or a massive catalog. On the other hand, it may consist of a trade name such as HOLSUM BREAD, or a name of a firm, as Jones Bakery. It may even consist of a symbol if that is under- standable. Some symbols, used as trade-marks, in time ac- quire considerable advertising value. The largest and most costly volume of advertising consists of those forms found in the magazines and newspapers, but Fig. 1. — The town-crier was an early advertiser. WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 3 there are many other forms of advertising highly effective for certain classes of advertisers. MANUFACTURING, SELLING, TRANSPORTATION, AND ACCOUNTING The four major divisions of business may be said to consist of: (1) Manufacturing or producing (2) Selling (3) Transporting or delivering (4) Accounting Compare with chart below. The jobber and the retailer are relieved of the first undertak- ing but have, in its place, the problem of judicious buying of stock, which requires a great deal of business judgment. GENERAL MANAGER SALES TRAFFIC ACC0UN16 gj Emia ? FACE-TO-FACE SELLING Fig. 2. — Relation of four major divisions of business. Efficient manufacturing, on the part of the manufacturers, and judicious buying, on the part of the merchants, are, of course, fundamental requisites of any business campaign. Nothing that may be said about the importance of skilful sell- 4 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ing should be construed as meaning that the production of a good commercial article is a simple process. To-day the vari- ous manufacturers are vying with each other, with the best designers, engineers, efficiency men, chemists, and inventors they can employ, to bring out distinctive new products and to improve old products. This is the very fountain head of business success. But even granting this, the problem of distribution, that is, first getting a product placed where the people who can use it to advantage can buy it conveniently and, secondly, creating a demand or favorable reception for it, very ofetn constitute a more difficult problem than that of producing the article. It is no stupendous task, for example, for one to establish a cannery or a fish-packing establishment and put up an excellent grade of canned goods or fish. To create a market for the product of that particular cannery or fish-packing house and to get the goods so distributed that there is a steady outgo of them, thus permitting the manufac- turer and the merchants who handle the goods to do a regular business, is an undertaking that requires the most careful planning. Advertising helps to solve this problem of distribution. Advertising makes known. As the old town-crier or the auc- tioneer called out the merits of the thing offered for sale, so advertising calls out over the entire country, or over such parts of it as the manufacturer or the merchant may select, and tells about the merit of the commodity. And advertis- ing, in addition to making known, keeps reminding, so that the merits of the goods or service will be in readers' minds when the time shall arrive when they need products of that nature. Practically every product or service for which there is a steady sale today owes its sale in a greater or less degree to advertising. THE REASON FOR ADVERTISING One who begins to show an active interest in advertising, whether as a business man or as a student, will now and then be called on to show why advertising is necessary. There are probably few boards of directors or executive committees on WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES which there is not a member who feels that advertising is unnecessary, a thing associated with fake medicines or oil stocks of Uttle value. This type of man is usually inclined to argue that if a product or service is meritorious, it will advertise itself. That is true to a limited extent. Some of the most effective advertising comes from what satisfied customers say about a product or service. The difficulty with that kind of advertising is that it usually does not go far enough or spread rapidly enough. ADVERTISING FiQ. 3. — Modern advertising may cover the nation as easily as the town-crier covered his home town. If the needs of mankind were very simple, if a family bought only a score of things, people might probably spread from one to another so much information about what they bought and used that printed advertising would be unnecessary. But modern life is complex. Thousands of different kinds of commodities and services are produced and offered for sale. No man's life is long enough for him to obtain first-hand knowledge of all the things that he buys and uses. If he knows all about hats, he is not likely to know as much about shoes. If he is an authority on adding machines, he is not likely to know much about canned pineapple. 6 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Slowness of Word-of -Mouth Method. — The public in these modern days is as dependent on printed information to learn about commodities as it is on the newspaper to learn about the news of the day. People continue to pass much news from one to another, but life is too short and distances are too long for a man to travel around and get the news of his country or of the world through word-of-mouth methods. There is no more reason why he should have to depend on word-of-mouth methods for learning about commodities. The newspaper and magazine, the catalog, the letter and the other means of convey- ing information are as legitimate as word-of-mouth methods and often more effective, in that they are more far-reaching. No one argues that an editor should go around and impart his news and articles by the lecture method. Why should the manufacturer, the merchant or the salesman do so when other means of spreading his information are available? To look at the question in another way: if the manufacturer could be sure that all the people who are his prospective customers would learn about his product in a reasonable time and would seek him, by call or letter, or seek the dealers who handle the product, and would do all this without advertising, then advertising would be useless. Likewise, if the merchant could be sure that all his prospec- tive customers would walk down his street, stop and look in his show-windows and step inside to look at his goods, then he would be a most wise man to save the money that would ordinarily be spent in the newspapers, in circulars sent through the mails, or in car-cards, posters or other forms of advertising. But this automatic acquaintance between consumer of goods and the manufacturer and the retail merchant does not take place to any large extent. A business man does well to deliver products and service that will induce customers to speak well of him and thus spread sales, but building up a business solely by this process is too slow a method. It worked when civili- zation was simpler and when competition was absent. The man who first made a good soap in America or who first created a typewriter probably got a great deal of free advertis- ing. Let him today, however, produce a new soap or a new typewriter, and though his product may possess advantages WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 7 over all others of its class, advertising will be required to make these truths clear to any large part of the public. Sales Through Familiarity. — People buy the goods that they know, the goods that they have used, or the goods that they have heard about or read about in preference to those that they know nothing about. Dealers likewise prefer to sell the goods that are known by the public and recognized as standard articles. To sell unfamiliar goods that may be of as good quahty as established articles requires time and careful explanation, and such effort represents money. Some unadvertised goods may be introduced much more easily than others. Such articles as rice, corn-meal, cheese, etc. are usually sold without reference to who produced them. On the other hand, coffee, flour, oat-meal and other products are well represented by branded makes, and the public has an established preference in buying such articles. Advertising and Staple Articles. — It has been argued that advertising is least essential when the thing advertised is a staple such as flour — a product that the public understands and where no educational work, or little educational work, remains to be done. It is argued that in such cases, the adver- tising has merely the effect of one producer or merchant trying to get away the business of the other and that therefore the cost of publicity is a waste. There is some ground for this criticism, and yet until civilization comes to that ideal state where there is no competition in either advertising or store- keeping, it must be expected that some advertising will be of this nature. If it were proper to ehminate all such adver- tising, then all competitive salemanship for articles of similar nature should be eliminated, all window-displays of staple goods, etc. Competition is in itself a stimulus for better merchandise and better service, and we are not likely to come to the point soon where competitive effort can be or should be eliminated. The world is not yet Utopian enough for that. The Right to Exploit Wares Truthfully.— The man who creates or sells a useful commodity has the right and the duty to spread abroad information concerning it, so long as he does this spreading of information truthfully and fairly. It is THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Why We Need Greater Revenue r\N August 1, 1919, the tde- ^^ phone properties in New York City were returned to the private owners by the United States Gov- ernment. Since then we have been doing our utmost to restore the service to Its former high standard and to meet the unprecedented de- mands for new service. The Telephone Company has not been immune from the effect of the high cost of all materials and supplies or from the effect of higher salaries and wages. So 1 ong as the present economic conditions pre- vail, costs wfll not be tnaterially lower Following is a comparison of results of operation in New York City for the month of August 1919, the first month following the return of the property to private management, and July, 1920, the twelfth month after the return of the property. This Shows the effect of restoratijon and extension work upon our revenue and expenses, including wage increases and wages paid to thousands of addi- tional workers. Revenue— Au«u.t, mt Exchange .... $3,233,851.65 Toll 497.100.54 TOTAL .... $3,730,952.19 Expenses- Pay Rolls ,...'; $l,479i818.38 Materials and other Expense . .. . . 825,110.30 Dopreciatioft . . ' . . 428,602.41 Taxes 248,781.04 TOTAL .... $2,981,312.13 Net Telephone Revenue . 749,640.06 Sundry Net Earnings . . 58.331.78 Total Net Earnings . . $807,971.84 $3,579,682.88 558,309.95 10.7 12.3 $4,137,992.83 10.9 $2,332,146.93 57.7 1,191,126.51 483,167.52 284,771.03 44.3 12.7 14.5 $4,291,211.99 —153,219.16 80,052.20 43.9 —120.4 37.2 $—73,156.99 —109.1 T TNDER thelaw regulating tele- ^ phone corporations, this com- pany is entitled tocharge rates that will yield reasonable compensation for service rendered. This revenue tliust be sufficient to pay operating costs, provide for necessary reserve and surplus and produce a fair re- turn upon the value of the prop- erty used and useful in the public service. During the past seven months our net revenue ha^ shown a serious decrease and on the lowest conservative estimate of the value of the telephone property in the City of New York toe have earned less than 2% per annum. During the month of July we failed to earn our bare operating expenses by over $73,000. New York Telephone Company Fig. 4. — An effort to earn public good-will by giving frank information. WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 9 perhaps too much to expect that all advertising shall be one hundred per cent, accurate or fair. The commercial spirit of business is too strong. But advertising has made great advances. Misrepresentations that once passed without much protest are now not permitted by the better class of publishers. Most of the states of the United States now have a specific statute inflicting penalties for misleading advertis- ing, and a number of cities also have an ordinance of like nature. At least one large advertiser has been successfully prosecuted for such a slight misrepresentation as the advertising to the general public of dyed muskrat fur as "Hudson Seal," though '^Hudson Seal" is the accepted term for this fur in wholesale circles. When only two states of the Union had a good statute law against fraudulent advertising, as was the case up to 1908, prosecution was somewhat difficult, but the trend is now decidedly toward the reform of the evils of advertising. Adver- tisers of the better class are playing the most important part in this reform by declining to have their announcements associated with disreputable advertising and refusing to use mediums that allow such advertising, on the logical ground that all advertising that tends to deceive has the effect of exciting suspicion in advertising generally and makes it more difficult for the reputable advertiser to have his messages believed. Advertising as a Cultivator of Expensive Tastes. — Occasion- ally some idealist holds that advertising has an unfortunate effect, because it tempts people to buy much that they cannot afford. But this charge would apply equally well to all window and store displays, and to all efforts to sell. New and better goods are being continually produced and placed on the market. Once householders were well satisfied with light metal bath- tubs. It would be taking a step backward to say, when porcelain tubs were produced, that the manufacturers should not advertise them, just because they increased^the cost of having a bathtub. Once women were satisfied to do all their sweeping and clean- ing with brooms and mops. Then came the carpet-sweeper and later the vacuum-cleaner — both superior housekeeping tools. They cost more, but it would be turning back the 10 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK hands of time to say that these new devices should have been kept secret because they represent larger purchase prices than brooms and mops. The world would stand still if new inven- tion and production did not add to man's conveniences and comforts. It is entirely proper that men should be encouraged to bring out such productions and, through advertising and other means, to make them known to the world. There is, of course, no justification for untruthful and unfair advertising, and every advertiser and every reader owes it to the cause of good business to protest against its appearance. There are still many publishers who publish such advertis- ing with open eyes, knowing that it is not only keeping bad faith with their readers but also deliberately making their space less valuable to the advertiser. When reputable advertisers act in concert against such publicity, the pub- lishers will be quick to exclude it. WHAT ADVERTISING INVOLVES Carefully planned advertising may be far-reaching in its scope. Sometimes the occasion for advertising is a simple matter. When the office-boy leaves or is discharged, a ''Boy Wanted " notice of a few lines is placed in the classified columns of the daily paper. Such a problem may be quickly solved. If, however, the advertiser needs five thousand boys to sell a magazine or to take orders for garden seed, and plans to keep such a staff of boys busy continually, the campaign becomes a good-sized one and requires considerably study. The adver- tiser will then have to study boys and their motives in taking up tasks. He will have to find the most efficient means of reaching boys and perhaps also of getting the confidence of their parents. He will find it necessary to learn the art of writing letters to boys, of keeping the boys interested in their work when they have once taken it up, and so on. The advertisement itself is often just a reflection or result of an extensive campaign that is behind the advertisement. A great deal of work, possibly extending over a year or more, may have been done before the appearance of the advertising that one sees in the magazines, newspapers or on the billboards WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 11 PEB.SHING SQUARE ^ combined, locality and address Ivhere transportation needs are served THIS remarkable plottage, facing 12? feet 6 inches on 42nd Street and 41st Street, and entire Park Avenue fronuge of 197 feet 6 inches, containing an area of 24,786 squ^e feet, is now available for sale or feaie. The property adjoining.on the eajt of this plottage has been sold by us to the Bowery Savings Bank, which will improve with a handsome structure for its own requirements. Wide streets and existing surround- ing construction assures permanent light, a clear view over Grand Central Tefminal, of upper Park Avenue and surrounding locality. Foundations and footings are now in place over 70 percent ofpjot area, valued at One-half million dollars, which provide for construction of a twerity-five story building, resulting in saving of expense and time in Two subway en trances are provided and an underground connection to Grand Central Terminal. A party wall agreement with the -Bowery SavingsBankpermits window openings above their structure, insur- ing permanent easterly light, making the plottage virtually a four-cornered block above their proposed structure. These and other outstanding fea- ture* make this the one best plot in New York City for an improvement that will satisfy your demand for in- stitutional aqd executive office*. Apply your own bwier or HENRY MANDEL 570 Fifth Avenue, New York City Fig 5. — Advertising of unusual news value to property-owners planning extensions. 12 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK or in the street-cars. An extensive advertising campaign may cover research and analysis of the following : (a) The product itself, its origin, the raw materials used in making it, the method of manufacture, the experience of users. (6) The market conditions: possible sale for the product, the competition, the probable best channel or method of marketing. (c) Mankind, or the men and women who must be appealed to. This may include jobbers and retail dealers as well as the final buyer or user of the article, known in economics as ''the ultimate consumer." (d) The business or practice of advertising, which may cover a great deal of work from preliminary research down to the final preparation and publication of advertisements and possibly the answering of inquiries about the product and giving service to buyers and users of it. How Producing and Distributing Duties may be Divided Article IVyTon ufacturing Iq ivian oaiea Packing Raw material Prices Advertising Manufacturing Sales policies and Correspondence processes methods Proportion and dis- Shipping Expert knowledge Trade channel tribution of print- Facilities Patents Sales expense ed matter Stock Package Relations with Relations with ad- trade vertising agent Employment, Cooperation be- management and tween sales and compensation of advertising effort salesmen Experimental and Credit checking-up work Collections Fig. 6. The chart above. Figure 6, indicates in a brief way what may come under the manufacturing end of a business and what may be governed by the sales section. Advertising and Face-to -Face Selling. — It is sometimes said that advertising is ''simply selling" and that therefore the principal requirement is selling ability or experience. Advertising often is a form of selling, but it has features that WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 13 distinguish it from face-to-face selling. It must, of course, be founded on much the same principles as face-to-face selling because each is a matter of impressing certain facts and conclu- sions on human minds. But in face-to-face selling, the sales- man is usually deaUng with only one person, or at best a few persons. He can study the particular type of individual be- fore him. That person's face, manner of dress, his attitude and his talk, give the salesman clues or leads as to how to pre- sent his information or how to demonstrate the product he FACE-TO-FACE^ H% SALESMAN "^^ri CONSUMER Fig. 7. — Face-to-face selling may to all of the five senses. is selling. Moreover, in face-to-face selHng, the salesman may be able to appeal to a number of the senses. He can let his prospective customer hear the tone of the piano, taste the pickles, smell the perfume, feel the closely woven cloth or see and ride in the automobile. On the other hand, while some forms of advertising permit sampling and thus enable the advertiser to appeal to several of the senses, ordinarily most advertising must be effective through one sense only — the eye, and must be so graphic that it works on the other senses through the imagination. Ad- 14 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK vertising might well be called selling through the eye and the imagination. Advertising is not usually directed to just one person, though there are occasions when this is true. Ordinarily advertising is addressed to a group, and though this group may be dis- tinctive, as for example, would be the case in selling something to farmers, architects, or golf-players, in these groups there are individuals whose temperament and station in life vary greatly. ADVERTISING^ COIUUflER Fig. 8. — Advertising is ordinarily an appeal to the eye alone, but the eye is the "window of the mind." The Composite Type Plan. — There is no such thing as "the average farmer," "the average woman," "the average archi- tect" or "the average golf -player. " The advertiser in his ap- peal can take account only of the most common characteristics of the group he is endeavoring to impress and address himself to this type of reader. Editors usually have a certain general type of reader in mind and edit their publications particularly to meet the needs or the likes of that class of reader. It is said that Robert Bonner used to judge everything that went into the old New York Ledger by the probable likes and dislikes of a mythical old lady with two daughters "away up in the hills of Vermont." When in doubt about anything he would ask himself "How would this impress the old lady and her two daughters?" Some advertisers say that they put down the most common or frequent characteristics that they must appeal to and imagine all of those quahties as being possessed by one indi- vidual — a com.posite type. There is just one thing to be guard- ed against in this practice and that is the great variety of views or conditions that may be found in any large group. It would be as unfortunate, for example, to regard all farmers as WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 15 being owners of prosperous, up-to-date properties with costly automobiles as to regard all of them as poor managers living on debt-ridden places. Both types exist, and one framing his advertising appeals must choose which type he will appeal to; he can hardly appeal effectively to both in one message. It is idle in advertising a $5000 tractor to write an appeal that would fit the man who cannot pay more than $1000 for a tractor. Considerable advertising is weakened by the at- tempt to deal with averages when in many cases there can be no true average and the advertiser would be better off to appeal to a representative type of reader, one in a position to buy the product, and forget, for the time being, the other classes. Hence, it is clear that however similar advertising may be to face-to-face selling, it takes forms that are very different from face-to-face intercourse. One may have considerable ability as a salesman with little or no ability to sell through printed word and picture. Likewise, one may have unusual ability in selling through printed word and picture but have little taste for selling through face-to-face methods. And yet broad observation of selling methods and actual experience in selling is likely to be of great assistance to one doing advertis- ing work. It is quite possible for one to be both a good sales- man and a good advertiser. TRADE CHANNELS An advertising campaign may connect with the producer of an article; the sales agent of it — who may be an exporter or an importer; the jobber, distributor, or wholesaler; and the re- tailer as well as the consumer. In some cases, goods are sold direct to retailers who dispose of them to the consumer. Again, the character of the business may be such that the prod- uct or service is sold direct by the producer to the consumer or user, as, for example, telephone service, banking service, magazine subscriptions, or mail-order merchandise. The chart on page 16 illustrates the various trade channels that goods or service may take in passing from the producer to the ultimate consumer. Sometimes advertising changes the trade channel. An advertiser may, for example, start a business selling direct to 16 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK the consumer and later change his plan and put his goods on sale with retail dealers if he is able to do so. Sometimes a campaign is deliberately planned this way, as retailers prefer to have the advertiser build up some demand before they stock the goods. On the other hand, there is the danger that unless retailers understand the plan they may become pre- judiced by the efforts of the advertiser to sell direct to the consumer. They feel that they do, and they do play a useful and necessary part in the distribution of goods. THE USUAL CHANNELS OF TRADE 2 3 4 PRODUCER PRODUCER PRODUCER PRODUCER JOBBER OR WHOLESALER COMMISSION MAN EXPORTER OR IMPORTER 1 . MAIL ORDER HOUSE LOCAL RETAILER LOCAL 1 RETAILER | * i 1 CONSUMER CONSUMER CONSUMER CONSUMER 1 Fig. 9. Goods that for a long time may have been sold through the jobber or wholesaler to the retailer and through the retailer to the consumer, may by a new plan be sold for the most part direct to the retailer. The growth of the use of some articles has eliminated the first middleman. This has happened in the marketing of Portland cement. It is not, however, always advisable to eliminate the jobber. Very often, the jobber as a dispenser of merchandise in moderate quantities, as a sales force, gager of credit, a collector of accounts, etc. is well worth the commission he receives. Advertising as a Means of Getting Hold on Consumer. — Whether or not advertising may make a change in the channel through which a product goes from producer to consumer, it is likely to give the producer a better hold on his consumer. WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 17 Where an unadvertised article goes through jobber and retailer to the consumer, it frequently does not bear the producer's mark at all and is not identified with him. A great deal of unadvertised and untrademarked merchandise is marketed in this way. Take handkerchiefs and umbrellas, for example. Neither has been advertised to any great extent and the con- sumer rarely knows who made the merchandise he buys. When he buys such goods he may buy an entirely different brand from the kind bought previously. When advertising has made him acquainted with a certain make, he can buy the same kind again if he likes it. While the retailer can very often sell almost any brand he likes, owing to the confidence his cus- tomers have in him, he is much more likely to sell goods that the buying public knows and calls for. This is made clear from an instance in the experience of the author of this book. The Known Safety Razor and the Unknown. — This in- cident happened a number of years ago, when the Gillette Safety Razor was the only article of its kind that was thor- oughly known. A large concern that wanted to give a safety razor as a premium to people who were rendering it some service, asked a hardware store for prices on a new safety razor that had some striking features. The prospective buyer had thought of the Gillette razor but concluded that it had been sold and used as a premium so extensively that it had lost its strongest appeal. ''Why don't you buy the Gillette?" was the first question of the hardware man. On being told why the Gillette had been dropped from consideration he said: "Would you be interested in my views? All right. Well, then, I make as much on one of these razors as on the other, so it makes no difference which one I sell you. But when a man comes in here for a good safety razor, he knows what the Gillette is as soon as you mention it. He regards it as a standard article, and its value is already fixed in his mind. We don't, as a rule, have to do any selling of the Gillette. It's just an exchange of a $5 bill for a safety razor. But whenever we put the other razor forward, we find that, though it is a good article, it isn't known. We always have to sell it, have to take our time to explain it, to prove that it really and truly is as 18 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK good as a Gillette, and then some people don't believe us Finally, the demand for the Gillette is such that we buy. a gross at a time ; we buy the other outfit in lots of six at a time. Does that mean anything to you?" It did mean something — meant that the buyer chose the Gillette razor for his premium; he didn't want some- thing that he had to explain, something the value of which he had to prove. CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE AND DEALER ACCEPTANCE The effect of advertising in sales ranges all the way from playing a very small part to that of completing the sale. Those who sometimes argue that advertising does not sell, only helps to sell, forget the tremendous volume of sales made yearly by the mail-order plan where advertisements in magazines, catalogs and letters complete the sales transaction. In the case of a great many commodities, however, ad- vertising merely serves to interest the consumer, or ac- quaint him with some particular merit of the article or merely makes him familiar with the name, thus aiding the traveling representative of the advertiser or a local dealer to make his sales more easily. As every one knows, there are many advertisements of such strong interest to the reader as to draw an inquiry about the goods or service advertised. Much advertising cannot go this far. The manufacturer of a new laundry soap, for example, can hardly expect many people to write letters, asking for further particulars of the product. The maker of a complexion soap might but not an ordinary washing soap or compound, however good its qualities might be. In such cases as these, the main result accomplished by the advertising is to bring about what has been called "consumer acceptance." That is, by exploiting the merit of the soap and its name, the soap-buying public is at least made familiar with the product to some extent, so that they are prepared to receive the article as one of recognized value if they see it in a retailer's store or have it offered by a retail salesperson. They may not be sufficiently im- pressed or interested by the advertising to go to a retail WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 19 store and specifically ask for the advertised goods, though this does happen with many articles, but the time of the re- tailer is saved by the fact that the consumer feels that he knows something of the article when it is offered. When the situation is as here described, the manufac- turer may be said to have created '^ consumer acceptance," even if he has not created a positive demand. Likewise, when the public has been made sufficiently well acquainted with the merits of an advertised product, the dealer is more inclined to carry a stock of the article and thus we have a state of ''dealer acceptance." Dealer Attitude Toward Advertising. — An article may be ever so good, but if the retailer already has other articles that fill this particular need, articles that the public in many cases prefers or calls for, he says, in effect, to the manufacturer of a new product: ''Your tooth-powder may, in fact, be just as good as the four kinds that I sell regularly. It may, I dare say, be even better, but what am I to do with the trade that is accustomed to buying the other four kinds? Many of my customers call for Lyon's, Colgate's, White's and the others. Do you expect me to take up my time in persuading them that they ought to try a new kind that they have heard nothing of? I am in the selling business, of course, but I don't want the whole burden thrown on me. Go out and tell the public something of your product. If you can't create an actual demand, at least let the consumer know enough about your powder so when he comes in here I can offer it, feeling that the product will be well received and that the buyer will not think I am trying to force something on him because I may be making a cent more profit per package. " There have been many cases, in the history of advertising campaigns, where retailers have been assured of an active demand for a new product, created through advertising, that really did not exist. That is, the advertising was not effective enough to actually bring to the retailer's store a string of customers interested particularly in buying the advertised product. It is more often the case that advertising creates "consumer acceptance" and "dealer acceptance," both of which are powerful seHing aids. 20 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ADVERTISING AS A MARKET CONTROL Advertising may be a tremendous force in bringing about the distribution of a product, because the manufacturer who makes efficient use of advertising may appeal to tens or hun- dreds of thousands while the salesman is appealing to hundreds. Moreover, advertising enables the business man to put his information before a great multitude that the salesman cannot reach or cannot interview. As has already been pointed out, advertising may not make complete sales. Its influence depends on the character of the product and the method of marketing used, and may therefore vary all the way from making a complete sale to merely making a favorable impres- sion that helps the salesman or the retail dealer to complete sales. But advertising goes much further than bringing about a knowledge of a product and affecting its distribution. It ties up the business to the producer and enables him to control output and prices better. When goods go out absolutely unadvertised, the consumer does not know who produced them and when he buys the second time he may not buy the same goods but may buy similar goods made by some other manufacturer. Likewise, the jobber or retail dealer selling an unadvertised product sells such goods on his own selling ability and on the confidence that his buyers have in him. He can change to similar goods produced by some other maker with little trouble. Take canned goods of the staple variety, such as corn, tomatoes and beans, for example. There is little advertising of these except so far as the label on the package is concerned, and while that is important it is not very far-reaching or a type of advertising that alone ties up a prod- uct quickly to a large group of consumers. Such advertising works slowly unless assisted by other forms. It is safe to say that any well known jobber or retail dealer can change his brands of such goods without serious difficulty. Fluctuation of Unadvertised Goods. — Goods sold on the jobber's or the retailer's recommendation are more subject to price fluctuation. The following illustration will make the principle clear. During the war period there was considerable difficulty in WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 21 securing the well known brands of baked beans. The demand was strong and additional manufacturers speedily put new goods of this type on the market. A brand that here may be referred to as Bessie Beans was offered the jobbers and a good quantity was sold at attractive prices while the shortage existed. Retailers purchased from the jobbers, and consumers in turn bought Bessie Beans. When the conditions in the food market changed and the well known brands of baked beans could be procured, the job- bers found that their dealers preferred to go back to the brands they had been selling formerly, and it took consider- able effort to get rid of the Bessie Beans remaining in stock. Some jobbers sold their stocks at a sacrifice at the end of the year in order to get rid of the goods. Bessie Beans were of good quality. Yet the manufacturer or packer could not, after the abnormal period, command the attractive price or the orders he secured during the war. His price suffered an immediate drop, whereas the better known brands could easily command their former price. Standardizing the Price Through Advertising. — Advertising affects price in another way. Through advertising, the manu- facturer of a specialty can acquaint the public with the price of the article, and the consumer goes to his retail store more or less prepared to pay the known price. This is illustrated by the IngersoU watch, the various typewriting machines, Victrolas, and many other such articles. Retail selling is much more simple where the consumer knows definitely or approxi- mately what the price is. Haggling and suspicion are eliminated. It should not be understood, however, that advertising may absolutely control prices of all staple goods. The laws of supply and demand must necessarily always affect prices to some extent. But when times are abnormal, where the market is oversupplied or undersupplied, those who produce or sell trade-marked and advertised goods have less of the fluctuat- ing price to deal with than is the case with those who sell unadvertised goods. The consumer has a measure of protec- tion from this condition. When he knows what the usual price of a certain shoe or shirt is, he is likely to require an 22 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK explanation if the price asked by the dealer is higher. K nowing that fact, the dealer will not increase the price unless there is a good reason. The courts have made some rulings against price-control by manufacturers where goods are sold through jobbers and dealers to the consuming world. But no laws can take away from manufacturers the right to spread information about their goods and about proper prices therefor. And when this is done effectively, much has been done to stabilize the market and to maintain production on an even basis. The producer who, by estabhshing a buying habit for his wares, has a more or less steady market for his product and has saved himself considerable of the uncertainty of the periodic ups and downs of demand. WHO PAYS THE COST OF ADVERTISING A frequent topic in business circles is the question "Who pays the cost of advertising?" The man who asks the ques- tion is often one who professes to have little faith in the value of advertising as a business force and who seeks to maintain the position that unadvertised goods of equal quality with those advertised can be sold for a lower price and the consumer thereby be benefited. Rarely does any one who brings up such a discussion say whether he is referring to successful advertising or unsuccessful advertising. Whether advertising is successful or not has an important bearing on the other question of who pays its cost. The cost of unsuccessful advertising — and considerable advertis- ing is unsuccessful to a greater or less degree — comes out of the capital of the advertiser, for it is obvious that unless the public buys the article it pays none of the cost — the production cost, the transportation cost, the selUng cost or any other item. If advertising is successful, it should automatically reduce the selling cost and does that unless it happens that the advertiser has a monopoly. It is a simple principle of economics that for most commodities to be sold at a low price, they must be produced on a large scale. If, for example, a manufacturer of calculating machines can sell only a few hundred a year, his production cost would be so high that there would be WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 23 little or no market for the product. If he can sell tens and hundreds of thousands, then he can put in machinery and operators sufficient to produce the product in large quantity and thus reduce the overhead expense of the enterprise. It costs very much more per barrel to produce a thousand barrels of cement a year than to produce one million barrels. This applies not merely to production cost but also to selling cost. Every aid, therefore, to the large increase of the sale of a product, provided its cost is reasonable, tends to reduce costs. Reduction of Selling Costs Through Advertising. — A comparison of the selling costs of well known advertisers with the selUng costs of other firms selling non-advertised goods of the same nature usually shows that the advertising manufacturer has a lower selling cost. An investigation covering twenty-nine firms who advertise regularly showed that in five cases the cost to the consumer had been reduced rather than increased during the period of advertising, while quality had remained the same. In sixteen other cases, the quality had been improved with no increase in price, while in eight cases advertising had changed neither price nor quality. A well known hat manufacturer states that in fourteen years of advertising, his selling cost has been reduced seventeen per cent. One of the best known manufacturers of spark plugs declares that his selling cost has been reduced seventy per cent, in four years, though the advertising campaign has opened up much new territory and required an addition to the traveling force. Another experience has been recorded — that of a washing-machine manufacturer — showing that advertising has enabled the advertiser to reduce his sales force consider- ably and to cut down his average selling cost seven per cent. Selling Costs of National Advertisers. — The following figures given by three clothing manufacturers seem to indicate that large advertising campaigns, if successfully executed, reduce selling costs more than small ones. spent for advertising Selling cost, per cent. $85,000 2.5 to 3 49,000 4 24,000 7 24 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Selling costs of well advertised goods are often much lower than the general public supposes. Four automobile manu- facturers give their percentages as ranging from % of one per cent, of sales to 2.6 per cent. A large clothing manufac- turer gives 1}4 per cent., the world's largest manufacturer of cameras, 3 per cent. Soaps, tobacco, etc. average higher, 5 to 10 per cent. The cost of advertising, in commercial practice, is a part of the selling cost. Selling cost cannot be ehminated. If not a word of advertising is ever printed about a new soap, the time of the traveling representative who sells the soap to the retailer and the time of the retailer in explaining the soap to his costumers represents a cost, and that is as much a selling cost as advertising. Whether those who produce and market a product do so by means of salespeople alone or by means of advertising alone, or use both means, selling cost cannot be avoided. Selling Cost Inevitable. — SeUing cost is as legitimate and unavoidable as production cost, or transportation cost. If advertising is so planned and executed that it largely increases the sales of a product and cuts down the selling cost, the expenditure becomes a benefit to the producer of the article, the seller of it, and to the user of it. It surely requires no deep thought to come to the conclusion that the manufacturer who can produce a thousand articles a day can produce them more cheaply, as a rule, than if he produced only a hundred a day, or that the merchant who can sell a hundred articles a day of a given kind can sell them more cheaply than if he sold only ten of them. A university professor, one who had apparently given considerable attention to the subject of political economy, wrote a magazine editorial in which he deplored the advertising that was spent on a high-class encyclopedia. He argued for the elimination of the advertising and a lowering of the price of the set of books, which, he thought, would result in many more people being enabled to buy this useful reference work. He was asked by the author of this Handbook, if he were the publisher of the encyclopedia in question or had some money invested in the enterprise, how he would bring the work to the WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 25 attention of people generally and at the same time avoid sell- ing expense, of which advertising was a part. He was asked if he would be wiUing to take the chance of the encyclopedia becoming popular merely through whatever free reviews editors might give the work on its first appearance and through the recommendation of subscribers. He was also asked if it were not true that a large sale was absolutely necessary in order to sell, at a popular price, such a publishing work as an encyclopedia, requiring years of preparation and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in publishing expense. The professor-editor declined to meet the issue. The publishers of the encyclopedia would gladly have availed themselves of the ideas of this critic of advertising if he could have suggested a way of avoiding all advertising and other selling expense, but there is no way of doing so. There have been other critics of advertising who have argued that while advertising is perfectly justifiable for, say, the first year that a product is on the market, it is not justifi- able afterward — that a year is sufficient for the real informing work to be done. This position is also untenable. No advertising campaign could be so thorough in one year's time as to spread information about even a distinctive and unusually interesting product to all who might possibly be prospective purchasers. Even if all mature readers could be reached in a year, there would be the new generation to take into considera- tion. Every year almost two million people in the United States and Canada come to the age at which they can read. Then there are hundreds of thousands coming into these two countries from foreign lands. Have manufacturers and mer- chants no right to tell these people about their products? The conclusion cannot be avoided that all advertising which truthfully spreads information about useful commodi- ties, whether that be goods or services, is justifiable ethically and commercially if the expenditure -be so planned that distribution is increased on an even or lowered selling cost. COORDINATION OF ADVERTISING AND SELLING Advertising being a part of the selhng process — a greater or lesser part according to the nature of the product and accord- 26 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ing to the method of seUing — it follows that to be most ef- fective, advertising should be coordinated as closely as possi- ble with the work of the salespeople, whether these be the manufacturer's representatives, the salesmen employed by job- bers, or the retailers and their helpers. It is a common occurrence for a manufacturer to advertise an article before the sales department is ready to sell it, or possibly before the manfacturer can make deliveries. It has happened, too, that the advertising has been based on a form of appeal that could not be followed up and supported in the sales work. Let it be supposed, for example, that the adver- tisements of a manufacturer offer to sell direct to the consumer and make no effort to direct him to the retail store. This may be expedient if the manufacturer intends to develop his business along mail-order Unes, but if he intends to supply consumers eventually through retail stores, his advertisements may create an unfortunate situation that will embarrass his salesmen when they go out to induce jobbers or retail dealers to buy a stock of the goods. An advertising department that does not coordinate closely with the sales end of a business may advertise prices on some article when good salesmanship would make it expedient that the price should not be made known to the prospective purchaser until the salesman can call on the inquirer and show goods. This would be true in the cases of a campaign for an expensive encyclopedia, for example. A retail advertiser may advertise goods and interest the public and, through neglecting to instruct his salespeople thoroughly about the goods, have buyers come in only to find that the people at the counters know little or nothing about the goods. The mere fact that the people of the store know nothing about the value of the advertised article may be sufficient to chill the interest of the inquirer. In order to have the closest relationship and harmony between all advertising and selling effort, some concerns have one person head both departments. In such cases he will probably be known as the sales and advertising manager; he may have some other title but carry this dual responsi- biUty. Sometimes, however, these two ends of a large busi- WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 27 ness are so important that there is a sales manager and also an advertising manager. Occasionally, the sales manager is the superior of the two and the advertising man is responsible to him and his department is regarded as a wing of the advertis- ing department. In many cases, the advertising department is on a par, so far as responsibility goes, with the sales depart- ment and neither manager is regarded as the superior of the other. First Conference with Client Field Investigation Analysis Connpetition Determining General Policies Preparing Exhibit Conference for Discussing and Revising Prelinninary Draft of Plan Conapletion napietior of Plan Delivery to Client The Order Appointing Director and Manager Scheduling the Campaign Fig. 10. — Chart from an advertising agency showing the preparation of an advertising and sales campaign. It is unfortunate but true that in a great many businesses there are such differences in business ideas and temperament between managers of advertising department and sales de- partment that the ideal understanding and working arrange- ment does not exist. This is particularly unfortunate in those cases where the advertising department must have consider- able to do with the advertiser 's sales force in the way of having them understand the company's advertising and ha.ving sales- 28 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK men see that advertising matters are properly understood and handled by the retail dealers. The sales manager, by reason of his calling, should under- stand salesmen and dealers somewhat better than an adver- tising manager. The advertising manager, on the other hand, by reason of his training, ought to be a better judge of advertis- ing values and effects. While both do well to have as much as they can absorb of the other 's knowledge, the work of the two men is frequently so different as to require a different type of man. There is, however, the most powerful reason for having the heads of two such important parts of a business working to- gether closely in the laying out of plans, the choosing of appeals, the timing of the advertising, etc. If a business has two men who cannot thus work together, with enough broadmindedness to forget some of their differences and sometimes support a decision that they have not favored, a change of one or the other is the only fair thing for the business. Advertising and sales effort costs too much money for there to be a lack of sympathy and cooperation on the planning end. Figure 10 gives at a glance the various steps in preparing an advertising and selling plan. EDUCATIONAL EFFECTS OF ADVERTISING Advertising methods, unfortunately, have been used to pro- mote many unworthy causes and products. The promoter of humbug medicines and fake securities and others have been quick to use the quick and far-reaching power of publicity as a means for gaining their ends. Selling by face-to-face methods, they could reach only a relatively small number of people un- less an enormous sales force were employed. Selling by the printed word, they have the world for their fields, as it were. Through magazines and newspapers and through letters and printed matter sent through the mails direct to the address of the reader, they have found and allured their victims. Regrettable as such uses of advertising methods have been, there is another side of the picture. The same power that has been used to defraud the ill and rob the unwise investor can be used to spread abroad the worthy causes. Tuberculosis, which yearly takes off more human lives than any other disease but WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 29 pnemnonia, will be conquered by publicity. Those who have made a study of the Great White Plague say that it could be stamped out in a generation or so could every human being be warned of how tuberculosis is contracted and induced to observe certain precautions. The growth of church advertising, of advertising for Y. M. C. A. features, Red Cross work and other such causes has been attended with marked success. The great campaigns for Liberty Loans, for food conserva- tion and the other great necessary movements during the late war demonstrated as nothing before had done what a power advertising is. There were some citizens of the United States who believed, at the outset at least, that it would be easy to sell Liberty Bonds, that all the Government need do was to make a simple announcement and the people of the contry would step up and offer their money unhesitatingly. It did not take long to discover that even such a peerless product as a Government bond of the safest government on the globe had to be explained to the masses of the people, that appeals to thrift, patriotism, etc. had to be made over and over, in varied form, and that this aggressive pubHcity had to be coupled with aggressive sales- manship before the great bond issues could be made successful. It has been only about a dozen years since advertising was employed with success in the advertising of political platforms in presidential campaigns, displacing much of the old-time "stump-speaking. " The advantages of advertising in these great movements is obvious. The printed word commands a measure of respect just because it is the printed word, provided it does not violate credibility. Furthermore, through advertising the appeals can be studied out and presented carefully in language that represents just what those behind the campaign wish to say. One who goes out to give an oral representation for a certain cause may, through the misuse of words or misunderstanding of his authority, say something very far from what those behind a campaign wish to have said. Advertising has enabled the transportation companies to coach passengers in the proper manner of getting off cars. It has enabled telephone companies to prevail on their subscribers 30 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK not to call operators to ask the time of day or to call when a fire alarm has been rung and ask ''Where is the fire?'' There is much commerce that is of as keen interest to the reader as anything to be found in the so-called reading pages and columns of the magazines and newspapers. Nothing is of greater interest to the man who is thinking of buying a motor The New Telephone Ringing Signal Vou will hear it in your telephone receiver after you have given the number to the operator and while you are waiting for the called telephone to answer. It is a low burr-r-ing sound lasting several seconds, followed by a distinct pause and then a renewal 6f the burr-r-ing It starts -as soon as the connection is established and keeps up until someone at the telephone you called answers or the operator tells you they don't answer The purpose of this ringing signal is to give the calling party definite audible notice that the work of putting up -the connection has been performed by the operators concerned. New York Telephone Company Fig. 11. boat than well presented information about motor boats. The housekeeper who longs for a modern refrigerator finds both interest and pleasure in printed information about refrigerators. Advertising may be news of the most interesting sort. It may give serviceable information of the most helpful sort. It may stop the passing of a counterfeit, find a bank robber, force a balky public-service company to give better service, draw people from the crowded cities to farm life, convert the public to the cause of better roads, etc. WHAT ADVERTISING IS AND DOES 31 Advertising affords the Chicago manufacturer or merchant an opportunity to deal with the customer down in Texas or out in Iowa almost as readily as he could with the people in the towns of Illinois. Advertising gives the man out on the farm opportunity to see what the markets of the world afford, whether he elects to buy direct from a manufacturer or to order his tractor or his washing machine through his local dealer. World'. s>r*«i R>ilro«d h All But New York The Pennsylvania Commission has just authorized a7-centfare in Philadelphia. The existing 3-cent charge for transfers will remain. This was done to prevent disaster to the Civ/'s service and to permit its expansion. New York is the onlY lar^ SttX Isflt where this policy ha3 not been followed, ^ „ ^ . • •^ Jnterborough Rapid TmnsttQy Fig. 12. In the technical field, carefully prepared "informing adver- tising " spreads data about the latest and most efficient devices. Placed though it may be for the purpose of selling, advertising in the best technical journals gives more up-to-date data about new equipment than any of the text-books. Advertising often permits comparisons that cannot be made in a store. Likewise, the advertising of a local store often tells an interested public of goods obtainable in the local stores that readers did not know could be purchased there. Advertising records the latest productions in the field of merchandise and equipment. It tells of the newest things in service. Its messages are spread abroad in order that those who feel an interest in what is offered may get further in- formation at once or later when it may be needed. SECTION 2 MARKETING CAMPAIGNS Military Campaigns and Business Campaigns. — "Cam- paign" is an apt word for the description of a well planned marketing program. Tlie planner of a military campaign first makes a careful survey, by the aid of maps, correspondence, scouts and secret men, of the conditions through which he must force a way. In some cases a military campaign is the result of years of observation and preparation. In other cases the preparation covers only weeks or months but is made as carefully as possible, so there may be no surprises. The skilled general figures that there will be enough uncertainties even when he knows all the facts and plans every move, so he gets all the data available. The military campaign affords another valuable les- son, for with the advance of an army, every part of the organization has a certain duty or move to make. The cavalry can do things that the infantry cannot do well. The artillery can give the infantry a support that the cavalry cannot give, and so on. There is, in a well planned military campaign, perfect coordination of the various factors. He would be a poor general who would order an army forward with little idea of what lay before, or who would pay no attention to the duties of various parts of that army but let these things work themselves out as best they could. Yet business campaigns have been conducted in just such reckless fashion. An advertising appropriation has been voted, decided on suddenly perhaps because some competitor had begun advertising, and the money partly expended before any definite sales poHcy had been decided on or before the advertiser's own salesmen or the salesmen of retail stores had been properly coached. Again and again advertising has featured goods on which production in sufficient quantity had not been assured, 32 MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 33 and the manufacturer was placed in the unfortunate position of advertising something that he could not dehver. Much in advertising, as in any other undertaking, de- pends on starting right, and one cannot get a better mental attitude than that of thinking of advertising as a well prepared movement similar to a military campaign planned by a general of a Ufetime of experience in military tactics. Great Diversity in Campaigns. — Advertising campaigns must of necessity differ greatly according to their scope and according to the character of the article to be exploited. A campaign may be national or international (if it ex- tends to several countries), or it may be local and be con- fined to one city, a county, a state or perhaps a group of two or three states. A campaign may be one planned to sell goods direct to the consumer in small units, which may mean running a local retail business or selling direct to the consumer by mail. Some concerns seUing by mail direct to the consumer make their own goods. Others are simply merchants, buying goods made by others and using advertising as a means of exploit- ing these goods. If an advertising manufacturer does not sell direct to the consumer, then his campaign must be to advertise so as to turn inquirers to the wholesalers or retailers who sell such goods. Such campaigns have been described as "Go to the dealer" campaigns. There are other manufacturers who advertise and supply information direct to the consumer but who send a represen- tative to call and give further information. The product may be steam boilers, washing machines or belting. In a way, the representative who calls takes the place of a local dealer, for he is likely to bring a specimen of the product or to give more exhaustive information than is perhaps available from the manufacturer's catalog or possibly through correspondence. This Handbook can hardly contain such complete data as to solve the problem of what is the best type of campaign for a given advertiser. Often it is easy to decide that a campaign should be local and that some such medium as the 34 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK local newspaper should be used. Again, it may be obvious that the local community would afford too few purchasers for the product the advertiser has to market and that a campaign extending over the entire country, or possibly to foreign countries, will be necessary in order to make the number of sales that should be made in order to have the enterprise successful. Suppose, for example, the commodity to be advertised is a saw-mill outfit. It is evident that any locality will have in it very few possible purchasers of such equipment and that far-reaching advertising will be necessary. Such a campaign appeals to a limited and special group, whereas there are other campaigns of national or inter- national scope that appeal to the general pubUc; such, for example, as those for soaps, flours, clothing, etc. Whether the article or service to be advertised is a new product for which no market has been estabUshed or an old product for which newer or wider markets are sought, has much to do with the character of the campaign. A change of marketing campaign may be the occasion for a new type of campaign for an established article. When the Oliver Typewriter Company, for example, changed its plan of selling the machine through special representatives and offered to sell it direct by mail, on approval, a new campaign of advertising at once became necessary to acquaint the typewriter-using public with that change. What a Campaign for a New Product May Embrace. — The following schedule will indicate some of the necessary w6rkthat will Hkelybe undertaken in the case of a new product. 1. Study of the possible market. 2. Special study of existing competition. '■ 3. Research work among consumers and possibly dealers. 4. Study of production and selling costs, so as to determine what can be spent for advertising and selling. 5. Study of the article itself, so as to decide which of its selHng points should be featured. This study should include manufacturing methods, for the methods of manufacturing may yield as good selling points as features of the article itself. 6. Decision as to the best trade channel for the introductory campaign and a definite plan for a permanent campaign. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 35 It may be necessary, for example, to adopt some special selling method for the introduction of the article, which introductory plan will not be followed later. Illustration: the manufacturer of a chemical that removes rust-stains from clothing did not have the capital necessary to begin national advertising, even in a small way. So he prepared an introductory direct-mail campaign by which he offered his goods to Ladies' Aid Societies, Pastors' Aid Societies, and the like, to use in their campaigns for raising money. He sold a considerable quantity of his goods in this way and the use of the goods thus sold built up a demand from the retail stores in certain sections. Later he advertised along broader lines, but his original campaign was justified because it enabled him to get a certain distribution and demand that made his later campaign possible. 7. Decision as to the support to be given to the advertising, which will cover work with the salesmen or the advertiser, the dealers who are to handle the goods, the way in which inquiries from consumers will be answered, etc. 8. If goods are to be sold by retail dealers, decision as to whether an exclusive agency should be given to one dealer in a given locahty or whether it is better to sell to any dealer who can be induced to buy. 9. Decision as to the mediums to be used for the advertising. 10. Planning the actual advertising, selecting the appeals to be used, placing the advertising, checking it, etc. Campaign for an Established Advertiser.— The following may enter into the campaign plans of an advertiser whose goods are already distributed and sold to a considerable extent. 1. Attitude of consumers towards goods, their experience with them, the extent to which they place repeat orders, etc. 2. Attitude of retail dealers, if goods are sold through dealers. 3. Attitude of jobbers, if goods are sold through jobbers. 4. Study of competition. 5. Survey to determine which market is covered and study of how the weak spots can be covered. 6. Study of existing selling methods and trade channel, and consideration of changes in selling policies, margins of profits, and other relations with jobbers and retailers. 36 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK 7. Study of such features as delivery methods and service, in case the advertiser is selHng something Hke a machine for which inspection and repair service must be given. 8. Study of mediums in use and consideration of possible new mediums that may be utiHzed to advantage. 9. Study of present advertising copy and consideration of new forms of appeal or new sizes of advertisements or schedules of advertising. Scott Paper Campaigns. — The Scott Paper Company for a while sold a paper towel made up in such a way and with such a style of fixture that only business offices, hotels and the hke were probable purchasers. Though the Company had been successful to a reasonable extent with this campaign, its advertising agency, as the result of a study of conditions, recommended a size of roll and a fixture that could be sold at a price to attract housekeepers, and the immediate result was to greatly multiply the field of prospective purchasers. As the result of a later study on another of their products, the Scott Paper Company entered on a campaign to educate the public to ask for Scott Tissue rather than "toilet paper." This campaign was founded on the recognized reluctance of thousands of people, especially women, to enter a pubhc store and ask for "toilet paper." There are probably few products so well estabhshed that thorough study of market conditions, the product itself, its consumers and the jobbers, dealers and salespeople who sell it, does not reveal some opportunity for improvement or extension of the promotion campaign. Holeproof Hosiery scored its original success on the dura- bihty argument. In late years this advertiser learned that far more people bought hosiery because of its appearance than because of the durable quality of the product. Con- sequently, the current campaign of the Holeproof concern is well expressed by copy reading : " Famous for its durability. Holeproof Hosiery has now become known as America's finest appearing hose." The illustrations are now devoted entirely to the appearance of the goods. Consider, for example, the successful efforts of Portland cement and adding machine manufacturers to acquaint the MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 37 young people of the schools with these products, so that they go out into the working world familiar with the service of cement and the utility of the adding machine. Supplying schools with material or equipment for lectures and demonstra- tion is as much advertising as the preparation of a series of magazine announcements. New Campaign for Fertilizer. — The following is another illustration of what a new form of campaign for an experienced advertiser may be. A fertilizer company was doing a large business selHng its products through something like five thousand dealers and country agents, the dealers being for the most part the stores handling grain, feed, farm supplies, seed, etc. The growing tendency of the American public to cultivate small gardens and the . opportunity to do business with the many thousands of people who do a small amount of flower- growing suggested to some one in the fertilizer company the advisabiHty of putting up a smaller package of the product. FertiUzer in the past had been sold mainly in large bags, which met the need of the farmer well enough but which contained a larger amount than the man with a tiny city garden or the woman with a few flower beds needed. To open a large fertilizer bag and make up small packages was inconvenient though it was frequently done. *'Why not," thought this executive, "make up small packages, and sell these through a new group of stores?" An investigation was made to see what hardware stores, drug-stores, grocery stores and even the five- and ten-cent stores thought of the idea. Most of the merchants inter- viewed were favorable. The hardware stores told of many instances where people asked to have a small package of fertilizer made up for them. The result of the investigation seemed to show that in the territory where the fertilizer company had some five thousand dealers or agents selling the larger bags of fertilizer, there were something like 50,0C0 stores that were possibilities as retailers of fertilizer in small packages. This investigation also showed the necessity of a different type of advertising. The former advertising had been to farmers exclusively. The 38 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK new type of advertising had to be directed to the small gardener and florist, who might be a city man or woman. It called for study of fertilizers that were particularly adapted to garden crops and flowers and for the study of appeals to people who raised such crops. Extensions of Other Campaigns. — Probably few advertisers have gone so far or have made such progress in the study of their markets that there do not still remain possibiHties for changes or extensions of their campaign plans. Carborundum, for example, originally made up as a dis- tinctive new type of grinding material, has spread out until there is a large business in razor hones, carving-knife sharpen- ers, scythe-whetters, etc. These specialties call for a type of advertising that was not deemed necessary or practicable at the outset. Portland cement, marketed originally mainly for such con- structions as sidewalks, floors and walls, has now a large sale as a road-building material and considerable money ha-s been spent during the last five years advocating concrete roads. Still later has come its use in the building of ships and barges, and this called for another campaign of advertising. The paint-manufacturing companies have for many years been conducting aggressive campaigns that sought to drive home the superior quality of the several brands. In recent years, a cooperative campaign has been in progress, the key- note of which has been ''Save the surface and you save all." This campaign has been one of public education on the im- portance of painting a surface before deterioration takes place, in other words, a campaign of information about the value of paint rather than a selfish campaign arguing for the sale of one particular brand. A new form of campaign may be made necessary because of the addition of a new product to some well advertised line. Several typewriting machines are widely known. Yet a number of these have found it desirable to bring out a new small model of the portable style. While the advertising of former years will help to make the advertising of the new model easy, just the same, the portable machine will have to be advertised extensively and aggressively by each manu- MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 39 facturer before any large proportion of the purchasing public knows of the existence of the smaller models or is converted to the desirability of purchasing such writing machines. Local Campaigns. — The foregoing illustrations have dealt mostly with manufacturers' campaigns. A business firm planning a local campaign, such, for example, as a real estate dealer, a banker, a laundryman, or a hardware store, does not have as many conditions to study as a manufacturer who must perhaps deal with both jobber and retailer before he reaches his real consumer. But local problems may be difficult of solution just the same. For it must always be borne in mind that while it may be possible for a business firm to reach its logical group of consumers by any one of several methods of advertising, some of these methods may be entirely too costly for the result achieved. The real estate man, for example, has a certain commission. He can spend only so much of that commission in his business-getting program. A banker can afford so much for savings accounts. He cannot afford to have them cost him a hundred dollars each. Likewise, the laundry and the hardware store, while wishing to gradually increase their sales, have a limit for sales expense. Campaigns for such advertisers call for close studies of the buying habits of people as well as their walking and reading habits. Location may have much to do with the solution of campaign problems. A hardware merchant with a store in the central part of a city may be able to use the newspaper as its principal medium, whereas a hardware man in one end of a large city may not be able to get proper results from the news- paper because his location is such that a large proportion of the people of the city cannot conveniently deal with him. He may have to use circulars, a house organ, street car cards, posters, letters, etc. The Prospective Group. — Every advertiser has a certain logical group of prospective purchasers. In the case of most advertisers there is also a group of readers made up of people who by no reason can ever be purchasers of the commodity. Appealing to this latter group may, therefore, be sheer waste and the advertiser does well to avoid that, though he may use mediums that afford a profitable means of appealing to his 40 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK logical group while at the same time reaching many who are in the ''waste group." Illustration: the manufacturer of an electrical household apphance has for his logical group those homes where electricity is in use. There is a large circle of readers living in homes where electricity is not available. These readers are to a large extent waste circulation, and noth- ing is gained by trying to appeal to them especially. At the same time, it must not be overlooked that there is a "twilight zone," as it were, between the advertiser's group of logical purchasers and another group who cannot make use of the product. Using the electrical applicance again as an example: some of the people whose homes are not supplied with electricity today will have the use of it five years from today, and some of the publicity that is today apparently wasted will count for something then. Furthermore, some of the people living in homes where there is no electricity will move every year into homes where current is supplied. This illustration serves to show that an advertiser can hardly afford to draw too small a circle of prospective users. There have been critics of the ARMCO IRON advertising campaign who said that the American Rolling Mills Company could never profit by a national advertising campaign; that too few of the people of the country were interested in know- ing what iron was used in the products they bought. But an effective advertising campaign was put through for ARMCO IRON on the feature that this iron is rust-resisting. Today there are at least a score of hardware manufacturers making their specialties out of ARMCO IRON and advertising that their milk-cans, ice-cream freezers, etc. are more durable because made of ARMCO IRON. Thousands of the salesmen of different manufacturers are using this argument with dealers and consumers. Thus, a campaign may become much more far-reaching than even those behind the enterprise at the out- set anticipated. Distinctive Campaigns. — A retail firm conducting a farm- supply store in a small town of Pennsylvania found itself losing some business to mail-order firms. The advertising of the store was distinctive. A specimen is here shown. This newspaper space was always filled with a small display ad- MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 41 vertisement and a number of little human-interest items about what the people of the town and country were buying and doing. But the Murray Co. went further. A maiHng-list of buyers throughout the county was established, and these names were Published by MURRAY CO., Honesdale Pa. — Prctidcnt WilMn Myt, eloM upi •hop for the next ten Mondays, eo our (tore will be doted. We are going to| he Preiident's orders by anticipating! their orders on Saturdays or deferring; them till Tueidays. We realize t(-atj their maybe emergency calls where it be accommodated. real necessity. As arriving every day ' please do not! mess there is ai • lime cars are' customers can secure then out In the barn putting up one ir good Star Kay Carriers, while arn Is full of hay and the putting Burn Wood and Save Coal Be patriotic as well &s economical if you have Waste wood. A good power wood saw conts only $12 to $30 and we can furnish you a. complete outflt, engine, saw and belt for about SIOO. We also have cross cut and buck saws for small jobs. MURRAY CO. Everything for the Farm, Honesdale, Pa. most of us like high ' "'-">' «'«» <"> '" »'a* •"<« •'" ^nd^who keeps a full line of repairs ""ke it possible for some other pur- se that .'le will not be wtlhout the use chasers to secure lime later as It la of his machine where he needs it the only a question of time when our fac- rnV'that'i's ShV'thlJIa^meVof *L«kV.I"'^ "'" "« '"""'y <""» o'e«"on bags, ilnna'cou'nt^ give us their business. | ^o" "" «>"?«/ yo<"- b*** ••><> pHe Eiison Lima In any part ef your barn iS this lime Is non^austlc A very profitat le way Is to use It aa an abaorb- etrange to say ther« erything for the Fa whole valley. Wht buya machinery I the efficient auperintendent of St. Ji merly occupied by Mr. Scranton, but now owne tera of Mercy. When I took charge of the farm his first offic- tal act was to get rid of the old ma- chinery and wo had the pleasure of furnishing him with "Everything for --Ex-Mayor E. B. Jermyn, who pur^ '.based the Hubbard Farm at Waymart. took hla big brothera advice and atart. ed farming right by buying "Every- thing for the Farm" Machinery. Surke, tne big railroad IS one of the beat farm* in Lackawanna county, aaya the aea- sons are too abort to be delayed in securing repaira ao we get hia busi- nesc He haa one of our Papec Blow* era, a Cambridge Sulky Plow, Wood Tedder and Rake, Riding Cultivator, Star Barn Equipment and use* our fer* tlllier and Edison Lime. — Jos- Jermyn haj a big stock farm near Jermyn, Pa., and when ha Is not busy on the farm runa a couple of coal felines, a big store and the Hotel Jer. myn and bales hia hay with one of our good presses. cams from our store. —8. H, Throop of Scranton, Jol-.4 Simpson and Thos. Jones are other good Lackawanna farmers that '.'ike our way of selling good ssrvlce with MURRAY CO. Everything for the Farm Honesdale, Pa. Fig. 1. kept on stencils for easy and speedy addressing. This list was classified and checked with the county assessor's Hst. If a farmer's property list did not show that he owned at least eight cows, he would not be included in the special list of diarymen. 42 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK This mailing-list was covered with appropriate circulars several times a year. The firm made up a small mail-order catalog in the general style of the large mail-order catalogs, but nothing was listed in this book but those articles on which the Murray Co. could sell about on a par with the mail-order houses. In some cases they listed articles — gas engines, for example — that could be shipped direct from the manufacturer to the farmer. The circularizing of the list with this catalog proved to be effective in stopping most of the out-of-town buying. The Murray Co. also used the list in advertising a spring opening or ^'big party'' as it was called. The firm asked the manufacturers whose goods they handled to furnish equip- ment for a booth and to send a demonstrator or representative there to take charge of it. The result was, in one year, twenty booths showing farm equipment, each in charge of a manu- facturer's representative. Music was arranged for, free cigars were presented to the men, flowers to the women, and a bag of candy for every child . The store invariably was crowded all day on these occasions and a large number of advance orders for farm supplies were taken. Such a campaign called for as close a study of the territory and customers of the store as many a manufacturer's schedule requires. Campaigns may, according to the nature of the product or the class of consumers, have to be planned along unusual lines. A maker of artificial limbs, for example, does some general advertising in the magazines, but his best plan is that of sub- scribing for newspaper clippings that tell of amputations. This affords a live list of business-leads, and before the man who lost his arm or his leg is out of the hospital, he receives a tactfully written letter and a booklet dealing with the product of the limb-manufacturer. Some very successful campaigns have been carried out by small classified advertisements inserted in the columns of newspapers headed Help Wanted, For Sale or Exchange, Business Opportunities, etc. Another distinctive form of campaign is that of a house organ. A successful Philadelphia manufacturer has a house I MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 43 organ that is regarded as being the most effective form of advertising the firm employs, and the maihng-Hst to which this house organ is sent is valued very highly. The house organ is a distinctive type and is very closely identified with the manufacturer. EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGNS Before an advertiser launches a far-reaching and expensive campaign, it is often good tactics to do some experimental work in order that he may determine which of several methods is the most effective in its effects on consumers, dealers or both. No matter what sort of research work he may conduct, it may be an open question as to whether a newspaper campaign, a street-car campaign, an outdoor campaign or some other form will give the best results, cost considered. Procter & Gamble, while possessing a rich experience gained in marketing Ivory Soap, thought it best, when a new product, Crisco, was ready for marketing, to conduct several Crisco campaign experiments before proceeding on a large scale. While such experiments necessarily delay the carrying out of a general program, so does experimental work in other lines delay but such delays may, in the long run, prove to be a real saving. Attractiveness of Campaign Plan. — Much of the success of an advertising campaign depends on the soundness or attrac- tiveness of the main idea of the campaign. To illustrate: a new shaving razor was advertised on the plan of offering the razor without payment to any reliable person. That person agreed, however, to send the advertiser each week the money that he saved by shaving himself instead of going to the barber, whether that amount was thirty cents a week, forty cents or fifty cents. The central thought of the copy was '* Pay as you shave and save.'' It was an attractive idea — that one could pay for an equipment of this sort with the money actually saved by using it. Banks some years ago secured a wonderful increase in small savings accounts by adopting the ''Club Plan.'' There were 44 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Christmas Clubs and Vacation Clubs. The depositor could take his choice of several plans of depositing money, a fixed equal amount a week, or beginning with a small amount and gradually increasing the sum, or beginning with a fair-sized amount and gradually decreasing the sum. But the idea was new, or at least it had a new name, and its good feature was that people bound themselves to pay, if possible, a definite amount of money each week. This proved to be exceedingly attractive, and a great many people who had considerable money deposited on other accounts joined the savings clubs and accumulated a special fund for Christmas or for a vacation. From this has originated clubs for buying a kitchen cabinet, and clubs for various other purchases. It is merely a variation of the old instalment plan of payment, but the words ''instal- ment plan" have come to have an objectionable suggestion to the minds of many, and the "Club Plan" provides a pleasing variation. RESEARCH WORK A most important part of any marketing campaign is the research work. Imagination, or vision, has been responsible for many advertising successes. But in spite of the value of the imagination, which is discussed thoroughly in the section of this book devoted to Copy, it is poor policy to trust to imagination in planning a campaign if it is possible to secure actual facts on which to build conclusions. There are things that must be imagined. Other conditions can be determined with considerable accuracy. MilUons have been wasted in advertising because some one imagined or guessed that certai^i conditions prevailed when, as a matter of fact, other conditior s prevailed. Some ten or twelve years ago a leading watch manufacturer was solicited to advertise to the farm trade. This manufac- turer imagined that farmers generally were buyers of the cheaper grades of watches, and his advertising had been placed accordingly. An investigation conducted among enough farmers scattered over different sections was sufficient to convince the manufacturer that his notion was erroneous. As a result, the watch campaign was considerably modified. Tabulation of an inquiry among farmers to determine kind of WATCH owned MARKETING CAMPAIGNS Exhibit No. 1 45 H a S s -§ .S i a 1 1 02 2 a t-H 1 i I Alabama 195 97 24 4 11 3 4 ,39 43 225 144 Arizona 12 11 3 5 1 8 28 11 151 50 33 103 29 28 19 17 7 6 4 3 13 27 4 34 22 18 12 12 8 187 116 75 103 5 5 "2' 50 Colorado 33 Connecticut 24 10 25 2 2 1 1 4 9 54 24 22 65 23 53 17 2 2 3 5 15 3 22 50 106 22 Florida 6 3 1 65 Georgia 290 193 57 15 25 14 2 48 59 413 255 Idaho ... . 43 417 31 369 8 69 35 20 33 6 15 "34" 10 65 13 159 88 779 40 Illinois 379 Indiana 581 475 86 31 68 27 28 109 151 975 498 Iowa 117 106 33 14 12 11 14 17 38 245 115 Kansas 98 56 24 1 11 4 2 17 12 127 73 Kentucky 248 87 40 14 9 3 5 40 59 257 219 Louisiana 70 32 12 5 7 1 1 52 25 135 67 Maine 44 12 41 6 4 2 3 8 10 86 40 Maryland 55 41 26 3 19 1 20 16 126 51 Massachusetts 36 5 29 3 10 2 2 4 21 76 37 Michigan 201 142 37 5 44 9 16 82 79 414 188 Minnesota 170 148 47 21 17 18 20 42 47 360 155 Mississippi 170 84 18 12 5 2 3 40 40 204 114 Missouri 252 236 46 14 25 8 3 64 57 453 248 Montana 73 52 17 5 17 7 9 26 13 146 71 69 3 12 48 2 5 20 1 13 5 4 9 1 16 2 2 13 1 3 116 6 26 60 Nevada 3 New Hampshire. . . 3 12 New Jersey 29 16 10 4 12 2 5 15 64 27 New Mexico 14 189 22 162 3 78 18 80 8 59 51 458 12 New York 30 43 6 183 North Carolina .... 215 131 45 10 12 1 5 43 38 285 181 North Dakota 125 135 44 6 48 5 7 39 38 322 113 Ohio 336 268 117 34 55 29 26 63 106 698 299 Oklahoma 121 83 19 10 10 2 7 12 29 172 99 Oregon 53 30 22 1 29 8 1 18 20 129 52 Pennsylvania 335 385 1091 26 55 32 ,8 156 89 860 319 Rhode Island 5 96 2 63 2! 3 5 13 12 154 5 South Carolina. . . . 17 18 3 14 26 95 South Dakota 85 99 17 20 4 7 33 18 198 83 Tennessee 184 128 17 15 12 2 6 34 58 272 163 Texas 243 164 35 15 22 3 2 42 43 326 189 Utah 18 32 16 27 5 26 '■3' 2. 5 9 4 9 32 81 16 Vermont 1 3 3 29 Virginia... 206 155 39 26 30 8 7 63 32 360 193 Washington 72 49 37 14 12 9 23 144 69 West Virginia 109 81 26 9 6 4 5 ■a 17 189 96 Wisconsin 134 113 41 12 12 5 12 31 263 123 Wyoming 13 14 2 2 2 ' 23 12 Total 6,115 4,621 1,449 437 799 283 256 1,530 1,591 10,966 5,435 A leading paint company imagined that farmers did their own painting and that therefore the country painter could be neglected in their advertising campaign. An executive of the paint company did not believe that this opinion was founded 46 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK on facts and he went out on a touring trip through the nearby farming regions, conceahng the fact that he had any interest in the paint company. He found what every one famihar with rural conditions knows — that while the farmer might possibly paint his barn or some other out-building, his residence, if he had a good one, was almost invariably painted by the country painter. In truth, the painting of a residence requires considerable equipment that no one would be warranted in buying unless he were making a business of painting. Who Should Undertake Researches? — Advertising agencies do considerable of the research work that precedes marketing campaigns. Some advertisers, however, do such work on their own account, using a member of their staff for the purpose or making a contract with some other concern experienced in research work. Research work may consist of: 1. Sending out investigators to call on consumers, retailers or jobbers, or perhaps on men or women who do not actually purchase the goods under study but recommend or specify commodities — engineers, architects, dentists, etc. 2. The preparation of and sending out of questionnaires, or question-blanks. 3 . Consultation of files of hbraries and periodical pubhcations to find what has been published about the goods under study and perhaps getting also competitive literature and periodical advertising. The compilation of such data into easily grasped form is itself an art. Such material is often put into portfolio or book form in order that it may be placed before an executive com- mittee or a board of directors. Types of Investigators.— Not every one is qualified to con- duct a research. One needs something of the ability of a good reporter, and he must be on his guard against giving those whom he questions his own opinions. It has happened many times that an executive of a manufacturing or merchandising concern has gone out to make an investigation with his views fairly well fixed. In such cases the usual result is that the investigator finds support to his own views. Unconsciously, MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 47 he is likely to ask leading questions and make it easy for those with whom he talks to take his view of the topics discussed. A prominent candy manufacturer once went on a trip through the Southern part of the United States to get the views of his dealers as to the use of certain magazines, the size of advertise- ments to be used, etc. As a matter of fact, the dealers whom he questioned had given little thought to the topics on which they were questioned, and in most cases their judgment in such matters did not represent any experience. But the candy . manufacturer came back much gratified to find that his views were shared by practically all of the trade. An independent investigation conducted by the manufacturer's advertising agency and carried out by a man who did not let the dealers know that he was acting in the interest of the candy manu- facturer showed a very different range of views on the part of ; the dealers. Salesmen, do not as a rule, make very skilful investigators, ; though they are often used. The salesman is too likely to look t at the subject under investigation from the inside point of view or from strictly the selling side as reflected by him on the dealer. If he himself has decided convictions as to some of the subjects up for discussion, he is exceedingly likely, unconscious perhaps that he is biased, to find that the conditions are as he beUeves them to be. Investigators who make a business of this particular work give the best results. They may be men or women, according to the nature of the article or of the investigation. It is not usually best for such workers to introduce themselves as ''investigators," for such a term alarms some people. It is comparatively easy for a tactful person to assure either a mer- chant or a consumer that he is working on a report on such- and-such a merchandising subject and will take it as a great favor if he will give his opinions, assuring that his name will not be given if he prefers that it should not be. Scope of Investigation. — It is better ordinarily that an in- vestigation should not be confined to a particular community. A typewriter company investigating the market for a portable model of its machine might find different results in New York City from those it finds in Miami, Florida, or Pasadena, 48 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK California. The attitude of New England housekeepers to- ward a new household article might vary considerably from the attitude of the housewives in Iowa or Texas. Certainly the investigation should be broad enough to leave no doubt that the deductions arrived at represent at least a fair average of the territory in which the marketing campaign is to be conducted. Additional Examples of Investigations. — Before Ryzon Baking Powder was advertised nationally, the following in- vestigation was undertaken: 1. A well known advertising agency gathered and assembled statistics covering the sale of baking powder throughout the United States for the previous ten years, as compared with the ten years before, dealing with quantity sold and prices obtained for the various classes. These figures demonstrated the market possibilities, competition, price and general condition, of the industry at the time the manufacturers of Ryzon considered entering with a new brand. 2. The manager of the Food Department of the General Chemical Company — ^the advertiser in this case — spent about three months travehng around among the trade and making a personal investi- gation of conditions and the proper methods of marketing a new baking powder. 3. An experimental campaign for approximately four months — the last four months of 1915 — was conducted in the MetropoUtan District of New York and vicinity, to determine selling resistance and to try out generally the plan advised by the advertising agency, and the marketing manager, before applying it to national territory. Supplementing this four months' prehminary experience, another research was conducted by 35 house-to-house workers — women chosen because of being practical cooks or domestic science graduates — ^who made daily and weekly reports of the attitude of the consumer on Ryzon and other baking powders, the reason why they purchased and used the baking powder they were using, and what would induce them to try a new baking powder, particularly Ryzon. In this house-to-house work approximately 110,000 homes were reached by direct interviews at their homes or over the telephone. Quantities of the baking powder were sent to different parts of the country in order that the effect of climate on the powder might be studied. The Company wanted to be sure that it would meet no great surprises when its costly campaign was well under way. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 49 A tobacco company before starting a new campaign featur- ing a Havana product sent a man to Cuba to study the sub- ject of tobacco in its native cKme. This was done not merely to get the facts about Havana tobacco but that the man who was to plan and prepare considerable of the advertising copy might get what is well called the "atmosphere" surrounding the subject. The owners of Life Buoy soap, when about to undertake a new campaign for the product, had investigators call on hundreds of different dealers in scattered territory and some thousands of consumers. One obstacle that the soap people had to overcome was the slight odor of carbolic acid that Life Buoy soap has. While this is a "clean smell," it is nevertheless objectionable to many people, and it was highly desirable to get at the reasons people had for buy- ing or not buying the soap. The investigators asked dealers how much of the soap they had sold, when they had last bought a supply, what class of customer they sold to, what people said about the soap when they bought it or when it was of- fered, etc. The consumers were asked about their purchases of the soap, what moved them to buy it in the first place, how they used the soap, how they liked it, if they expected to use it regularly, etc. When the article to be marketed is an entirely new one, of course it is impossible to get data of such character as was secured about Life Buoy soap. However, the wants, likes or dislikes of people can be ascertained to some degree in any case. Questionnaires. — A questionnaire, or question-blank, often affords a convenient and economical means of getting certain data, though one who adopts this form of investigation must reckon at the outset with the fact that when people are not under any obligation to answer an inquiry from a stranger, only a small proportion of them will take the trouble to do so. Sometimes appeals can be so made that the usual reluctance to answer will be overcome to some extent. For example, when the Board of Trade of Trenton, New Jersey, conducted an investigation prior to carrying out 50 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK a campaign of advertising to induce residents of Trenton and nearby territory to "Shop first in Trenton," the com- mittee deemed it worth while to go further than running the ordinary and somewhat trite ''Buy at Home" arguments in the newspapers. They sent out several thousand question blanks to a selected mailing list, asking questions of this nature : 1. Please tell what kinds of goods you have, in the past, bought from firms located at some distance from Trenton. 2. Give freely your reasons for inquiring or buying these supplies out of our community. 3. Are there goods that you need more or less regularly that are not carried by our local firms? 4. Have you any criticism to make of our local stores and business firms as to selling service, delivery service, terms or anything else? Readers were assured, in a note signed by the President of the Board of Trade that these questions were asked ''for the good of Trenton and the surrounding community," and those who received the blank were told that their frank answers would be a real favor, that their names would be withheld if preferred. The result was a good response and some very valu- able data for local business firms apart from the purposes of the campaign to "Shop First in Trenton." Exhibit No. 2 is a copy of a blank sent out by a watch ad- vertiser to some thousands of business men in different states. This, too, brought a very interesting series of replies that were carefully tabulated. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 51 Exhibit No. 2 1. If you were to buy a new watch today, what make would you choose and why? 2. Are you contemplating the purchase of a new watch for yourself or a gift? If so, why? 3. If you were buying a new watch, would you prefer a thinner model than you now have? If not, why? 4. What is your impression of Swiss watches? 5. How many watches have you owned? Please give information about them as follows : 1st watch 2nd watch 3rd watch Make Thick, medium or thin model Approximate price Bought by self ? Gift from whom? Inherited? 6. What magazines do you read regularly? Exhibits Nos. 3, 4 and 5 are a letter, an enclosure, and a later report made up by an investigator employed by a cement corporation who was endeavoring to learn what group of farm magazines he should use in each state to reach farmers most effectively. This investigator used a separate letterhead for each state and had an address in each state. Exhibit 4 is the Ust of questions appearing on the form enclosed with the letter. Exhibit 5 is a tabulation of the results obtained from the state of Pennsylvania. It should be noted that this investigation was made in the year 1917. 52 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Exhibit 3 LEONARD T. BUSH Lock Box No. 346 Grand Island Nebraska September 21, 1917. Mr. H. A. Biskie, Lincoln, Nebr. Dear Sir: I am employed by a large manufacturer who wants to advertise his products to you and the other leading farmers in Nebraska. I told him that you would much rather have him tell his story in your favorite farm paper (where you can determine its advantages for you at your leisure) than by having him send you a circular letter every week or so, or by having a salesman call and take up your time when you are busy. Having decided this much, the question came up "What is the favorite paper of the leading farmers like yourself?" 1 told him that if we wrote you and a few others, you would be glad to tell us something about the farm papers you read. I have therefore had printed a few questions on the enclosed postcard, which I hope you will be good enough to answer for me as follows : Write on the dotted lines the names of those papers which are read regularly by you. Indicate in the space provided for the purpose, the paper you like best — the one you read most and which in your opinion prints most useful suggestions and information. Indicate similarly the paper you like second best, and third best. I would also like to know if there are any papers you subscribe to only because of the value of premiums their agents give to anyone subscribing. If there are any you subscribe to for this reason, will you kindly give me their names in the space provided for the purpose? The writer is not connected in any way with any publication and has nothing to sell. I assure you that if you will favor me with this- information, it will be held strictly confidential. You need not even sign your name unless you so desire. Simply fill in the infor- mation desired on the card and drop it in the mail. I would appreciate it if you would mark and mail back the card today. Sincerely yours, L. T. Bush. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 53 Exhibit No. 4 What farm papers do you READ REGULARLY? ? Which three do you Hke best? 1 st best 2nd best ^vA What papers (if any) did you subscribe to ONLY BECAUSE OF PREMIUMS offered you by their subscription agent? The number of acres in my own rent Name farm are which I AHHrpss 54 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Exhibit No. 5 PENNSYLVANIA FARM PAPER INVESTIGATION Number of letters sent out (approximately) 1,500 Replies received 152 Circulation in State Publications named by Read Choice 1 Taken only of Penn- those responding to regu- because of sylvania inquiry larly 1st 2nd 3rd Total votes premiums 36,354 National St'n & F'r 84 36 10 14 60 36,928 Pennsylvania Farmer 67 6 20 14 40 1 104,849 Farm Journal 65 1 13 17 31 16,799 Rural New Yorker 54 23 12 6 41 3,990 Hoard's Dairyman 53 14 15 8 37 32,235 American Agricul'st 50 10 11 6 27 2 29,702 Country Gentleman 36 8 7 6 21 13,001 Ohio Farmer 28 4 3 7 14 1 1,567 Breeder's Gazette 24 10 5 15 51,136 Farm & Fireside 22 1 2 7 10 48,048 Successful Farming 18 1 3 1 5 1 40,071 Farm and Home 13 1 1 2 Holstein Register •10 2 ■ • 2 4 2,028 Kimball's Dairy F'r 7 1 3 4 Holstein World 7 2 1 3 Black & White Record 7 . , 1 1 23,164 Practical Farmer 4 . . 1 1 893 The Field 3 152 Wallace's Farmer 3 1 Grange News 1 1 . . 1 907 Agricultural Digest 1 1 No. answering this: 120. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 55 The following is another hst of questions sent by a Portland cement corporation to personal acquaintances. Dear Mr. Jones: You will do me a great favor if you will forget that we know each other for a minute or so and answer the following questions freely. 1. Does your firm, in planning new buildings or additions to old buildings, make a practice of specifying certain brands of such materials as cement, iron pipe, etc. or do you leave it to your purchas- ing department to merely buy such material on a price basis? 2. If such purchases are made by your engineering department or by your architect, is it your custom to suggest that any of the better known brands of building supplies be preferred? 3. If you were having some improvement made at your city or suburban home, do you think it likely that you would ask your contractor what brands of cement, iron pipe, etc. he would use, or suggest that he use the better known brands? Or would your con- fidence in him be such that you would leave this matter entirely to him? 4. If you own a farm and do your own purchasing of such material as the above, do you buy the known brands by preference? How far do you go in trying to get what you prefer? Can you relate any recent incidents that illustrate your answers to these questions. Gratefully yours, SELLING COSTS The costs of selling have a close relation to advertising, for advertising in business is reckoned as a part of selling cost. If advertising cost nothing, eVery manufacturer and merchant would be disposed to make unlimited use of it. No advertising is good advertising that costs too much for what it brings. Even if it cannot be determined just what the advertising brings in sales, the ratio of advertising expense to sales can be fixed and advertising expenses kept within that limit. The usual method of fixing an advertising appropriation is to make the amount a percentage of sales for the previous year or perhaps estimating what may reasonably be expected for the sales of the year ahead and expending in advertising a percentage of that amount. This works well with an estabhshed business but does not suffice in the case of a new business where there may be Httle or no total of sales for the previous year and only a conjecture as to the sales of the year ahead. Usually this problem is 56 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK solved by the owners of the business making a specific allow- ance for advertising in order to get the business started and to take this money out of the capital available for organization and first-year expense. The following gives some idea of the cost of manufacturers' advertising: Product Per cent, of sales for advertising Cements and paints IH to 3K Clothes, collars and shirts 1)4 to S}4 Automobiles 1 to 2^ Cigars and cigarettes 5 to 6 Soaps and cleaning powders 3 to 10 Phonographs and cameras 3 to 6 REPEAT SALES The percentage that a manufacturer can afford to pay for advertising and other selling cost depends largely on how many *' repeat sales" he can reasonably hope to make. The princi- ple involved in the "repeat sale" is the same as that in "turn- over" for the retailer. It probably costs several times the profit of the manu- facturer to make the first sale of a product like a soap or a shaving cream. Suppose, for example, his net profit on a 25-cent package of shaving cream is five cents. He can afford to spend all of that and possibly the profit on several packages if thereby he creates a user of the shaving cream who will buy the goods for years afterward. On the other hand, the manu- facturer of a shaving brush could not afford to spend as large a percentage, because the purchaser of a shaving brush will not buy one oftener than once in two or three years, perhaps not that frequently. Take another illustration: if the article is one that the purchaser is not likely to buy frequently but one that he is likely to show friends or to recommend to friends, the manu- facturer can afford to spend a larger amount for selling cost, because extra sales to a purchaser's friends are just as valuable as additional sales to the original purchaser. This question is a more complex one during the first few years of the existence of a product than it is later. When a MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 57 fair sale has been built up and the owners of the business can tell from one year's increase over another about what may- be expected in sales for a forthcoming twelve months, the system of estabUshing a percentage of that figure as a selling expense is the most satisfactory system. There have been occasions, when the owners of a business have felt that an unusually strong campaign was required, be- cause of competition or other economic conditions and when an additional amount as a special advertising fund would be taken out of the surplus and expended as a venture. This same plan is often carried out with the sales force. An ex- periment will be made in adding fifty additional men to the staff on the belief that covering the territory more thoroughly or more frequently will prove a good investment. The experiment costs a certain amount of money. If it turns out that the additional expenditure brings a return that justifies the cost, the new program is made a permanent part of the sales work. Retail Advertising Costs. — The following gives some idea of the range of advertising costs with the various groups of retail stores: Kind of store Percentage of sales spent for advertising Department and large dry goods stores 3 to 4 Grocery stores 025 to .08 of 1 per cent. Clothing stores 3 to 4 Hardware stores 1 to 2 Jewelry stores 2 to 3 Furniture stores 2^ to 3 General run of shoe stores 13^ to 1^ Mail-order firms 7 to 8 Rate of Turnover. — The principle of turnover has its appH- cation to manufacturers as well as to retailers but is usually appUed to retail merchandising. Turnover means simply the rate at which the merchant can turn his money into sales and back again during a given period of time, say a year. To get the exact figures he should know what the stock sold during the entire year represented at cost and the cost of the average stock of that article. For example, if the average 68 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK stock of a specified article is $1000 and the cost of goods of that type sold during the year represents $3500, then the merchant had three and one-half turnovers. Turnover is exceedingly important because the merchant can afford to make smaller profits on goods if he can turn his money over a number of times during a season and thus multi- ply his profit three, four, five or more times without any larger capital being required. The following general table indicates the great range in turnover of different kinds of merchandise : Character of goods Turnover in one year Groceries 8 to 10 Dry goods 4 to 5 Hardware 3 to 4 Shoes 2 to 3 Clothing 2 to 23^ Jewelry 1 to 2 Such tables can be only general guides, for merchandise listed in the same general class may vary greatly. Take musical instruments, for example. Phonographs and talking machines of the highest type have for years been rapid turn- overs, whereas violins have been slow-moving goods in the same time. A music merchant may keep a violin several years before he sells it and for that reason must have a very much larger profit on it than he is entitled to on a high-class talking machine where his money may be turned several times a year or oftener. Goods such as candy turns very rapidly, some stores turning their stock twelve to fifteen times a year. Linens do not turn so rapidly — only two or three times a year. The character of the store determines the amount of turn- over to a large extent Stores such as cash groceries and the five- and ten-cent stores turn their goods quickly. It has been shown by reliable figures that a large-city men's hat store may turn its stock twice as rapidly as a men's hat store in a small town. The same is true of stationery stock in larger cities and small towns, the movement being twice as quick in the larger places. On the other hand, certain goods greatly in demand among farmers and the residents of small towns MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 59 will be turned more rapidly than the same class of goods in larger places. A reliable cream-separator may have a turn- over of six or eight times a year in a town of a few thousand and a turnover of only two or three times a year in a larger place. Actual Records of Turnovers. — The following table shows the turnover rate of various kinds of goods sold in large department and dry-goods stores. This was compiled by the Character of goods First store Second store Third store Fourth store Fifth store Notions 3.97 4.86 3.92 2.84 4.47 8.32 6.57 5.44 3.27 5.00 3.79 26.9 '2'.6 2.9 i6!i 7.1 4.6 20.2 3.9 i2:7 6.6 3.1 5.0 3.1 i6;5 2.6 7.5 4.0 4.4 4.6 18.6 25.0 4.9 3.0 18.0 4.7 '5!7 2.7 3.7 3.9 6.6 7.0 3.4 4.0 4.8 5.1 2.9 4.5 3.9 4.4 5.1 5.0 4.7 3.8 11.6 2.1 15.6 5.4 5.6 4.38 4.88 2.67 ii:66 10.05 5.52 3.72 3.91 6.17 4.63 6.35 4^37 3.65 6.25 '4;76 2.21 11.01 6.36 'sios 3.19 4.46 5.78 9.33 '5;48 3.48 3.34 ■7:66 3.04 5.79 7.09 5.97 2.69 3.74 8.79 7.84 5.88 3.56 4.24 3.18 4.25 10.64 8.12 4.01 6.34 5.43 10.80 4.10 3.30 5.27 6.92 6.28 5.14 i6!99 8.50 10.67 5.14 10.39 6.90 5.53 7.39 3.88 5.57 4.96 6.00 3.91 4.24 5.03 3.89 3 58 Knit underwear. 1.61 1.80 2.53 Toilet goods 3.07 3.68 Buttons. 2.67 Gloves 2.44 Ribbons 3.36 Handkerchiefs . 5.27 2.82 Candy Sweaters ■ . 3 05 2.61 7.11 5.64 12.10 12.90 3.75 5.04 7.66 4.98 2.61 Linings .... .... 4 40 3.58 Umbrellas 5.27 2.36 Trimmings 5.27 White & wash goods 4.08 Photo supplies 2 27 7.42 12.90 7.11 4.60 10.10 4.48 5.77 4.42 4.13 7.2 5.02 4.48 2.95 3.97 2.79 2.02 6.90 Millinery 5.20 Waists 3 20 Shoes 1.88 3.00 3.66 Muslin underwear 3 20 3.07 Art needlework ... 2 13 Silks 2.46 Dress goods (wool) 2 60 4.14 Patterns 4 41 3 52 Bed wear, blankets, comforts 4.15 2.69 2 22 Men's wear Hardware Crockery Draperies Furniture Toys Fura Books Groceries Silverware Tassels, etc Pharmacy Total 4.87 2 77 60 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK National Dry Goods Association and shows the reports of five stores. Small specialty stores do not, as a rule, have as rapid turnovers as the larger stores, hence this table would not be a reliable record of their averages. SAMPLING One of the oldest, simplest and most effective forms of advertising campaigns is that of sampling. It is not, of course, adapted to many lines of merchandising. One cannot sample automobiles or vacuum cleaners, but he can follow this plan Fig. 2. — A convenient method of attaching a sample to a letter sent under 2-cent postage, so that letter and sample arrive together. with dentifrices, soaps, shaving creams, and he can even send attractive bits of belting, cloth, leather, metal, etc. as a sample of quality, color, etc. There is something about the sample that attracts unusual attention. A man may ignore a general soliciting letter about custom-made shirts, but he is hardly hkely to do so if the letter contains several small pieces of attractive shirting. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 61 He will use the sample tube of shaving cream sent to him and in so doing get better acquainted with the product than he is Ukely to do through observing general advertising for a year. The housekeeper will gladly receive the sample package of coffee, breakfast food, or washing powder. Samphng is especially adapted to new products where special efforts must be made to introduce the product and to get people to try it. It is an expensive method, but no method of advertising is too expensive if it brings proper results. The following are methods of sampling that have been followed by various advertisers : 1. Offering in general advertising a free sample for the name of the grocer, druggist or other dealer with whom the inquirer deals regularly. 2. Sending a free sample to selected mailing lists furnished- by the dealer and telling recipient that dealer will fill all orders placed. 3. Distributing samples from house to house by messenger as a preliminary to calling on retail trade and asking merchants to stock the goods. 4. Advertising a sample coupon or ticket which the reader may tear out and take to his dealer for a free sample, dealers in the meantime being suppUed with the samples. 5. Furnishing dealers with free samples to distribute and aiding them with a special window or counter display for that purpose or furnishing a system by which these samples may be enclosed with all deliveries for a certain time. 6. Advertising a coupon or ticket that may be used as part payment for a regular-size package if offered to a retailer. For example: allowing the reader to procure a 25-cent tube of the dentifrice for the coupon and a dime if presented to a druggist. 7. Sending a small sample of a new product with all deHveries of an established line. 8. Distributing specimens to school-children, students at con- ventions, etc. This plan may be very wasteful or very effective according to the product and the care used in the distribution. 62 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Summary of a Typical Analysis of a Business made by a Leading Advertising Agency Previous to Formulating Advertising Plans I. Manufacturer 1. Name of company, address. 2. Personnel. 3. Brief history. II. Product 1. Leading brand — other brands — how marked. 2. Composition or structure. 3. Uses. 4. Unit of sale. 5. Quality as compared with competitive articles. 6. What classification — shopping — convenience — emergency? III. Market 1. Total annual volume of sales of all similar products. 2. Same figures for each brand of manufacturer in question. 3. Estimate of total number of consumers of such products — average use per consumer per year. 4. Classification of users — geographically — by income. 5. Limitations of appeal. 6. Possibilities of additional appeal. IV. Distribution 1. Method — Branches — Agencies — Jobbers — Retailers. 2. Extent — by states — by towns — by dealers. 3. Attitude of the trade — toward product — why? — toward house — why ? — toward advertising — why ? 4. Confined or open line. V. Sales Organization 1. How organized and maintained. 2. Number of salesmen. 3. Salary or commission. 4. Attitude toward advertising. 5. Rough outline of territories on map. 6. How frequently are these territories covered? VI. Competition 1. Name of important competitors. 2. Leading brands of each. 3. Quality of these brands. 4. Total volumes of each. 5. Territory covered by each. 6. Relations of each with trade. y. Attitude of each toward price-cutting. 8. Advertising policy of each. 9. Any special comment. MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 63 VII. Other Salient Points Full data regarding margins of profit and comparison with margins on competitive articles and on non-competitive articles sold through same channels of trade. Is production apt to be affected in the near future by the raw material or labor situation? Any other sahent points that may be necessary. VIII. Advertising (If any has been done previously) 1. Brief history of the concern's advertising experience covering when advertising began and how it affected volume and distribution — any changes in advertising policy and effect of such change. 2. Appropriation— year— periodicals — newspapers — other media. 3. Result a. on quality of product. b. on cost to consumer. c. on profit to channels of distribution. d. percentage of profit to manufacturer. (Has advertising done better than formerly by reducing profit of price per unit and increasing volume). SECTION 3 THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK The Agency and National Advertising. — The advertising agency, or the advertising agent, does not enter to a very large extent into retail advertising. In fact, the advertising of the large department- and dry-goods stores is rarely ever handled by an advertising agency that speciaHzes in national advertising. In the field of national advertising, on the other hand, it is safe to say that by far the greater part of the work is done wholly or partly by advertising agencies. The three organizations creating and circulating national advertising in the magazines and newspapers may be said to form a triangle: Advertiser Advertising Agency PUBLISHEU' The triangular relationship Reasons for Existence of Advertising Agency. — It is possible for an experienced advertiser to conduct all of his negotiations with pubHshers direct and to have such a well- organized advertising department that he can execute anything in the way of advertising that may be required. However, he may not find it profitable to do that. An organization serving a number of advertisers may have facilities for the preparing, placing, checking and the accounting of adver- 64 THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 65 tising that no one advertiser could afford to maintain for his own use. Again, an agency organization may employ investigators, a staff of copy-writers, an art department and other specialists such as fashion writers, domestic science experts, etc., whose employment no one advertiser's work would warrant. It is, however, to the new advertiser that the advertising agency brings the largest service. The new advertiser needs expert counsel and guidance more than the experienced advertiser. The agency, taking its staff as a whole, may have had experience with hundreds of advertising campaigns, some of them similar to the plans which the new advertiser is considering. The modern agency is prepared to conduct investigations of various kinds for a client — investigations among consumers or possible consumers, dealers, publications (to see who reads a periodical, what confidence they place in it, etc.), to under- take test campaigns and perform all of the varied functions that modern merchandising may make necessary. In other words, the advertising agency brings to the adver- tiser the experience and service of a staff of experts, and the advertiser may buy the time and aid of these to the extent of his need. The agency also brings to the advertiser's copy problem the outside point of view, and very likely will be able to keep the advertiser from putting out the kind of advertising that will be interesting chiefly to people in the advertiser's business or to his competitors instead of his real consumers. Charts of Agency Service Functions. — Charts 1 and 2 illustrate the various relationships with advertiser and pubHsher and the many-sided work of the agent. An advertising agency may undertake a very broad type of work for clients, such, for example, as conducting investi- gations among consumers and retailers for facts on which to base a campaign, or it may aid the advertiser in carrying an educational campaign among retail salespeople, or it may prepare syndicate or special articles about a business or a product and secure the publication or other circulation of considerable of such material. 66 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Client Director of Account Executive Officers Manager of Account Conferences - Execution of Plan — 1 1 Copy 1 '^'■t anical Space Re- 1 searcli Chart 1. -Showing contact of advertiser with the executives of the adver- tising agency. AGENCY SERVICE dnigency Service consists of interpreting to the public, or to that part of it which it is desired to reach, the advantages of a product or service* Interpreting to the public the advantages of a product or service is based upon: 1. A study of the product or service in order to deter- mine the advantages and disadvantages inherent in the product itself, and in its relation to competition. 2. An analysis of the present and potential market for which the product or service is adapted: As to location As to the extent of possible sale As to season As to trade and economic conditions As to nature and amount of competition 3. A knowledge of the factors of distribution and sales and their methods of operation. 4. A knowledge of all the available media and means which can profitably be used to carry the interpre- tation of the product or service to consumer, whole- saler, dealer, contractor, or other factor. Chart 2a. THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 67 A large agency may employ a number of specialists — men of engineering training or chemical training, for example, women writers who can bring the woman's point of view to bear on products, etc. On the other hand, the smaller type of agency is hkely to give the more professional type of service. It is not so Quantity Quality Location This knowledge covers : Character Influence Circulation Physical Requirements Costs Acting on the study, analysis and knowledge as explained in the preceding paragraphs, recommendations are made and the following procedure ensues: 5. Formulation of a definite plan. 6. Execution of this plan: (a) Writing, desiening, illustrating of advertisements or other appropri- ate forms of the message. (i) Contracting for the space or other means of advertisine- . ( f ) The proper incorporation of the message in mechanical form and for- warding it with proper instructions for the fulfillment of the contract. (d) Checking and verifying of insertions, display or other means used. ( / ) The auditing, billing' and paying for the service, space and preparation. 7. Co-operation with the sales work, to insure the great- est effect from advertising. The more clearly the nature of the work is defined, and the more generally it is understood, the more quickly will those who are not disposed to live up to their obligations be forced out of the business; the more, also, we will support, encour- age and develop those who are disposed to live up to their obligations, and the more we can help them to do so. Chart 2b. likely to have the soUcitor or salesman type of representative that the large agency must have as a means of getting new business. The representative of the small advertising agency is a principal of the agency and a service man — one of well rounded advertising experience who will give the business that he solicits his personal attention to a large degree. As a matter of fact, such an agency can go out and command the services of artists, printers, and research bureaus easily, and on 68 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK the basis of employing them for just the service needed — just as the advertiser employs the agency. Agency Commissions. — The publishers of newspapers and magazines look upon the advertising agent, as a rule, as a creator of new advertising accounts and a guide to advertisers generally, and though they expect the agency to serve the advertiser primarily, they recognize agency service by allowing a commission of from 10 to 15 per cent, on all national ad- vertising placed with them. In general, newspapers decline to allow commissions on local advertising, though this rule is not strictly adhered to. A number of technical and trade publications also refuse to allow commissions, holding that the agencies do not play a creative part in their field and that if buyers of their space wish to make use of the services of an agency, they should pay extra for such service. Furthermore, some of this group of publishers maintain service departments which attempt to duplicate agency service so far as the prepa- ration of copy is concerned. Recognition of Publishers' Associations. — There are several groups of publishers, the Periodical Publishers' Association, the American Newspaper PubHshers' Association, and the Agricultural Publishers' Association, which undertake to pass on the qualifications of advertising agencies and recom- mend to their members whether or not the usual agency recognition should be granted. Each of these associations has its own lists of questions. In brief, the inquiry is aimed at ascertaining whether or not the new agency is a bona fide one, serving several advertisers rather than being merely the employe of one, whether the organization or the individual composing the agency has the requisite experience, ability and capital to conduct his business properly, and whether the agency will undertake to maintain the rates of the pubHshers strictly if he is granted recognition. The recommendation of these associations to their members is not an absolute necessity to one going into the advertising agency business, because different members of such associa- tions may and frequently do recognize advertising agents and grant commissions before their associations act, but it is of considerable value to a new advertising agent to have any THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 69 strong publishers' association pass favorably on his qualifica- tions and recommend recognition by its members. Service Agencies in National and Local Work. — Within the past ten years a new type of advertising agency has grown up referred to generally as a "service agency" — meaning an agency that may devote itself to the preparation of advertising plans, direct literature, copy for magazine and newspaper advertising, illustrations, printing, etc., but not placing ad- vertising with the periodicals on the usual commission basis. Some of these conduct very successful businesses. Much local advertising is placed by organizations of the ser- vice type, serving a list of advertisers on a salary or fee basis according to the type and extent of the work done. One of the most promising fields for the young advertising man is to start modestly with perhaps only desk room and later a small office of his own, dividing his time between several local or other advertisers. Technical advertisers, for example, whose adver- tising is not placed on the commission basis and whose accounts are not usually sought by the larger advertising agencies, afford a good field for the service agency. Direct advertising literature, sales letters, follow-up systems, and house-organ pub- lishing have also afforded the service agency a fruitful field. Terms for Handling Advertising. — The established ad- vertising agencies nowadays usually handle national advertis- ing on the basis of, either (1) retaining the full commissions granted by the publishers and giving their clients the benefit of the cash discounts granted by the publishers or (2) bilHng the advertiser at the net cost of space, illustrations, printing, etc., plus a uniform commission of fifteen per cent. Some agencies place the large accounts as low as twelve or ten per cent, on the net cost except in those cases where the com- mission from the publisher is fifteen per cent, and where the publisher has required an agreement that no part of the commission will be given to the advertiser. Such publishers regard the granting of any part of the agency commission to the advertiser as being equivalent to a cut in advertising rates. Different Types of Agency Organization. — An advertising agency may consist of merely one man, or woman, of good 70 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK advertising experience aided by office assistants. Such an agency will have its art work done by independent artists and may even arrange for necessary research work by persons particularly qualified for such service. This type of agency is more on the professional type of the lawyer or the engineer. From this one-person type of agency there are organizations of different size and organization all the way up to the very large agency employing hundreds of persons and which main- Chart 3. — The organization of a large advertising agency. tains large art and printing departments, a number of branch offices in various parts of the country, a copy-writing staff of forty or fifty people, perhaps a test kitchen for experiments with food products, and perhaps an outdoor advertising department prepared to design, produce and place posters, etc. Chart 3 shows the various departments of a large agency. Chart 4 illustrates the progress of a campaign from the interview with the client to the billing of the advertising. THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 71 ^Progress of Work*' Chart Illustrating the method by which the entire equipment and individual and composite Experience ofthe Tracy-Parry Company are brought to bear upon the advertising of its clients • • • - Client Executive Staff Tracy-Parry Company /I \ Resc£uxh and Information Service Advertising - Merchandising . Sales -Co-operation jt — T — ^ Con3uin«r InvesHgations Trada Investi4atioii4 Analyiia oF Markets Analysis oF Competition Stu^ of Product and Production Stud^ oF Possible use and Possibia Markets /> jr»i Records Data Copy and Plans |^ staff Conferences Department Accunolated experience oF individudl members of staff embracing in addition to advertising pradically every depart- ment of Iwsincss activity Cop3; Production Art Dcpt. Photographic Engraving Printing Preparation of Co^ for Magazines — Ncwspapers- Trada and Tschnical Journob -Street Car* and Outdoor Displays - BMtCTS —Booklets — fi)Iders-House Ot^fos- Catala>^ —Letters — Teduucal ArtidM-Tracle Chdracters — SIo^uis Preliminary skctdics, by- oub, Finished drawings, painting— For magazines; oewspopcrs, street cars . trade ood t«hmcalJoumaI% outdoor di«p)jy, posters, bookets, fcAdcrs. bouse- oi^ons^catalc^, letters, trade marks, labeb, con- tainers, trade dunxiers Medianical details of advertising in nu4azine*, nevspapeiv, trade and ledmicJjouraalst street car«, outdoor displaus posters, koolUets, Folders, house organs, catalogs "^^ P^ Rates of PaUication An^sis of Grcttliih'on ■i- PrqMration of advertising echedulc. Selection oF media Cor territorial or national advertising. Study of puUitations in relation to products and market to be r«»ched. JEsti mates Forwarding Chcckin;^ Chart 4. 72 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING AGENCIES Street-car and outdoor advertising is placed by advertising agencies only to a limited extent. The tendency during recent years in street-car advertising interests is to deal direct with advertisers and to decline to allow commissions to advertising agents. Only a few advertising agents make a specialty of preparing and placing posters. Women have entered advertising agency work to a notice- able extent of late years. So many of the products and ser- vices advertised by agencies are those affecting womankind that the introduction of women into agency service is sure to result in an improvement of copy and methods. It is customary for the advertising-agency representative to deal with the advertising manager of the advertiser, the sales manager, the business manager, or perhaps a committee that has charge of advertising and sales policies. Copy is usually submitted first in pencil sketches and manuscript and form, then later in the form of complete proofs. It is the tendency of agencies to prepare complete schedule of copy, dealer literature, etc., and to have a large part or all of this material ready when the campaign begins. This has the advantage of having the material ready when it is to be used and it saves a great deal of corresponding, conferring and criticizing, and yet there is always some chance that when a whole series of advertisements is prepared at one time that some parts of the series will be weak, and that later in the season there may arise opportunity to introduce some newsy event or new point into copy — something that would result in great improvement. If this change is made, it means that the original plates must be wasted, or an extra piece of copy must be scheduled. A number of advertisers, while reahzing that some copy must be prepared ahead of time, prefer that much of the copy be prepared from month to month in order that the ideas may receive the ripest thought and that every THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 73 advantage may be taken of current events, lessons from the progress of the campaign, etc. There must be some exceptions to this. Where a long Hst of newspapers must receive a schedule of perhaps twenty or thirty pieces of copy for a standard article, the better plan is for a complete series of advertisements to be prepared and plated, so that the inserting of them becomes a mere matter of routine. Some of the more aggressive agencies, realizing the inspira- tion that comes to a service man or writer from actually seeing the things that he is to advertise, arrange for their men to make extended visits to plants of advertisers and even to remain for weeks in the advertiser's offices, talking with work- men, chemists, engineers, inventors, etc. A variation of this is the plan of having the man who is to prepare most of the advertising go out among farmers, automobile dealers, teachers, or whatever class must be appealed to in order that he may absorb their views and be sure that he is addressing them skilfully when he makes up the advertiser's messages. Many of the best advertising agencies will not take com- peting accounts, holding that they cannot possibly give their best ideas on one subject to two concerns aiming at the same patronage. A number of leading agencies also decline to submit plans in competition. They argue that effective campaigns cannot be worked up hurriedly, that they often necessitate thorough investigations and that any plan that might be presented from a few days' or few weeks' study of a problem would not prop- erly represent their methods. Agency reports and campaigns submitted to clients may take the form of a long letter, written in chapters or different head- ings to cover the ground. Or the report may be written on loose-leaf sheets and bound in a manuscript or ring binder. Often charts of various kinds, statistics, etc., form important parts of such a report. There may be other exhibits — letters from people whose opinions are worth while, photographs, 74 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK interesting articles, facts drawn from government or other scientific reports, etc. The following exhibit is a detailed account of the extensive survey work that is a frequent prehminary to the making up a report to a client. A LARGE ADVERTISING AGENCY'S DESCRIPTION OF ITS SURVEY WORK Authorization. — An order to the Research Department from a client, calling for a nation-wide survey of his business to be completed within a year and to cost the client inside a set estimated sum, with proper authorization by the Manager of the Department, constitutes a survey job. Stating the Problem. — The client, the representative, Mr. D ^ (or some one from the Plan and Concept Department), Mr. B- (or some one from the Service Department) then meet with members of the Research Department to discuss "What do we want to find out?" so that the survey may be from the start as much to the point as possible. Planning the Survey. — There is another consultation — of people in the Research Department — to decide" What data are to be collected and where?" This is a very practical step. It amounts to deciding, on expert knowledge, to eliminate costly and fruitless efforts and to use the utmost economy of effort and time. Gathering Data. — The next step is gathering the data called for by this conference. The three sources of data are: the client, the field, printed material. From Client. — From the client information is secured by the Manager of the Department. Such information falls into three main classes: 1. General, such as is usually in the hands of the representative on any but a very new account. 2. Sales-figures, totals and by sales territories, over a period of years, not only for the client but estimated at least for his competitors — this to serve as a basis for the market analysis and market measure applica- tion already outhned. 3. Selling and advertising methods and processes, both of the client and his competitors — so that the client's methods may be scheduled, analyzed and charted. From the Field. — From the field we get information by field men and by mailed questionnaires. Field men fall into three classes : Scouts. — Scouts, peculiarly able and experienced men who can meet wholesalers, jobbers, or even competing manufacturers, who make a comparatively speedy and high-light examination and who can help in the interpretation of the material they gather. Field Men. — Field men, also in our own employ, with only less experi- ence than the scouts, who travel more widely than the scouts, study the THE ADVERTISING AGENCY AND ITS WORK 75 field more intensively and with more attention to retailers, always, how- ever, following the lines indicated by the scout survey. Correspondents. — And, a third class, correspondents all over the country, about 70 in large cities and about 50 in rural communities. These correspondent-investigators we pay by the job. To them we send questionnaires based on the findings of our own scouts and field men, so that useless questions are eUminated and essentials are put in proper perspective. These questionnaires the correspondent fills in from the information he gets in personal interviews with distributors of different classes prescribed in our letter of instructions. A " Manual for Investi- gators" has given these by-the-job employes considerable instruction and training. They will get more by working with visiting field men. As our field men clean up after the scouts, so the correspondents can clean up to any required degree of intensity after the field men. Questionnaires to Consumer. — Mailed questionnaires from our oflSce give us consumer information of a sort that we cannot get from distributors. From printed sources, the Research Department librarian gathers all available published material on the product and its competition, produc- tion, both domestic and foreign, imports and exports, methods of dis- tribution and sale, past and present advertising campaigns, etc. Information in Print. — Besides this special material for the particular client, there is a constantly growing background or general storehouse of information, largely statistical and including figures on population, incomes, automobile registration, trading areas, jobbing centers, cir- culation of advertising mediums, etc. We are undertaking a thorough- going study of the value of different mediums and have already well in hand material of this character on farm papers, as well as much extremely practical information on the comparative flexibility of newspapers and "national" mediums. Compilation. — Tabulating and compiling the data is the next step. Much of this is done almost as soon as the information is gathered. A simple and economical system has been devised by which data are copied only once, with enough carbons and in such shape that the facts can be filed and re-arranged to meet all possible demands on it in our own oflBce and in the client's. This also ensures the speedy discovery and imme- diate availability of any particularly important fact in the course of the survey without waiting for its completion. Co-ordinating and interpreting the data and preparing it for presentation to the client is the next step, and one that, in the nature of the case, can not permit of any great degree of standardization. A Committee of Specialists. — Primarily this work goes to a committee or board of men in the Research Department with the help of the Repre- sentative on the account, a member of the Plan and Concept Depart- ment, and a member of the Service Production Department. The members of this Board who come from the Research Department have functionalized tasks along lines similar to the men from other depart- 76 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ments. Each member is expected to make general suggestions and to devote his particular attention to his own specialty whether that be copy, plan, or mediums. The definite recommendations of this Board are edited, collated, and combined with a summary of the body of information, both in text and chart form, by the so-called Chief of Research Presentation. It is his special function to analyze sales figures, to suggest and apply a measure of the market or prospect-point system, and to put in graphic form the analysis of the client's entire system of advertising and selling from in- formation gathered from the client. Installation. — We now have a complete report made up of the whole body of information gathered (to which the sales manager or district manager may turn for illuminating detail), a summary of this detail which shows the trend it takes, and definite recommendations and suggestions. Is the task finished? No. For this whole survey is service and though we have done much in completing the typed and bound report and in planning it so that it can be readily and easily used, we have done very little for a client if we stop there. The real final step is installation and demonstration — taking the report to the client, going over it with him in detail, showing him what it means and how it can be used, and, occasionally, bringing it back to the Research Department to have embodied in it the suggestions of the client, a per- fect adjustment and tuning-up to the requirements of his business. This function of delivery and demonstration belongs to the Repre- sentative on the account, the Manager of the Research Department, the Chief of Research Presentation — any or all of these three as conditions may demand. SECTION 4 PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING Much that appears in the various chapters of this volume is interwoven with psychology, which is merely the science of the mind, the instincts, and the emotions. In the treatment of Catalogs, Booklets, Folders and Cards there are considerations of the psychology of interest, of color and of impression generally. In the study of the various forms of mediums, consideration is given to the psychology of attention, of reading habits, and of memory. Advertising display involves the psychology of attention also. Psychology is so vital a part of advertising copy that no treatment of the subject can be thorough without bringing in a study of the psychology of interest, of appeal, of decision and action. Consequently, considerable of the discussion and data on copy presented by this volume is psychological in character. There are, however, some fundamental principles of psy- chology that have such an important relation to advertising that they call for detached explanation. Association of Ideas. — Perhaps the principle of psychology that the advertising man encounters more frequently than any other is that of association of ideas. Thoughts do not run in the mind independently of each other, though occasionally the thought does flit to a new subject apparently disconnected from what was in the mind previ- ously. But most of the time, the thought runs along like a current, passing from on,e topic to another as these are sug- gested. In the recesses of the memory topics lie stored but connected with each other. Mention Mt. Vernon, and in- stantly the view of that colonial house on the Potomac and the 77 78 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK STEINWAY The Instrument of the Immortals There has been but one supreme piano in the history of music. In the days of Liszt and Wagner, of Rubinstein and Berlioz, the pre-eminence of the Steinway was as unquestioned as it is today. It stood then, as it stands now, the chosen instrument of the masters — the inevitable preference wherever great music is understood and esteemed. STEINWAY & SONS. Steinway Hall, 107-109 E. 14th St.. New York . Subway Express Slallons at the Door Fig. 1. — The age of the musician, the sha4ow of the room and the entire "atmosphere" of the design appeal to the imagination. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 79 name of George Washington come before our minds. Name Wilbur Wright and the aeroplane and all its achievements come to our mind's eye. "Baked Beans" suggests Boston, |Rii^' -^^ ' ^Hjl^^^^ " - illlllllMUf' y' fOt^^i^^S^SMi 1 THE FAITH OF THIS MAN STOOD BEHIND ^^^^^^^^Hi^Mrt^;^/ 1 1 >' THE EARUEST ACHIEVE- i !^^^H ^^^^^^HliHII^^M MENT OF CE-BILUNGS I^H WHO FOUNDED THE I^H BILLINGS & SPENCER ^^H COMPANY OF HARTFORD '^H THE FIRST COMMERCIAL ill DROP FORGING PLANT I^H IN AMERICA i^H j^mifH Fig. 2. — Though this advertisement drew unusual attention, the association between Lincoln and the Billings & Spencer Company seems hardly close enough to make a lasting impression on the reader. " Akron ^' suggests the manufacture of rubber products, "Detroit" that of automobiles and automobile accessories. In other words, certain thoughts have become fixed in our minds in connection with certain other thoughts, and when we 80 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK bring up one end of the connection the other is likely to follow. There are paths, as it were, from one of the topics to the other. This is important to the advertiser, for much depends on his being able to anticipate the turn the reader's thought will take or on his ability to guide that reader's thought. There is a motive, and a good one, in calling an automobile the ''Lincoln," for that suggest sturdy, honest qualities. No writer would undertake to make a real hero out of a character known as ' 'Percy, ' ' for this name suggests ' 'sissiness. ' ' Channels of Thought. — It has been pointed out that various things in every normal human mind are related or associated with other things — that there are tracks, grooves or channels, as it were, in the mind between these associated objects. Remembering this, the advertiser must also remember that the thought of the reader is constantly in motion, like a tireless electric current but seeking, like the electric current or a cur- rent of water, the easiest passage . Given a ' ' good conductor, ' ' thought moves easily. Attempt to repress it or to drive it back, and it resists. This is seen more easily in salesmanship than in advertising. The salesman who belittles our ideas or who insists on ramming his own opinions down our throats, as it were, does not usually command our patronage. The keen salesman knows how to fall in with the customer's thought and to move gracefully with it for a while, even though later he may find it really necessary to differ from the custom- er's view and to try to bring the customer to a new opinion or view of some matter. The advertiser must recognize this mental condition. He must strive for an agreeable ''point of contact" with the reader's probable experiences and thoughts, and travel with those thoughts. Every reader has passed through the experi- ence of reading something that so accords with his own views that he almost says aloud, "That's so." The most enjoyable sermons, editorials and stories are those that, to some degree at least, accord with our own reflections. The minister, the editor, or the writer may lead us on to new convictions, but he at least accomplishes his mission by dropping into our channel of thought and guiding it rather than repelHng or irritating it. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 81 The modern advertiser is constantly asking himself ^' What is the reaction of the consumer or the dealer as the result of this advertising?" A single false note or unfortunate state- ment may be sufficient to interfere with the deUcate task of guiding minds to the desired conclusion. Unpleasant Associations and Negative Appeals. — Because of the ready association of ideas, it is desirable in advertising to keep clear of those names and thoughts that suggest un- pleasant things. Probably few people would feel attracted toward a coffee that was known as ''Boarding House Coffee, " though "Hotel Astor Coffee" has much in its favor because of its associations with a high-grade hotel. Most people would probably be prejudiced against living in a suburb if it were named Lonesomehurst or Hecktown, therefore real estate men very wisely give suburbs attractive names. These are extreme examples, but they serve to illustrate the idea. Many advertisers, while not choosing names or advertising appeals that are decidedly repulsive, are guilty of selections that are unattractive or, at best, commonplace. Considerable is said in advertising circles about the in- advisability of using negative appeals — appeals that show the result of not using the advertiser's product rather than those which show the results of using it. Examples: a bent-over figure illustrating the effect of rheumatism as an illustration for a rheumatism remedy; a fire, with loved ones in danger, as illustrating a fire-extinguisher; an automobile that has crippled some one because driven without chains on slippery streets as an illustration for automobile chains. An advertiser does not, however, do well to conclude that all such illustrations and appeals are without merit just because they show the negative or sad side of the picture. It is safe to say that no advertisement should be so alarming or repulsive as to repel the reader and make him feel that it is undesirable to read what the advertiser says or to use his product. But the truth, on the other side, is that people have to be shocked into doing some things that it is their duty to do. The advertiser of a fire-extinguisher can show the dangers of fire, while at the same time showing the positive side of the picture with an illustration depicting the mother easily putting 82 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ♦•I never saved a cent" 1 7c saved each day will soon pay for a share of our Preferred Stock which pays dividends every 3 months amounting to more than 7i % on your money each year. PENNSYLVANIA POWER & UGHT CO. A BUSINESS WHICH OF NECESSITY IS PERMANENT Fig. 3. — The negative appeal is too pronounced in this example. The reader may be amused by the disreputable looking tramp but the appeal does not lead directly enough to the real subject of the advertisement. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 83 out the blaze in the home while a child clings affrighted to her skirts. But it is not so easy for the advertiser of Weed chains to show the positive side, and it is within the bounds of good advertising for him to illustrate the disaster that is hkely to come from driving unchained wheels on slippery roads and streets. HOTEL ASTOR COFFEE The old favorite in Nevy/ York's best homes ^^ Cisk ijour dealer . Ml Fig. 4. — A name and a touch of illustration that create distinctiveness. An effective illustration for a proprietary remedy showed a neuralgic sufferer holding his face in his hand. This was the negative side, for the remedy was supposed to eliminate rather than cause pain, and yet it is certain that such an illustration caught the attention of those who suffer from neuralgia. One very large national advertiser who can trace returns with considerable accuracy finds, after many years' experience with both positive and negative styles of copy, that the posi- tive style has usually been the more effective of the two, and 84 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK "What! MyCar?'' ''Yes! skidded — and it's up to you. You failed to provide the chauffeur with Tire Chains. Only good luck saved your wife from paying the supreme penalty for your negligence. She's on the way to the hospital painfully- injured, but the doctor thinks she'll pull through. You'd bet- ter hurry to the hospital and then report to headquarters.** How strange it is that disaster must come to some men before they realize that all makes and types of tires will skid on wet pavements and muddy roads when not equipped with Chains. These men do not appreciate until too late, that by failing to provide Weed Anti- Skid Chains they expxjse their families to injury and death. The time to provide against accidents is before they happen. Don't wait until after the first skid. Put Weed Chains on all four tires at the first indication of slippery going and you "will have quadruple protection against injury, death, car dam- age and law suits. Weed Chains are Sold for All Tires by Dealers Everywhere BRIDGEPORT. CONNECTICUT CHAIN COMPANY. LIMITED, NIAGARA FAi FiQ. 5. — Unmistakably the negative appeal, because it illustrates what may happen when the advertised product is not used but a very effective appeal nevertheless. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 85 yet there have been successful advertisements used by him that would undoubtedly be classified as negative by psycholo- gists and probably condemned notwithstanding the fact that they have brought excellent returns. Suggestion. — Suggestion is so intimately related to the association of ideas that one cannot be considered without involving the other. Suggestion is the act of imparting some idea that arouses or suggests some other idea or thought directly connected with the original. In other words, suggestion is the first part of an association of ideas. The professional hypnotist tires the eye of his patient or subject by putting a bright object before it, because he knows that even a slight tiring of the eye is strongly suggestive of sleep. In his oral suggestion, he uses the word ''Sleep'' to induce a state of sleep. There is nothing mysterious about suggestion. Looking at a pickle or a stick of alum will cause a curious sensation in the jaws. The thought or the sight of certain things will "make our mouths water," while other things or thoughts will induce faintness or nausea, though we do not touch them. Reading may move us to laughter, to tears or to shuddering. Neither the advertiser nor the salesman need be a master of hypnotism. In fact, there would be no opportanity to carry suggestion to such an extreme as the hypnotist does, but every one who has need to sway or mold thought has need for suggestion. "Think, gentlemen of the jury," cries the lawyer, "who could have had a motive for having this will altered?" He does not come out directly and boldly assert that the de- fendant is the man. He recognizes that it is more subtle to ask the jury the question — a question that suggests the answer rather than to give it outright. Here, again, we come in touch with the principle that human thoughts prefer to be led rather than pushed. The hearer or reader whose conclusions come as the result of adroit suggestion, who feels that his conclusions are actually his own, arrived at by his own free thought, is more likely to be firm in his decisions than one who feels that a conclusion has been forced on him. 86 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK r^cr^.T-a/ic^e The unobtrusive fragrance of Ivory Soap is not the usual soap perfume. It is merely the pleasing^ natural odor of Ivory's high-grade ingredients. Its delicacy and refinement are two of the reasons why you fnd Ivory Soap in so many homes where good taste and good sense prevail. IVORY SOAP. 'T ploat® 99^0^ PURE Fig. 6. — Association of Ivory Soap with dainty flowers, background and lettering create the idea of "unobtrusive fragrance" and purity. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 87 "Frae the Land o' Cakes Mathers Scotch Fish Cakes Wherever you live in London, you can now buy these delicious ready- • cooked Fish Cakes. The food shortage need not put you "on short commons " if you serve these savoury cake^s several times a week Your Fishmonger, Grocer and Dairy sell or will gladly get them for you Try some for Tea TO-NIGHT Mathers' Scotch , Fish Cakes 2d each "*f 3 for 5d Made by Mathers Fig. 7. — Here the plaid border is enough to lend a Scotch flavor to the entire appeal. 88 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK "Never gave his wife anything that pleased her better'^ runs the headine of an advertisement describing a customer's experience with a purchase of a household convenience. The advertisement does not bluntly argue that you should **Give your wife this vacuum cleaner," though sometimes such vigorous headlines may be justifiable, but the headline suggests to every married man the thought that possibly the article is something that he should give his own wife. Suggestion is used by advertisers not only in their choice of colors for their printed matter but in the selecting of illus- trations, the design of the dealers' display, the shape of the packages or cartons, etc. This illustration serves to show how far suggestion may go in determining the success of a campaign. A chewing gum manufacturer in introducing his article would have a salesman call on retailers before beginning his advertising in a community and give each merchant a box of the gum containing twenty packages, to be sold at five cents each. The merchant was invited to put this on his counter, sell the gum and keep the dollar. ''We are going to advertise and we want you to see how the gum goes," was the explanation of the salesman. But before the box was placed on the counter, the salesman took out several packages so that the box would appear to be a broken one. The reason was that if buyers have no preference for a given brand of gum, cigars, etc.; they will usually buy from a broken box rather than a full one. The full box suggests that no one has been buying that kind. Therefore, the connecting thought is that perhaps it is not a very good kind. By starting the box as a broken one, the advertiser saved the day. Otherwise, when his representative had called, after a period of advertising, to take the retailer's order, the retailer would likely have said ''Your product does not sell at all. No demand whatever. You can see for yourself that I haven't sold a package, though the box has been right there on the counter ever since you left it with me." The Direct Command. — ^The term "Direct Command" is applied to those positive or direct statements, often made in the displays of an advertisement or near the close, in which the reader is urged to "Take none but the genuine Bayer Aspirin," PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 89 "Tear out and Mail the Inquiry Coupon Now," or ''Call your grocer and tell him you want one of our samples." The theory of the direct command is that, if there is no reason for opposition in the reader's mind, he is naturally in- clined to adopt a suggestion. The direct command serves a good purpose in many advertisements where otherwise the reader might be favorably impressed but left without any action or step being taken. Whether a direct command or a more adroit suggestion should be used depends on conditions. There are times when a "Stop!" sign is more likely to bring obedience than the smoother admonition, "Travelers are advised to proceed cautiously." The advertiser cannot proceed by fixed rules in the realm of psychology any more than he can in the other depart- ments of advertising science. The important thing is to become familiar with all the tried and true expedients and then decide in each case as to the proper procedure. The bank and the circus require different advertising methods. The Value of Repetition. — The effects of advertising depend largely on how well the advertiser can make people remember him and his product. "To be remembered" is just as impor- tant a qualification of advertising as "to be believed." And a great deal of advertising that seems passably good when one reads it^ is lacking in power to make readers remember. Now, remembering depends to some extent on association and to some extent on repetition. When we wish to commit something to memory, we go over it again and again until one part of the data, poem, or whatever the subject may be, sug- gests the other. Consequently, repetition plays a large part in advertising. Advertising is to a large degree commercial. That is, it is forced into attention as a matter of business. Unless the reader of advertising has some unusual reason for remembering an advertiser's business, or the points of his prod- uct, considerable repetition will be required before the mem- ory will hold what the advertiser wishes. In the first place, most attention that is paid to advertising is of the casual sort. Something about an advertisement attracts attention, and the message as a whole receives some attention — Httle or much 90 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK according to the degree of the reader 's interest. Then the eye and the mind of the reader pass on. There is not the degree of concentration that the mind puts on things more intimately related. Age gets in its destructive work vAth almost all building material. Concrete is the exception. When you build with good sand, good stone and Portland Cement as good as ALPHA, your structures will grow stronger with a?e — will permanently resist fire, water, wind and wear. Test ALPHA CEMENT if you like but you don't have to. All ALPHA plants are operated on a strictly hourlv test sys- tem and every bag of ALPHA CEMENT goes out guaranteed to meet standard specifications fully. Alpha Portland Cement Co. Offices : Easton, Pa., Chicago, 111, Fig. 8. — The skill of the artist in typifying permanence by the huge concrete lettering shows how simple visualization may often be. The lesson to be derived from this is that advertisers have to be continually repeating their stories or messages in order to be remembered well by their readers; and that they should PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 91 feature points that are easily remembered, for readers are not likely to carry considerable detail in their minds unless, per- chance, they are at the time in the market for the article adver- tised and hence read with more than ordinary interest. In other words, most advertising must be written to impress the casual reader rather than one who reads with considerable concentration. Therefore, many good advertisers construct their copy so that some impression will be made on the reader who merely glances at it for a second or so, though the same advertisement may contain considerable detail for the more interested type of reader. Advertisers who recognize the value of repetition usually carry some slogan, some display line, or some well known sell- ing point in all or most of their advertisements. This may be a statement that the Blank Company has plants on six trunk- line railroads, that the Bundy Steam Traps act by gravity and therefore can 't fail to operate, that the Solar Ice-cream can is made of Armco, the rust-resisting iron, etc. Advertisers rely on repetition of such statements to help them win thousands of users and acquaintances for their products. Often it hap- pens that employes of the advertiser will tire of seeing such a familiar statement year after year in the Company's advertis- ing. They may argue for something new, forgetting that their interest in the Company's product and affairs is far beyond that of the general reader. But with the hundreds and thou- sands of products to read about, it is too much to expect that the consumer is going to remember a great deal about one ad- vertised product unless conditions make his interest extraor- dinary. We can easily remember that Valspar is the varnish that won 't turn white, but it is doubtful that the general pub- lic can recall anything else about Valspar that has been ad- vertised. This is an excellent example of the advisability of the advertiser's adopting easily-remembered things in connec- tion with his product, for the general advertiser must rely to a large extent on repetition of easily-remembered points. Cumulative Effect. — Cumulative effect refers to the deep- ened impression that a reader has after reading about a prod- uct a number of times or perhaps hearing about the article, using it, etc. Cumulative effect is, of course, intimately 92 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK related to repetition, though cumulative effect may, as just stated, be built up by other causes than that of reading advertisements. Some advertising can be successful only through cumulative effect. There can hardly be anything so distinctive about a laundry soap or a house paint as to make a reader buy the prod- uct after reading about it once. This might be done with a complexion soap or a paint for a very particular purpose but not with the more staple class of merchandise. About all that the advertiser can hope for is a series of impressions that will Why Fear Death? By DR. BERTHOLD A. BAER. "Why fear death?" said Charles Frohman on that ill-fated ship, "Lusitania," that carried him to a watery grave. "Why fear death? It is the most beautiful ad- venture in life." Isidor Straus, another victim of the sea, was a man of great learning and of wide vision. He and his wife knew three things well: How to live, how to love, and how to die. "Happily the world has passed fore\er from the time when it feels a sorrow for the dead. The dead are at rest, their work is ended," wrote Elbert Hubbard. To make the closing chapter of life's work befitting to a life well lived and work well done, Mr, Frank E. Campbell has founded The Funeral Church, that mag- nificent institution at Broadway and 66th Street. Hundreds start from there on their last journey. Thousands speed them on. "It was beautiful," they say after the service is ended and the last long tone of the organ has died in harmonious vibration. Come and attend a service at The Funeral Church and you will say, with Charles Frohman, "Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life." O KM Fig. 9. — A series of well written advertisements about "The Funeral Church" of New York, has built around this institution an association that is far different from that connected 'with "undertaking parlors." make the article familiar, keep it remembered as a soap or a paint of good quality, so that when the reader is in the market for goods of that class he or she will be prepared to receive the soap or paint if it is not actually asked for. Much is said about advertising causing a ''demand. '' De- mand may be caused for certain merchandise but it requires a long time to develop a real demand for such staples as soap or paint of a particular kind. Ordinarily, all that a campaign accomplishes for a considerable length of time is what is known as ''consumer acceptance" — a state of mind by which the reader feels well enough acquainted with the article to be PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 93 satisfied to receive it, if it is offered, or perhaps to refer to it if he sees it displayed on the counter or dealer's shelf. Those who write or talk about cumulative effect forget, as a rule, that the buyer's habit varies greatly with respect to different kinds of merchandise and that cumulative effects, while of prime importance in some cases, amount to little in other cases. Let an advertiser advertise for an advertising- or sales- manager at $10,000 a year in one of the business magazines and the response to the first advertisement will bo as great as the response to the second, third or fourth. Indeed BEWARE! Unless you see the safety "Bayer Cross" on tablets, you «re not getting genuine Aspirin prescribed by physicians fofovet 20 years, and proved safe by millions. Ufttf first'l Insist upon an unbroken "Btyer Package" MOper directions for Headache. Neuralgia, Colds, Earache, Toothache. NeurttU. RheumiUsiti, Lumbago and Pain generally. Mad* and owned strictly by Amertcmt. BayerTablets^^Aspirin FiQ. 10. — One of a number of advertisements planned to build up the impres- sion that Aspirin other than Bayer's is likely to be inferior. the response to the first may be greater than that of any suc- ceeding insertion. Why? Because the very character of the message is such that an instant response may be expected. No cumulative effect is needed. This applies to a greater or less degree to a number of different kinds of advertisements, but, as has been pointed out, it would not hold true with such staples as laundry soap or house paint. Those who have advertising space to sell often delude new advertisers with the argument that it is necessary to advertise a year or more before ''cumulative effect" is built up strongly enough to bring sales. This may or may not be true, according to the article. If advertisements of a mail-order nature are 94 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK keyed separately, it will be found that many inquiries arriving three, six or even twelve months after an advertisement has appeared come from an early insertion — are simply belated re- turns rather than the result of repeated impression. It is not going too far to say that with some classes of advertisements — a popular-priced book, for example — a single insertion in a medium, provided the copy is effective and the position in the medium is good, is as good a test of a medium as the proverbial three -insertion schedule or a year's trial. On the other hand, there are classes of advertising that cannot possibly be effective unless the advertiser commits himself to a campaign lasting a season or perhaps several years. Attention. — Attention is an important subdivision of psychology so far as advertising is concerned and receives consideration from different points of view in the chapters devoted to Copy, Display and Illustration. Attention is drawn by art, action (depicted or actual), contrast, personal interest, etc. Attention is Voluntary or Involuntary. — The attention of the reader is voluntary so far as certain advertising is con- cerned — Help Wanted, Houses for Rent, etc., because readers have been schooled to go to these classifications as a means of filling certain of their needs. This enables the advertiser, unless he deems it expedient to pay for unusual position or special display, to forego the usual expense and trouble of hav- ing display, illustration, etc. This principle applies also to advertising in directories, technical catalogs, etc. It applies in a measure to such advertising as that done through letters. The reader is so habituated to giving attention to his mail that his attention to the preKminary part of the message is assured without display or illustration, though these expedients may often help. Attention is largely voluntary so far as posters, car-cards, theater-curtain displays, etc. are concerned. Proceeding from a few fields where the advertiser is greatly helped by attention that is voluntary to a greater or less degree, we come to fields where attention is voluntary so far as the general reading pages of the publication is concerned but is to a large degree involuntary with respect to the advertising pages — where every art of the artist, copy-writer and printer PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 95 is needed to draw the eye of the reader and hold it to a full reading of the message. This becomes particularly true where a single medium may present hundreds of advertise- ments, all seeking attention. FREE TRIAL No Money 10 cents a day soon buys an Oliver Typewriter — Latest Model Till- cMUjx.ii firings you a ■cc Trial Oliver without .m- paying in adv ave ftX ■n Check Fig. 11. — The arrow draws the eye from "Free Trial" to the coupon. This advertisement is well planned for the securing of action from the reader. Some Attention Tests. — Advertisers are concerned, and properly so, about the amount of attention their messages re- ceive, for unless an advertisement receives attention it fails in the first requisite and nothing else that it may have in the 96 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK way of good points avails anything. But it is by no means easy for most advertisers to determine just what attention they do command. Even when an advertiser's business is of such character that he can key fairly accurately, many people will see his announcement but not respond and yet the good will or the impression created with these readers may be worth some- thing to an advertiser, though he may do only a mail-order business. One may read the mail-order announcements of Frank E. Davis, fish merchant, of Gloucester, Mass., and take no action for months. Then when he writes he may address the advertiser from memory, may even have forgotten where he saw the advertisement and couldn't answer the advertiser's question on this point. Many of the tests made to determine the attention paid to advertisements are based largely on the size of the announce- ment but, as already indicated, there are many other factors just as important as the size of the space used or the position of the advertisement. Farm-Paper Test. — An advertiser in a nationally circulated farm magazine of high quality figures that from a successful page in black and white, he secured the attention of only about 2 per cent, of the circulation of the medium. This finding was based on requests for a valuable handbook and an estimate of casual attention. Newspaper Test. — A rather extensive study of the advertise- ments in one issue of a New York newspaper showed that the advertisements ranging from those of one inch to those of thirty inches received all the way from 1.63 per cent, attention to 19.6 per cent., this summary being based, however, on questioning several different groups of readers, all of whom were of good intelligence and all interested either in some phase of marketing or of business. It is evident that these percentages run higher than would be found in a general average of the entire circulation of a newspaper. This is the difficulty which comes up in all so-called ''laboratory tests" of advertising — the ad- vertiser cannot make a test of a general average of the group of readers aimed at and get his test under the usual and normal conditions that ordinarily obtain with the reading of news- papers and other publications. PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 97 Some other results of the newspaper tests referred to are the following: That one 2-inch advertisement received as much attention ap- parently as another advertisement measuring nine inches. This shows what good copy, good illustration, good display or good posi- tion may do. That 1-column advertisements under six inches are not likely to be seen by more than o}i per cent, of the circulation of the paper — which sewns to sustain the belief of many advertisers that good copy can be safely repeated a number of times, though probably it is not best, because of the 5}i per cent, who saw the first insertion, to repeat immediately. That advertisements running from 15 to 30 inches apparently receive an average of 8.89 per cent, of attention as compared with attention value of 6.72 for advertisements running from one inch to 15 inches. Such findings can hardly be taken as being extremely accurate but they seem to indicate that increasing the size of space does not necessarily increase the attention- value proportionately, or else it follows that small advertisements are generally better written or displayed more effectively. That the second and third pages of a paper, when these are devoted to live news, get from 15 to 20 per cent, more attention than pages generally, and an attention superior to that given the sporting page or the last page. That illustrated copy has a higher attention value than unillus- trated copy — a principle long ago recognized — but that statements in copy are remembered better than illustrated values or features. That right-hand newspaper pages are slightly superior to left- hand pages. That the upper half of a newspaper page has an attention-value approximately 25 per cent, greater than the lower half. This, however, might not be true if the page contained only one half -page advertisement, placed either at the top or the bottom, but refers to pages containing more than two or three advertisements. Instincts, Motives, Emotions. — Psychology takes account of all human instincts — life preservation, love between man and woman, maternal and paternal affection, the love of ease and comfort, luxury and pleasure, the desire for money, appetite, fear, ambition, spirituality, etc. The advertiser can reckon intelligently with instincts because he will possess many of them himself. Some of them he can understand only by sympathetic observation. If he is a 98 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK man, he can only approximate a mother's regard for her children. His own concern, if he has children, is from a different viewpoint. Take for example, the matter of children's clothing. A man's desire to have his children well dressed may possibly be just as keen as their mother's, but the woman's viewpoint on details will differ greatly from a man's. Fig. 12. — An appeal to curiosity and later advertisements revealed that the girl's face is the one shown on Kellogg's Corn Flake packages as "The Sweetheart of the Corn." Instincts and faculties vary greatly according to environ- ment, education, occupation, age, etc. One with a musical education may go into raptures over an opera which may be boresome to some other person. The farmer driving along a road is keenly observant of the crops. The concrete engineer or contractor views with more interest the concrete road and concrete fence-posts. The poet gives his main attention to the flowers, the birds, the scenery. Instincts, motives and emotions can be divided and sub- divided into a great many classifications, according to the race, age, education and the other factors that have been mentioned. Some of the most common subdivisions that the advertiser encounters frequently are : The curiosity instinct The instinct to collect or hoard The instinct to hunt, to seek food and clothing The instinct to be beautiful PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 99 GATE'. Fig. 13. — Most people like to play games. This advertisement appeals to that spirit. 100 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK The social instinct The instinct to lead, to excel The instinct to construct The instinct to imitate All of these things have, of course, a primitive origin, and a human being may get so far away from primitive things as to lose the instinct. Some men, for example, care nothing about hunting, though doubtless their ancestors, at some stage in history, hunted and liked it. Environment may, also, dis- courage or embitter one so that the instinct or motive to lead Tlave Beautiful ]iair*and ]iave a MoreS^bundanil^ dull. bnttl« and lusUrloL A f«w licationsof Khadelieate. «W»m. The n«t morning, bothe the pam w.h per^nal MibjeerBu. I know what 1 ,^U have How well-(rOOme^ SwitieHand to Tb. Agencie Am«ricain«. 1? Boolevaid Helv^iique, Geneve. For Enclsnd to The American Dnjg Supply Co. , 6 NorOlum. H E. Cerber'ji Cia., la Gante, 19, Meiico City. For U >>. A. to The Odorono Compoay Fig. 15. — One of a series of full-page Odorono advertisements that appeal strongly to woman's regard for personal attractiveness. are decidedly masculine and some men are decidedly feminine. Man's and woman's viewpoint may be precisely the same in many instances. It is likely that often too much emphasis is PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 103 placed on the difference. But women will often decide against an article because of its color or for some detail that would not concern a man. Beauty of design, for example, counts more with women in the case of an automobile than in the case of the man. It is not likely that women are any more keen in their observation and in their weighing of details than men are when men purchase goods that relate intimately to their work, but, in general, women seem to appreciate detail more than men, and hence much advertising directed to women is of greater length than most appeals to men. A man may be impressed with a terse epigrammatic description of a hat or a suit of clothes, where a woman would prefer exact details. Because of her years of comparative non-acquaintance with mechanical matters, woman is generally less apt in under- standing mechanical descriptions and directions, and such advertisers must use greater care when appealing to women. Perhaps it is safe also to say that women look for and appreciate more than men generally the little courtesies and attentions. On the other hand, it is generally admitted that men are more democratic, more gregarious, than women— that women move more within their own circle or "clique." A man is not likely to care if several other men in his circle have a hat exactly like his own. A woman would hardly care to buy a hat exactly Hke one worn by several other women in her town or community. A woman ordinarily will think nothing of shopping at several places to look at hats. A man is likely to visit only one shop. These differences call for close study from the advertiser. The ability to get away from personal views and prejudices, to stand aside, as it were, and look at something from the viewpoint of the composite or general customer is a rare gift. It can be cultivated. The Appeal to the Imagination. — What has appeared in this chapter up to this point makes it evident that the successful advertiser must have the art of appeaUng to human imagina- tion. The longing for beautiful and more useful things, for healthful foods, for positions of prestige and power can be 104 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK crystallized into action only if the advertiser is able to set in motion trains of thought that build up vivid pictures in the mind. <><''■/. The Architect As An Artist The artistic temperament of the architect makes him a believer in Tiles, for reasons that are obvious. Tiles — with their struc- A distinctive feature of tural fitness and adaptabil- Tiles is that they do repre- ity to uses of unlimited sent art and business at the number, their decorative same time. Their values in qualities as recognized and practical service and sym- employed by designers of bolizing the esthetic are all eras, their natural asso- equal, ciation with the fmest of But of course the true artist building ideals, and their thinks of Tiles first as a splendid traditions in rep- medium without a peer for resenting the oldest of the the introduction of those crafts— offer an appeal to hues, lustres and decorative the architect that touches forms which have a place in both this artistry and his structural work of almost business sense. any kind. THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFAQURERS BEAVER FALLS, PA. Fia. 16. — The. lamp, the style of the copy and its setting make up an appeal that is effective with architects from the very outset. Before the golfer buys his new club, his mind paints him- self out on the Hnks wielding that club. In imagination he goes through the process of buying and using the club. Very often, in coming to decisions, the mind of a consumer will PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING 105 rapidly sketch two pictures, one of himseK doing without the article, another with himself as owner of the article. Every human being is a builder of mental pictures. No man may hope to sell shotguns and rifles who cannot see the joys of hunting, in his mind's eye, though he himself may not be able to spend much time that way. No man can be successful in advertising rugs who is not able to appreciate the "pride of possession" that the owner of a fine rug has. The man who attempts to advertise the vacuum bottle and can see only a double-walled affair with a dead-air space in between that acts as a non-conductor, who cannot picture motor parties, picnics, etc., and what the vacuum bottle means on such trips should seek some other field of effort. Often it is possible, by telling only part of a detail or a story, or by showing only part of an illustration, to so touch the imagination of the reader that he will see the entire story or as much as the advertiser needs to have him see. Examples of Differences in Habits and Tastes. — A business magazine gives the following interesting examples of differ- ence in the habits and tastes of people. Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, mops are hard to sell, because the Pennsylvania Dutch housewife prefers to get down on her knees and use a scrubbing brush. The Dutch housewife also makes use of what she calls her ''file." It will interest you to look up the word ''file" in your dictionary. You will remember it better than if we were to tell you. Only a few miles from the Pennsylvania State line, the women of New York prefer mops, and the market for scrubbing brushes is comparatively light. A cracker manufacturer claims lemon-flavored crackers are diffi- cult to sell. A candy manufacturer says that chocolates cannot be successfully marketed in green colored boxes. A clothing designer points out that peg-top trousers still sell heavily in many small towns, in spite of the fact that large towns will have nothing to do with them. In certain South Atlantic States it has been found necessary to add red aniline dye to kerosene in order to market it. People there think that the ordinary kerosene is '-watered" and they want the colored product. SECTION 5 SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS Considerable advertising is done through the use of slogans, trade names and trade-marks. These are all similar and yet different from a legal point of view. The Slogan. — The slogan is used as an apt and easily remembered reminder of some quality or point in connection with certain goods or services. It may or may not incorporate the name of any one manufacturer's product. Thus, the Portland Cement Association, made up of almost a hundred cement companies, uses the slogan "Concrete for Permanence," and all of the members of the Association make a Uberal use of the slogan, though it does not name their brand of cement. The manufacturers of paints and varnishes use, in a similar way, the slogan ''Save the Surface and You Save all." This does not name any brand of paint or varnish, but merely emphasizes the importance of painting, and is all the stronger as an advertisement because of that. The Trade Name. — A trade name may be that of a particu- lar product or a particular firm and not be trade-marked, or even be something that could be trade-marked. The laws of equity give a certain protection to firm names and their prestige and value in business though they may not be used as trade marks. Portland cement and wall hoard are trade names of comparatively recent origin, and yet they have become generic and cannot be used as trade-marks by anyone. Such words as phonograph, being of a scientific nature, must remain as generic and common trade names rather than trade- marks, though one man's invention gave occasion to the birth of the new word. Trade-Marks. — A trade-mark, on the other hand, is an emblem, device, word, or group of words, or a particular arrangement or combination of lines, figures, words, or of 106 SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 107 several of these things, used to indicate the origin of the manufactured article. A trade name may be used merely in advertising and not on the article itself, but trade-marks, to be entitled to protection, must appear on the product itself or on the packages or cartons containing it. In fact, protection for a trade-mark cannot be had through registration until it has actually been used in connection with the article. The trade-mark is as much for the protection of the pubHc as for the producer of the article, so that when one wishes to buy again an article that has pleased him, he has an identifying mark. Adoption and Use of Slogans. — The well phrased and skill- fully used slogan may be of great value to both national and local advertisers, though rarely may an advertising campaign consist entirely of a slogan. A slogan cannot tell a great deal. Its office is chiefly that of reminding. The effective use of slogans was well illustrated during the bond advertising cam- paigns of the late war, the raising of funds for War Chests, etc. Though detailed literature gave full information about the campaigns, slogans on posters, buttons, etc., hammered the truth home. '*They gave their lives; you lend money," ''Food will win the war; save it," etc. Some of the best-known slogans used by national advertisers are "If it isn't an Eastman, it isn't a Kodak," "The machine you will eventually buy," "Ask the man who owns one," "The ham what am," "One of the 57," ''The Prudential has the strength of Gibraltar." Many retail advertisers, organizations, municipahties, etc., have adopted and used slogans to good advantage: "Mintz — I sell for less," "When you think of Shoes, think of Heiberger," "If it's made of wood, we have it," "In Detroit life is worth Uving," ''Do it for Rochester," "Buffalo Means Business," etc. Examples could be multipUed for many pages. Some of the existing slogans are fine examples of apt language and enable the reader to easily keep in mind the advertiser or the product to which the slogan is applied. Many slogans are too general, too lacking in association, and are probably recalled only by those people who are associ- ated in some way with the advertiser or his product. A slogan 108 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK should by all means incorporate the name of the product or the name of the firm, or else be so closely connected, by one device or another, that the two will be rememberd together. One paint manufacturer uses the slogan '^Made Purposely for Every Purpose," but it is not hitched up in any close way with the name of the firm or the products, and probably very few people can recall what the product is unless they see the slogan and the advertiser's name together. There are thousands who can associate ''Ask the man who owns one" with the Packard automobile, but probably thousands more who cannot recall the name of the automobile. On the other hand, ''If it isn't an Eastman, it isn't a Kodak," is an ideal slogan, for the name of the product is a part of the wording. When one is re- membered, the name of the product is sure to be. Another good example is "Alexander is to Belting what Sterhng is to Silver." "A Kalamazoo direct to you" is a fine example because it incorporates the name of the stove, the address of the advertiser, and is an apt reminder of the direct-selling plan. Slogans as Trade-Marks. — A slogan may be registered as a trade-mark, if it meets all the requirements of the trade-mark law. The Simmons Hardware Company has registered "The Recollection of Quality Remains Long after the Price has been Forgotten," and many other slogans have been registered and used. A good argument against the slogan as a trade-mark is that its length prevents its use in small space that would be ample for a device or design. SELECTING A TRADE NAME Whether or not an advertiser expects to use a trade name later as a trade-mark, its selection calls for the greatest of care. "A good name," wrote the author of Proverbs, "is rather to be chosen than great riches." The apphcation is particularly apt to commercial or trade names. Many ad- vertisers have struggled along with difficulty because of poor names for their products, names that were easy to imitate and hard to protect against unfair competition, names that were hard to impress on the public, etc. A good trade name should be: (1) Easy to read; (2) easy SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 109 to pronounce; (3) easy to remember; and (4) should agreeably suggest the product. Fig. 1. — Illustrating how the advertiser of a popular trade-mark aids the reader in pronouncing it correctly. The advertisers of "Djer-Kiss" perfume and "Cliquof ginger ale, and other advertisers with odd trade names have had to spend considerable money teaching the public how to no THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK pronounce their names. It is doubtless true that both of these names and other difficult ones have become thoroughly familiar to the public-group that buy the articles, but this does not lessen the fact that the advertiser's problem would have been simpler had he chosen a name easier for the pubhc to pronounce and remember. People in buying do not like to mispronounce words. They may risk a pronunciation anyhow if they want a certain article very much, but if they have no preference between two articles, one with a name that they can be sure of pronouncing and another with a difficult name, the easy name is likely to have the preference. Some words are difficult to read or to grasp quickly. Such a name as Casablanca may be suggestive of Spanish origin and possibly be appropriate for some product such as a cigar appealing to people who have a knowledge of languages and who can pronounce anything of French or Spanish origin. For a popular cigar, such a name as the Robert Burns or Cinco is preferable. Crisco, the name adopted by Procter & Gamble for their cooking compound, was a happy selection. It is short, agree- able, easy to grasp and sticks to the memory. So does Nabisco, which is made up from the words National Biscuit Co. Many trade names are made up in this way. Laxakola is an agreeable name and a good selection for a medical product, it being suggestive and likewise easy to pronounce and remember. The letters C, S, K, X and O seem favorites with those who coin special words for their uses. Other examples of coined words are Kodak, Kolynos, Mazda, Ryzon, Mazola, Sealpackerchief, Klenzo Pepsodent, Keen Kutter, Styleplus, Pebeco, CleTrac, Kumapart. Kodak, through long and strong advertising has come to mean as much as camera, though it is the exclusive property of the Eastman Kodak Company. The following are examples of names having a good symbo- lism or suggestive power and yet ordinary words: American- Maid, Life Buoy Soap, Sunny Monday Soap, Sunkist Oranges, Blue Bird Washing Machine, Fordson Tractor, (manufactured by Henry Ford's son), Lincoln Motor, Sunnybrook Farm, SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 111 Keen Kutter Cutlery. Some of these names are registered trade-marks: others are not and may be protected only by the usual laws protecting property rights against unfair com- petition. An advertiser may have a dozen or more trade names and possibly one trade-mark. He may use Smithes Star Bacon as a trade name, provided it does not interfere with the star ^/je Standard Taper for justness Stationery THAT it pays to use Old Hampshire Bond is the testimony of thousands of prudent business men. Prove this for yourself — ask your printer, or write us for Book of Specimens. Hampshire Paper Company, South HaJUy Falls, Ma//** Fig. 2. — The "Old Hampshire Bond" seal and the hand-lettered lines build up an impression of distinctiveness. The seal is particularly appro- priate for a bond-paper manufacturer. emblem as used by some other manufacturer on bacon or other similar products in the territory covered, though the Smith trade-mark may be something entirely different. Like- wise, such terms as "A 1" and "Wear-Ever" may be used as trade names, though they are generally inadmissible as trade- marks because of their descriptive character. In adopting a trade name the advertiser should, of course, be careful that he does not compete unfairly with some one else using such a trade name, but in adopting a trade-mark he must comply with certain specific requirements. As will be outlined in a subsequent paragraph, trade-marks must fall within certain well defined classifications. 112 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK TRADE-MARKS What a Trade-Mark may be. — The trade-mark law permits a wide range of material as trade-marks — words, figures, pictures, lines, devices, etc. and combinations of these. Words that are Prohibited as Trade -Marks. — Generally the words that are prohibited as trade-marks are: (1) des- criptive words: (2) geographical terms indicating origin; (3) emblems of societies, associations and orders, flags of the United States and other countries, flags of states, government seals, etc. DESCRIPTIVE, FANCIFUL AND FIGURATIVE TERMS The reason for prohibiting purely descriptive terms is plain. The common descriptive terms are the property of all tradesmen. If one were permitted to register " First Class and another "High Class" as applied to butter, it would be possible for a few butter producers to register all the words that mean high quality, and other producers could not describe their products without infringing trade-marks. And yet it is often difficult to draw the line between a term that is directly descriptive and one that is merely suggestive, figurative or fanciful. Spearmint as applied to chewing gum, and Rubber set as applied to brushes, have been denied registra- tion. On the other hand, words that are apparently as descriptive as these have been admitted. The decision as to admission to registration rests with the Commissioner of Patents, though appeals can be taken from his decisions. In the case of the classification of Prints and Publications the practice of the Patent Oflace has been to allow the regis- tration of terms that are more directly descriptive than in the case of other products. House publications and series of booklets come under this classification, and by registering these as trade-marks, protection can be assured that is not afforded by copyright, since copyright does not protect a mere title. Better Letters was allowed as a registered trade-mark cover- ing a set of booklet lessons, though the term appears directly descriptive. Many names of magazines that have been regis- tered are directly descriptive. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 113 ^iV nrO save on shoes buy -*- for quality, and not price. Buy shoes that wear the longest, and give the greatest amount of satisfaction in com' fort and appearance. Buy Florsheims and you save. Tsjine Dollars and up Florsheim quality is economy. Look for name in shoe. The Florsheim Shoe Company Chicago, U. 5. A. Write for "StyL of the Times." Fig. 3. — Method of using a trade-mark regularly at the very top of the advertisement. The advertiser's difficulty here is that his trade-jnark is of the very complex type. It is safe to say that far more readers will remember the name Florsheim than will be able to recall such a design. 8 114 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Fanciful Names. — In general, however, the fanciful or figurative name must be used instead of the descriptive. In other words, the use of the word must be arbitrary rather than normal or usual. Hyde-Grade suggests high grade and yet incorporates the trade name of Hyde, and the combination is an excellent trade-mark. "High as the Alps in Quality'' is purely figurative and could be registered. Hotel Astor Coffee and White House Coffee are registerable because merely suggestive. PEHNYA PO UND PROFIT Our Big Daily Special For Tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. iSrJ — ASSORTKII TtJBKtSH LAGOOW — Pfrtiap* thl. rri.ea .« • c»inl>ln»tl»i\ llow and rirh . i^xH^ 49c Eteciai., Wednesday Attractions 34c BtorK: NMT Voril CHOCOLA ?&. I^ORTEO SSaiSWr- 1.00 Fig. 4. — A retailer's method of playing up a slogan. The "penny-a- pound" suggestion is attractive. It is unfortunate that the name Loft is not connected directly with the phrase. Merely coining a word or misspelling a word does not make it fanciful or arbitrary if its general meaning would be the usual descriptive one. Thus, if Spearmint is denied registra- tion, the change to Spare-mint would not help the situation. Descriptive words may be a part of a trade-mark, though not the main feature. Thus the Alpha Portland Cement trade-mark contains the words Portland Cement, which are common property. The advertiser here can protect only the design and the word ALPHA. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 115 Generic Words Prohibited. — Such words as loganberry juice, Portland cement, hard slate, are descriptive or generic and common property. It sometimes seems hard that an advertiser shall not have some exclusive rights in such words when he does all the educational work to make the commodity popular, but he cannot have such a right. When the logan- berry drink was first promoted aggressively, the advertiser felt obliged to use the word Loganberry in advertising the drink because the adoption of an unfamiHar coined name would mean spending a great deal of money to tell the public what the drink was, whereas Loganberry explains itself. So the advertiser featured the word Loganberry and also the word Phez, which latter was his own word and one that he could protect. Despite all his efforts, however, a large part of the public merely called for a "loganberry" and did not use the name Phez at all. Consequently, when the druggist ran short of loganberry juice he could buy a new supply from some one other than the original advertiser without many people knowing the difference. To get around such difficulties some advertisers have made their trade-marked name a part or the full name of the product. Example; Munsingwear. This word makes it clear that the goods are mear, and it has become almost as easy for the public to call for Munsingwear as for Underwear. Geographical Names. — Geographical names are prohibited for the same reason that purely descriptive terms are. They are the common property of many persons and no one has the right to usurp or monopolize their use. It is the right of every man in Massachusetts to catch and pack codfish and sell his product as Massachusetts Cod if he so desires. So any one may refer to his product as a Detroit-made automobile, if it is. It would be unfair if any one man had the sole right to call his fish "Massachusetts Cod," or any one man his auto- mobiles ** Detroit-made machines." Fanciful and arbitrary terms may be used. The use of the word Hoosier to indicate an Indiana-made kitchen cabinet suggests Indiana and yet does not deprive others of the right to refer to Indiana as the place of manufacture. One making refrigerators in Michigan may call them Alaska refrigerators, mjm 116 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK because the use of Alaska is figurative to indicate coldness, not the place of manufacture. Registration rights might be secured for ''Plantation Peanuts" if the product were South- ern, but not for ''Virginia Hams." Flags, Seals, Emblems, etc. — The reason for not admitting well known emblems, seals, insignia, etc., to registration as trade-marks is apparent. It would be an injustice to allow the symbols of the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., the Masonic spd.Kb«*wa«i, _ .«^ ^^ Order, etc., to be registered as ^ trade-marks by anyone but the organizations themselves. Figures and Devices. — Figures POWDERED MILK or letters may be used singly or in Fig. 5.— An ingenious trade combination unless such combina- name Being a coined word. ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^iave a COmmon the advertiser can retain its exclusive use if he cares to, but meaning, such as A 1 has. Arbi- it is made up of the letters that ^ combinations SUch aS 303, 49, compose the word Mtlk and -^ ' ' doubtless in time will come to 99, and 1001 may be used. be known generally as a syno- DeviceS SUch aS starS, triangles, nym for powdered milk. . ' o ^ etc., may be used if they do not conflict with trade-marks already registered. But every advertiser desiring trade-mark protection must have his own distinctive arrangement of such devices. Personal Names. — Personal names or signatures may be registered as trade-marks under the 10-year clause, but mere names are not easy to protect as trade-marks. Every man named Ford has a right to make automobiles if he cares to, provided he does not deceive the pubhc and make it appear that his product is the original Ford product. Both the names Rogers and Baker are used partly or in whole as trade- marks and have been imitated extensively. The Walter H. Baker Companj^ has been successful in one case at least in compelHng an imitator to put on his cartons a statement to the effect that the package is not from the old firm of Walter Baker & Co. A more arbitrary trade-mark could have been protected more easily, very likely. Names of Persons not Living.— Names of deceased persons have been used freely as trade-marks. There are cigars carrying the names of George W. Childs and Robert Burns and SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 117 other famous characters. There is a George Washington Coffee, and an Alexander Hamilton Institute and many other similar examples. Registrations under the 10-year Clause. — Trade-marks in use for ten years and used prior to February 20, 1895, may be registered even though descriptive or geographical in character. This provision is generally referred to as the " 10-year clause." It afforded relief to many manufacturers who had used names of a descriptive or geographical character until such names had come to be associated only with their goods. In the case of Oneida game traps, for example, the name had become so well fixed in the minds of hunters as identifying the product of the Oneida Community that the courts protected the owners in the use of the trade-mark though it is obviously of the geo- graphical classification. PROCEDURE IN TRADE-MARK REGISTRATION Trade-marks may be registered in the United States by applying to the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Ci, and by following a procedure with respect to fifing appfication, drawing of trade-mark, etc. The following is a schedule of costs, which however, does not include an attorney's fee for searching records and handhng papers, and this extra expense is advisable. FEES On filing each original application for registration of a trade- mark $10.00 On filing each application for renewal of the registration of a* trade-mark 10 . 00 On filing notice of opposition to the registration of a trade-mark 10.00 On appeal from the examiner in charge of trade-marks to the Commissioner of Patents 15 , 00 On appeal from the decision of the examiner in charge of inter- ferences, awarding ownership of a trade-mark or canceling the registration of a trade-mark, to the Commissioner of Patents 15.00 On appeal from the decision of the examiner in charge of trade- marks, on a motion for the dissolution of an interference on the ground of non-interference in fact or non-registrability of a mark, to the Commissioner of Patents 15.00 For manuscript copies, for every 100 words or fraction thereof. . 0. 10 118 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK For recording every assignment, power of attorney, or other paper of 300 words or under 1 . 00 Of over 300 and under 1,000 words 2.00 And for each additional thousand words or fraction thereof. . . 1 .00 For abstracts of title : For the search, one hour or less, and certificate 1 . 00 A good attorney will advise other choices of trade-mark if his search develops that a mark offered is likely to conflict with a mark already registered. The Commissioner of Patents will also deny applications if they apparently conflict. For example, shortly after the termination of the Great War an application was filed for a trade-mark of the word Victory as applied to talking machines. The application was denied on the ground that the new name was a palpable imitation of ''Victor." Trade-marks must actually have been used in trade before they can be registered. They must be used on goods in order to maintain protection, for the object of the trade-mark law is to protect the buyer as well as the seller, so that when one buys an article that is perfectly satisfactory and wishes to buy again, he may be guided by the trade-mark. The mark must be submitted on a drawing made up in a specified way, and even if the design does not apparently con- flict with any registered mark, it must be listed in a publication of the Patent Oflace and notice thus given the pubUc, so that any other trade-mark owner who believes his mark or right may be infringed by the registration of the new mark may object, or file ''an interference." The final registration of a trade-mark and the granting of a certificate does not, of course, establish the validity of a trade- mark. Many trade-marks have failed to stand the tests of the courts after having been registered, but as "possession is nine points in law," so registration may be said to be a strong point in favor of the trade-mark that has passed through the regular procedure established by the government. Registration gives to the owner of the trade-mark broad protection whereas without registration, the courts have held that protection is limited to the territory in which the adver- tiser's goods have been sold. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 119 Look under the lid ! Be sure it ]§, aVictrola Both the picture "His Master's Voice** and the word "Victrok" are exclusive trademarks of the Victor Talking Machine Company. When you see these trademarks on a sound-reproducing instrument or record, you can be sure it was made by the Victor Company. Being a registered trademark, the word "Victrola!.' cannot law- fully be applied to other than. Victor products. For your own protection see for yoxu^lf that the instrument you buy bears these famous Victor trademarks. They are placed on all Victor instruments and records to protect oui' customers from substitution. Look under the lid. On the portable styles whicL have no lid, these trademarks appear on the side of the cabinet. One or both of them also appears on the label of all Victor Records* Victor Talking Machine G)., Camden, N. J. Victrola ^SA^u.9. mmr.aa. Fig. 6.- -How the Victor Talking Machine Company centers attention on its two trade-marks. 120 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK TRADE-MARK PROTECTION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES Page 122 gives some condensed information as to require- ments for trade-mark registration in foreign countries. If there is any likelihood that an advertiser will market his goods outside of the United States, he should protect his trade-mark rights in other countries before it is too late. Amendment of 1920. — The Amendment of 1920 is somewhat ambiguous in its terms. The object is to give opportunity for nominal registration, merely to enable American exporters to comply with the registration requirements of certain foreign countries in which no American trade-marks can be registered unless they have first been registered in Washington. This registration does not involve any judicial consideration of the character of the mark registered, and it is possible to register almost anything. It also provides for an extension of the benefits of the *' 10-year clause." That is, if a concern had registered the trade-mark X under the 10-year clause as its trade-mark for one article of its production and later extended its business to include other articles, it can apply the X trade- mark to the new articles as well as to the old. INFRINGEMENT The test of infringement is whether or not the mark or package that is declared by the advertiser to be an infringe- ment is so similar in appearance to the advertiser's goods that the pubHc, buying in the ordinary way and with the ordinary amount of caution, would be Hkely to buy the imitating goods for the original. The lines of the design of a trade-mark may be quite different from that of a registered mark, and yet be so similar in coloring and general appearance that it would be an infringement. The proper procedure for one who feels that his trade-mark has been infringed is to seek the advice of a competent attorney and present exhibits of the offending mark or package. Every advertiser should, of course, keep careful records of the first use of his trade-mark or trade name, by preserving file copies of packages with date of manufacture, photographs of signs, etc. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 121 ABANDONMENT If a trade-mark is not used regularly, the advertiser may lose the right to it through what is known in trade-mark law as '^abandonment." If one abandons a trade-mark, another may take it up. What constitutes abandonment will depend on all the conditions of a given case. It depends on intention. Trade-mark rights survive bankruptcy unless a business dies. Before adopting any trade-mark that has been used by another, it is better to get a release or bill of sale, or to be sure that the mark is not being used in some quiet way by the original owners or their assigns. GOOD WILL WITH TRADE-MARK The courts have again and again decided that a trade-mark cannot be sold apart from a business. It would be an imposi- tion on the public, for example, for the trade-mark on a fine hne of tools to be sold to some concern that did not make those tools at all. Likewise, one who leases his trade-mark to be used by another on goods of a different manufacture and with which he has nothing to do is vitiating any rights that he may have. NOTES ON TRADE-MARK EXHIBIT Pages 124 and 125 show some of the best known trade-marks and names and a few that are not perhaps generally known. A study of these will give an idea of the great variety possible and also show the weakness or strength of the design when it must be run in a small size. This is something that should be kept in mind in adopting a trade-mark. Nos. 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 16 and 26 are very distinctive in form. By comparing Nos. 14 and 17 the advantage of having a simple design will be made clear. As No. 20 illustrates, it is difficult to get a distinctive effect when the circular form of mark is used with a famihar device as the keystone which is used by many Pennsylvania firms. In the case of No. 25 the bell in the center makes a striking design when otherwise the mere circle arrangement would be commonplace. No. 22 is an ingenious arrangement of letter- ing. No. 24 is particularly good, as the beaver illustrates the name of the product. 122 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Trade-mark Regulations of Foreign Countries and Approximate Total Cost op Registration — According to Information Furnished by National Association of Manufacturers All Limited Registrations are Renewable Country Term, years See notes Charge Argentine Republic 10 14 10 14 14 Perpetual Perpetual 10 15 14 14 14 Perpetual Perpetual 14 10 o c cefh d eg f a e f a i deh 'f 1 Ik c c cef a } a a a d e bd" deh eg e g c I I fr I ''1 a d e i eh g ad r d e g d m d e a cf e g bd f {Ih ..... cef a $85 00 Australia 70.00 Austria 50 00 65.00 65.00 65 00 Belgium 55 00 65 00 Bolivia 90 00 Brazil 85.00 British Central Africa British East Africa 65.00 70 00 British Guiana . 65 OO 65 00 Bulgaria . 85 00 Canada — General .... . . 65 00 60 00 Ceylon . 75 00 Chili 60.00 China (Shanghai) 35 00 China (Tientsin) 35.00 20 15 15 20 10 10 20 20 20 7* • 10 15 14 10 14 10 10 ■■■26'" Perpetual 14 10 10 Perpetual 20 10 14 10 14 Perpetual 20 Perpetual lo 120 00 Costa Rica 65 00 Cuba 65 00 65 00 Czecho-Slovakia 65 00* 65 00 Dutch East Indies 65 00 Dutch Guiana 65 00 100 00 Egypt (no statute) filing in Cairo Egypt (filing in Mansurah or Alexandria) Falkland Islands 50.00 50.00 65 00 Federated Malay States 70.00 65 00 50 00 France 50 00 65 00 Germany 55 00 Great Britain 65.00 95 00 Guatemala ... . . ..... 90 00 Haiti (expires with U. S.) Holland 65.00 60 00 Honduras, Republic of 115 00 120 00 Hungary 50 00 Iceland 70 00 India (no statute) Calcutta Italy 60.00 65 00 Jamaica 65 00 Japan (and Korea) 65 00 Jugoslavia . ; 65 00* 65 00 Luxembourg 50 00 Malta and Gozo 65 00 65 00 Mexico 60 00 Morocco 65 00 65 00 New Zealand 50 00 Nicaragua 70 00 • Estimated. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 123 Trade-mark Regulations op Foreign Countries and Approximate Total Cost op Registration — According to Information Furnished by National Association of Manufacturers All Limited Registrations are Renewable (Continued) Country Term, years See notes Charge Nigeria (and Lagos) . . . Norway Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Porto Rico Portugal Rhodesia Roumania Russia (no filing) Salvador Santo Domingo Servia Siam South Africa, Union of. Spain Straits Settlements .... Sweden Switzerland Trinidad Tunis Turkey Uruguay Venezuela . Virgin Islands. Zanzibar 14 10 10 10 10 30 10 20 10 14 15 10 20 20 10 12 14 20 / ad dg a bd 10 20 14 15 15 10 30 years or less expires with U. S. 14 years a d e cfh Ih c h o a a d e cfh deh a d e d e g ef e g a g cdh a 70.00 55.00 110.00 110.00 80.00 65.00 60.00* 55.00 50.00 110.00 65.00 100.00 90.00 110.00 75.00 70.00 85.00 70.00 65.00 50.00 65.00 55.00 115.00 100.00 70.00 60.00 75.00 Estimated. Notes a — Registration alone gives ownership. 6 — Unexpired registrations of the old governments may be revalidated. Also registra- tions by the new governments may be obtained. c — Infringers cannot be sued until mark is registered. d — Trade-mark must first be registered in United States. e — Under International Convention, citizen of any other Convention country has priority from home application if filed within four months. / Laws of British Colonies foUow generally the British law. g — Registration subject to rights of prior user in such country. h — Registration is only prima facie evidence of title to mark bu' becomes conclusive after expiration of a certain period. i — Bolivia: Registration compulsory. Foreign goods bearing trade-mark liable to confiscation unless same is registered. ;■ — China: The regulations for the protection of Trade-marks in China, adopted in October, 1904, were suspended at the request of the various European Powers. Pending the promulgation of more satisfactory Regulations, Trade-marks are being deposited with the Imperial Maritime Customs at Shanghai and Tientsin, and with U. S. Consuls in order to secure evidence of priority of use. I — Egypt : No statute for registering Trade-marks, but applicant's claim to such is filed in the Courts at Cairo, Mansurah and Alexandria. m — India ; No Special Trade-marks Registration Act exists in India, but it is customary to register a Declaration of Ownership of the Trade-mark under the Indian Regis- tration Act of 1908, which registration may be adduced as evidence to prove exclusive right to the mark. o — Salvador: Registration subject to annual tax. Price includes taxes for five years. P — No Trade-Mark law. Protection secured by advertising. r — Mark must first be registered in a British possession. 124 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK ^TRAVELING GOODS GINGER ALE CIGARS 'WATER- MARK OF EXCELLENCE 12 Trade-mark Exhibits. SLOGANS, TRADE NAMES AND TRADE-MARKS 125 WEAR-EVER TV TRADE MARK 13 WILSON & CO. w~w 15 Johansson ACCURACY MADE FOR THE BA/D; BEST RETAIL TRADE 19 STMl IHSTMUMCNTOFQUALITV onor, CLEAR AS A BCLL 18 20 <^^iQ^ DISTANCE 25 Trade-mark Exhibits. WD ^ 23 126 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Trade-Mark Record. — It is not enough for the advertiser to know that he owns a trade-mark and that he has had it properly registered. He should maintain a record showing how and when the trade-mark was used from its very origin. It is frequently the case that in a suit involving the ownership of a trade-mark or trade name there is considerable difficulty in securing tangible evidence of the varied use made of the mark or name. SECTION 6 PACKAGE ADVERTISING Value of Package as an Advertisement. — Experienced ad- vertising men often wonder why apparently so little attention is paid by manufacturers to the designing of pack- ages and cartons that are of good advertising value. Some of the best known products have been put out in the most common- place or crudely designed packages, bottles, or car- tons. Eventually such packages or containers have acquired a large good will value perhaps but this value would have been reached sooner or would have been larger had the advertiser at the outset taken pains to adopt a package design that would have given his product the best opportunity. This argument is borne out by the experience of a hosiery manufacturer who recently put on the market a new brand of hosiery known as BUTTERFLY. The box itself was an ex- ceptional bit of art work, being a rich combination of colors that harmonized with a large butterfly forming the central illustra- 127 Fig. 1. — Trade advertisement minus text showing an attractive hosiery box and the way it was featured in trade advertising. 128 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK tive feature. The trade-paper design shown without text in Figure 1 can give only an approximate idea of the beauty of the package. But the attractiveness of this package was such that the trade took the new goods without pressure, beheving that such a package would prove ''a good seller.'' And so it did. The Whitman assortment of candies in the famous Sampler box, Figure 2, is a fine assortment, but the sale of this assort- ment of candies would never have approached the figures at- FiG. 2. — An unusually fine example of package advertising. tained had it not been for the unusually artistic design of the Sampler box. This is a duplication of the old sampler cases used by the grandmothers and great-grandmothers of the present generation. A test among a number of inteUigent women showed a marked preference for this box of candy over many others approximately the same price, some of higher price. Essentials of Good Package Design. — What is a good design for the package containing a manufactured product depends, naturally, somewhat on the character of the product itself. What might be exceedingly appropriate for a flour or a soap might be quite different from a design that would be suitable for jewelry, hats or shoes. The following considerations usually enter into the decision : 1. The "sign value" of the design as it may be viewed on the dealer's shelves, in a showcase or window, or as the product may appear when in use by the customer. - . - ~ PACKAGE ADVERTISING 129 2. Selection of the most appropriate colors. 3. Distinctive shape of the design, or exclusive features in connection with it. 4. Appropriate decoration and lettering. Examples of Good Design. — As an example of good ''sign value," consider the LUX package, a reproduction of which appears in Figure 3. Though this package is a small one, the strong, simple lettering and the clear colors of the package make it stand out on the grocer's shelves. The AUNT JEMIMA FLOUR package, shown in Fig. 4, is a good example of how a character may be used to make a package distinctive. Fig. 3. -One can hardly miss seeing the fine display of the name "LUX" if he glances at grocery-store shelves. Most canned goods have gaudy labels. The Heinz Baked Beans can. Figure 5, brings out a cluster of beans against a plain background and is effective. It really advertises beans! It may seem that in considering the design of a package for such a product as Portland cement there is little to be said, and yet a large cement company may have milUons of cloth sacks going and coming — cement sacks being returnable by the user, as they can be used a number of times. The 9 130 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Fig. 4. — Use of an advertised character as the chief feature of a package design. Wi /baked BEANS; % \ i Fig. 5. — A simple cluster of beans Fig. 6. — A plainly lettered affords a better decorative scheme stamp makes even a cement sack than the usual vivid coloring of a good "sign advertisement." canned-goods labels. PACKAGE ADVERTISING 131 Alpha Cement Company at one time carried a rather complex trade-mark on all of its sacks, a design that was difficult to read, especially when the sack became a little soiled. The Alpha sales and advertising departments reflected that the sacks gave an opportunity to have several milUons of Alpha Cement signs before the public constantly. People passing new building work are often curious to see what material is being used. So, after some tests, the trade-mark design was omitted as a package feature and the plain, bold design indi- cated by Figure 6, used in its place. Here the name ALPHA, which was the essence of the trade-mark anyhow and was the sign or symbol by which the cement-public bought, is given strong display and a selling point "The Guaranteed Portland Cement" is added. Color principles should be applied to packages just as they are to be printed matter generally. Dainty products call for dainty colors. Some of the talcum powders, perfumery cases, tooth-powders, etc. have cases or containers that are very effective from the color point of view. Other classes of goods need distinc- tive colors or designs but not necessar- ily dainty atmosphere. Consequently such designs as the "checkerboard" effect of a breakfast food container have been adopted, because this makes a package more prominent, actually makes it look larger. Very frequently the package displays a well known illustration associated with the product. This principle is carried out in the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flakes package shown in Figure 7, which is not only an example of a distinctive package but also displays "The Sweet- heart of the Corn," which is featured in many of the Kellogg advertisements. Shredded Wheat, a competitor of Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes, shows an attractive picture of a shredded wheat biscuit on the package itself. The reproduction in one color of the Big Ben Clock package. Fig. 7. 132 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Fig. 8. — The simplicity of the "Big Fio. 9. — The Hires counter keg Ben" box is its strength. is a peculiarly fitting package for Hires root beer. Fig. 10. — A striking contrast to the usual style of hat-box. PACKAGE ADVERTISING 133 Figure 8, does not do justice to the color scheme of the original, a pleasing brown with artistic white trim. Here, again, the designer wrought wisely in working out a simple, strong display of the name, which, in a window, will dominate the names or designs on many larger containers. The Hires Root Beer Keg, Figure 9, is another fine example of an appropriate package. The keg is strongly suggestive of "something good to drink.'' With its dark coloring and its neat brass trim, it probably sells more root beer than any window display or counter advertisement that might be devised. And yet the container is exceedingly simple — as most effective advertising devices are. Fig. 11. — A package need not be large in order to have artistic possi- bilities. Fig. 12. — This clean looking carton suggests high quality for Dixie drinking cups. Perhaps many hat manufacturers have asked themselves what could be done to lift a hat-box out of the commonplace. It is evident from a glance at Figure 10 that the advertisers of Dobbs' Hats have solved the problem satisfactorily. This design not only has good ''sign value'' on the shelf but be- speaks good style and quahty. One would expect to see a distinctive hat come out of such a distinctive box, and such an impression is a real advertising success. The Oyster Cracker package of the National Biscuit Comp- any, shown in Figure 11, is a further indication of what may be done to make the label of even the small package of goods distinctive. 134 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK The Dixie Cup carton, reproduced in Figure 12, brings out the shape and coloring of the Dixie Cup strongly, and the extreme simpHcity of the lettering makes the name readable at consider- able distance. Most designers would have worked out a fancy border for this illustration and filled the corners of the space with frills of one kind or another. Art work that is Milk That Keeps Without Ice K you coiild get fresh milk that woijld keep its "just-milked" flavor till you are ready to use it, and keep fresh and sweet without ice — it would seem almost incredible. But it is true urpoae<...Ootodayaad get cottage cheese. a supply from the aeareit dealer. KLIM is for sale »< dl the (tans of the loUowing finns Charles & Co. Daniel Reeves, Inc. Gristede Bro*., Inc. H. C. Bnfaack Co. National Grocery Co. Fig. 13. — When the package design is a strong one it is comparatively easy to make it an effective part of advertisement display. symbolic is often most appropriate on a package design, but unless something of evident appropriateness in the way of decorative work can be developed, it is a safe rule to adopt a simple design. It should be kept constantly in mind that a great many package designs will be viewed at a distance of from a few feet up to fifteen or twenty feet. Finally, as indicated by Figure 13, the simple, strong package design permits illustrations in newspaper and magazine adver- tisements that otherwise would not be possible. SECTION 7 ADDRESS LABELS AND PASTERS LABELS The address label is a small affair and yet it may be made of real advertising value. From its very nature, it commands attention easily, something that cannot be said of many other forms of advertising. As the advertiser, in writing his customer's or prospective customer's name is certain of draw- ing his eye, or his representative's eye, it follows that this opportunity should be utihzed. Says Printing Art: '^Labels are the advance messengers. A firm is often judged by the appearance of the messenger that arrives. Nothing except a letterhead, perhaps, carries the character of the house along with it as publicly as a package label." And yet it is singular that few advertisers have taken the trouble to adopt a neat, convenient address label that will convey a pleasing impression. The label is a labor-saving and expense-saving device in the first place. With a good label, the corner card on large envelopes, cartons, packages, etc. may often be dispensed with and the cost of printing saved. The label can carry this address. Furthermore, the label can be put into a typewriter and directed much more easily than can a thick envelope, a card or a tag. The address label can be made a Httle poster. With ap- propriate design, appropriate lettering and color, it may make a pleasing first impression for the advertiser. It is not abso- lutely necessary that it incorporate an illustration or even a drawn letter, though most artistic labels are hand-lettered. The exhibit on page 136 conveys only a general idea of the possibiUties in label design (Figure 1). If labels are ordered on gummed stock, they may be affixed by merely moistening them. The ungummed label is likely to curl badly when paste is applied. 135 136 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK DIRECT ADVEKnSING 9## PAPER MAKERS ADYEKHSING CLUB BOX 2AU BOSTON MASS- Fig. 1. — A collection of attractive address labels. ADDRESS LABELS AND PASTERS 137 The label of the California Fruit Growers Exchange shown in Figure 2 embodies a good idea. The label proper has an attachment and a shp of carbon paper is used to secure on this attachment, a copy of the address on the original label and California Fruit Growers Exciian^ Da/r. ADVEKTUING OErAKTMI|(IT For Ci/y Contents of package- State. By Mail Q Express □ Freight □ Messenger □ THIS PACKMiE CONTAIN; REQUESTED BY Fig. 2. other particulars, so that a record is made of the person to whom the package was sent, by whom it was sent, etc. PASTERS The paster is in the nature of the address label except that it is complete in itself. It is another form of small poster, and used with discrimination, may be of real advertising effective- ness. Pasters may be used in various ways : 1. On the back of envelopes of regular correspondence. 2. As a means of holding folders or other advertising ma- terial together. 3. On packages to call attention to a current event, a slogan, a trade name, etc. Advertisers run considerable risk by sending out boys to attach pasters to doors, windows, etc. While during pubUc 138 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK campaigns of very general interest, pasters of good size are used on automobile shields, store windows, and the like, ordinarily people object to having their property plastered with small advertising signs. Like the poster, the paster must be kept within its proper place or it may do more harm than good. PLAN BUILDINCS NOW PLAN BUILDINCS NOW THE lARLY PLANNER CATCHES t«l I m,T#^\ir BUiLOiNGHARKEjl NOV? Fig. 3. — A series of small pasters. Figure 3 is one example of a number of ''Build Now" pasters used to stimulate building at a time when the tendency was to wait. Figure 4 is a reproduction in black of a paster used by the Red Cross organization in its annual ''Roll Call." This in its ADDRESS LABELS AND PASTERS 139 original form was about 5 by 5 inches and was in a bright red. It was designed particularly for pasting on automobile wind- shields, and hundreds of thousands were displayed that way during the week of the "Roll Call.'' Not all were of the design shown by Figure 4. In fact, a feature of these paster-adver- tisements is that a variety can be used and the interest of the reader stimulated by seeing different slogans or appeals. The "Teaser Paster" forms an important part of many of these campaigns. During the War Chest campaigns, for Fig. 4. example, pasters were used featuring just the phrase " 1 to 31." The keynote of the War Chest campaign, as it was carried out in most communities, was the giving by the subscriber of one day's pay out of the month — the argument being that as the American soldiers were giving all of their time to the service of the country, the "stay-at-homes" might give at least one day's pay during each month for the comfort and encouragement of the boys on the firing Hne. Then, again, during the fifth Victory Loan, the first paster-advertisements carried merely a large V. Usually in these teaser series several interest-stimulating appeals are featured before the full message is revealed. If the plan is carried out logically, there is much to be said in favor of such advertising, for un- doubtedly the public is inclined to pass up lightly all ordinary 140 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK appeals for contributions no matter how worthy the cause may be. Use of Pasters by Boards of Trade. — In carrying out some movement for the benefit of an entire community, the Board of Trade or Chamber of Commerce sometimes finds it well to adopt an artistic small paster carrying a slogan or some other keynote appeal of the movement and to have all members of the organization use these pasters on their envelopes, packages, etc. Sometimes as a means of raising funds, these pasters are sold to all the business firms of the city. Publishers are not particularly favorable to this style of advertising, but while it does not perform all that a well-rounded out campaign will accomphsh, it is often just as profitable, cost considered, as any other form of pubHcity. SECTION 8 DEALER AIDS An important part of advertising campaigns for goods that are to be sold through retail dealers is that covering what is generally known as ''dealer aids.'^ Dealer aids are of great variety, according to the product advertised, and may cover one or a number of the following items : JLocal newspaper, street-car or outdoor advertising paid for wholly or partly by the manufacturer. Samples of goods ready for distribution. Models, souvenirs or specialty advertisements. Signs for stores, warehouses, windows, counters, wagons or trucks. Fixtures, racks or special cases for holding goods or advertising matter. Window-display specialties. Booklets, folders, cards, or blotters for handing out to callers or for sending to mailing-lists. Electrotypes for newspaper advertisements. Street-car cards imprinted with dealer's name. Letterheads, billheads and envelopes featuring advertised product. Slides or short moving pictures that the dealer may have shown at local picture houses or in a special exhibition. Circular letters sent to the dealer already printed, or perhaps sent to a selected maihng-list that he has furnished, leaving him the work of only mailing the letters. Calendars which may come to the dealer free or for which he pays in whole or in part. Syndicate house-organ for dealer's mailing-list. Memorandum books, diaries, etc., for which the dealer pays in part or may possibly secure free in small quantities. Displaying the Campaign to Dealers. — Advertisers, in order to get the full effect of their advertising, place their programs before the trade as impressively as possible. The usual meth- od is to have a salesman take around a striking portfoUo or exhibit and go over it with merchants or buyers, emphasize 141 142 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK the principal features, point out the circulation to be given to the advertising. The chart reproduced in Figure 1 shows how the extent of a magazine campaign was visuahzed to the trade. 11 S CO 211 5'3 Q as 2^ 3 3 • ■ "Si <}»^ • D iM j<5« ;3o '!?? ^ ffi ill it I 'I i It gj^ ifti 3| Si I I la <9» I Another method is to use such an exhibit as a whole, or in parts, as supplemental to a follow-up system on dealers, using letters, postal cards or other means of calling attention to the various effective advertisements that the advertiser will use. DEALER AIDS 143 Sometimes such an exhibit is made up so expensively that it is sent to a dealer for only a few days, then recovered and forwarded to another dealer. Local Campaigns to Aid Dealers.; — Many national campaigns that appear as a whole to be efficient are really weak hen their influence or effect on one community is gaged. A nation- al advertiser of an article of popular use must, as a rule, use an extensive list of mediums if he reaches an appreciable number of readers in San Diego, California, or Norristown, Pennsylvania. The discerning dealer knows this and argues for a local campaign. Local publishers and other space-con- trollers aid and abet him in this argument. But to conduct local campaigns in hundreds or thousands of different com- munities or sections is expensive, and the advertiser who undertakes this must use great care or he will spend more in advertising than his possible sales will warrant. Many national advertisers insist, and with good reason, that campaigns in nationally circulated mediums is their part of the merchandising job and that the retailer's part is the local advertising. Here, again, so much depends on the exact nature of the product that no rule can be laid down. The following examples show the varying practice of represen- tative American advertisers : 1. Eastman Kodak Company uses national mediums exclusively in their appeal to the general public. 2. Victor Talking Machine Company uses national magazines, but also the newspapers in cities running over 10,000 population but does not attach local dealers' names to the newspaper advertisements except just before the holiday season. 3. The advertisers of Ruberoid Roofing use national magazines and also local newspapers, and in the newspaper advertising names the local dealer. 4. Various national advertisers having a limited number of dealers, use newspapers that circulate over wide territory, or farm papers that are confined largely to one state or section, and advertise their dealers' names. Basis for Local Campaigns. — Should an advertiser decide that a local campaign is essential to his success, he may adopt one of the following plans: 144 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK 1. Furnish dealers with newspaper plates, street-car cards or posters but ask dealer to pay for inserting or posting of such advertising. 2. Furnish such material as that described under item 1 and pay half or some other agreed proportion of the cost of space. 3. Conduct a local campaign in newspapers, cars or outdoor mediums, place the advertising direct after consultation with dealer or dealers and stand the entire expense, requiring dealers, however, to handle a certain amount of goods and laying out the local campaign in accordance with this agreement. In such cases the advertiser may advertise only one dealer or he may use mediums circulating broadly enough to allow him to advertise half a dozen or maybe a score or more of dealers. As there is often jealousy among dealers, strategy may be required in advertising a list of dealers. The names should either be arranged alphabetically, or according to towns arranged alphabetically, or else rotated. If some are set in larger type than others, criticism will probably come from those designated in small type. In order to get the greatest possible benefit from such advertising, it should be as much as possible in accordance with the ideas or wishes of dealers. The copy may even be written from their point of view, rather than expressed in the manufacturers' language. Often, however, retail dealers have such vague, varied or biased views on advertising that any campaign planned to represent their ideas must be a compro- mise. Referring of Inquiries to Dealers. — Most national ad- vertisers refer inquiries direct to dealers where a dealer is near enough to the inquirer to give service — that is, if the article is one that is sold through dealers. A few advertisers find it best to refer inquiries to wholesalers and let the wholesalers decide which dealer on their list is best equipped to follow up the inquiry. Many advertisers who sell through whole- salers have no complete list of the dealers retailing the product. The notification to the dealer may be very simple — some- thing like the following, on a postal or post card : DEALER AIDS 145 Date We have an inquiry from ^ of about We have answered this inquiry as fully as possible and have told the inquirer that you will be glad to show our goods and give any other service that may be required. Will you please give this your prompt attention. When you have served or interviewed the inquirer, return this card with the blanks below filled: Was sale made ? What model did customer purchase? If you could not make sale, what prevented you? Anderson Mfg. Co., Sales Dept. Some advertisers find that they can get reports from their dealers on inquiries. Others, selhng a staple article such as paint or cement, for example, cannot get reports on inquiries from their dealers to any appreciable extent. In fact, some advertisers of this class, after answering the inquiry fully and noting the name and character of the inquiry on a weekly report sent out to their salesman, refer the original request of the inquirer to the dealer. They find that the dealer is more likely to follow up an inquiry of this class when he sees an original letter or postal card from some one in his own com- munity. The matter is then left to the advertiser's salesman to follow up with the dealer if he is so disposed. No report is required from him. Where, however, the product inquired about is an article selling for a good-sized price, hke a tractor, an engine or a kitchen cabinet, for example, it is worth while following up the inquiry with the dealer and getting a final report from him, whether by mail or through the salesman's calls. Where the advertiser has several dealers in the same com- munity, he must use care in referring inquiries. If one dealer is aggressive, the advertiser may find it well to refer all in- quiries to him. Or he may find it best to give the inquirer the names of all local dealers, leaving it to him to choose with whom he prefers to deal. 10 146 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Where the advertiser has no dealer near the inquirer, as is often the case, he may refer the inquiry to a prospective dealer on his list and make the inquiry the subject of a good letter designed to have the dealer handle the goods. In such a case he will offer, of course, to allow the dealer the usual commission if he will undertake the sale to the inquirer. If the advertiser has neither an active dealer nor a pros- pective dealer near enough to serve the inquirer, his only recourse is to offer to sell direct to the inquirer or else to consult a directory, get the name of a merchant or dealer of the type most likely to handle the advertised goods and cor- respond with that dealer with a view to having him serve the inquirer and act as the advertiser's local dealer thereafter. Advertisers frequently use a direct-by-mail sale as a means of interesting a prospective dealer, writing him about the sale and teUing him that the commission will be allowed if he will handle the goods. Offers to send goods on consignment are used by some ad- vertisers as a means of getting an account started, but results are not very satisfactory as a rule. The dealer takes more interest in goods that he has bought or at least agreed to buy. When the advertiser carries on the campaign and even supplies the goods at his own risk, the general run of dealers will be more or less indifferent as to his part of the program. The consign- ment plan is one for exceptional situations. Causes of Waste in Dealer Aids. — There are two things to be guarded against in preparing and circulating dealer aids. The first is the tendency on the part of the advertiser to feature his own advertisement so strongly that the dealer is prejudiced against using the material. Take signs, for example. Most manufacturers in preparing a sign make their name or the name of the product as dominat- ing as possible. Sometimes it may be very well to do this. At other times, dealers will resent so much emphasis on the manu- facturer's name. It was for this reason that the Alpha Port- land Cement Company, in preparing its large sign for cement dealers' warehouses and general posting, placed nothing on the sign about Alpha Cement but the bag of cement itself. The text of the sign was prepared from the dealer's point of DEALER AIDS 147 view (See Figure 2). The central idea is "Build it of CON- CRETE" followed by the invitation — apparently from the dealer — ''Ask us How." The general public is not interested in cement of itself, but in ways of better building. Therefore, the sign struck at public attention in its open spot, so to speak. The invitation of the sign, being from the dealer's point of view, appealed to dealers more than the signs of most cement companies, which are merely a flamboyant display of the name of the product, a feature of no great interest to the public or the dealer. mum DO®w @c CONCRETE Fig. 2. — A dealer sign that features the use of the advertised product and invites a call. The second thing to be guarded against is the inclination of many dealers to ask for much more advertising material than they will put out to advantage, and also the inclination of the advertiser's representative to request much more advertising material for a dealer than he will send out. Heads of ad- vertising departments have a great deal of trouble with what they refer to as ''hotel requisitions" — that is, requisitions for advertising material made out by the salesman at his hotel when he has not had a discussion with the dealer about the usefulness of the material for his territory or had a promise from him to use it. Whether material is wisely planned or not, it is folly to send it to a dealer unless he can be induced to take a favorable attitude toward it. Most advertisers find it well to cut down the requisitions of dealers and, before supplying material, to exact a promise from them that they will use it. This does not eliminate the waste but reduces it. When the advertiser has a promise 148 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK from the dealer, he has a good excuse for following up the requisition and finding out whether or not the dealer has actually used what he ordered. Large advertisers when sending a dealer signs or window fixtures usually send the sales representative for that territory a card reading about as follows: This is to inform you that of ■. .has requested This requisition has been filled. Please retain this card until you can return it with a report that the advertising has been properly- displayed. Sales Manager. Advertisers of the type of the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. assign advertising matter to their various branch offices — which in this case form the retail outlet for the product — in accordance with a quota system. Only by some such means can an enormous waste be pre- vented. It is notorious that hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of advertising material goes out to dealers, either on their requests or on the requests of manufacturers' or whole- salers' representatives, only to lie around and go finally to the waste-paper man. As a matter of fact, much advertising sent out by manufacturers to dealers is either poorly prepared or poorly presented, and goes to waste naturally. The dealer cannot expect to await every day's mail eagerly and to keep his clerks busy handing out booklets to customers, put- ting cards in packages or sending circular letters or samples to a mailing-list, unless the advertiser furnishes material that appeals and also makes it easy for his plan to be carried out. WINDOW DISPLAYS AND STORE FIXTURES This section shows illustrations of a variety of window dis- play features such as national advertisers furnish their dealers. These features are sent to dealers as a rule only on specific request and with a promise from the dealer to exhibit the display at a certain time, afterwards returning the feature or exhibit to the advertiser so that it may be sent out again. A number of concerns now specialize on the creating of window- DEALER AIDS 149 displays of this character for advertisers, and many attractive and ingenious features are worked up. There is great need for simplicity in the arrangement of such displays and for clear directions about unpacking and erecting. Often, after an advertiser has gone to great expense and trouble to get up a window-display of some kind, and has presented it to the trade, the device seems so complicated when it arrives that the busy dealer gives it up in despair, puts it aside until he has more time, with the result that the display stands a good chance of being permanently shelved. A company specializing in the creating of window-displays has this to say with reference to the sending out of such aids: "As far as our recommendations today are concerned, we try to get every manufacturer to get a written request from the dealer for display material. We regard expenditure for display material as an investment on which the manufacturer should receive handsome returns. Certainly no individual would send his money out broad- cast to purchase stocks and bonds about which he knew nothing and was only speculating as to whether he would get his principal back, let alone interest on his investment. Window-display materials cost real money and when used for investment purposes should be distributed with the same thoughtful care that the actual dollars would be." A window-trimming and display-arranging organization was once formed with the idea of having branches in different parts of the country and handling retail-store displays of all kinds for national advertisers, but the plan failed through lack of support. Show Cards for Dealers. — A dealer aid of great usefulness is the window-display card or a card that may perhaps be used either in a show-case or a window. Generally, show cases can be used only for cases or containers holding a number of packages of the advertised product. Many such cases are designed so that they have display-advertising quality. The dealer has constant use for good window cards. They can be simple and inexpensive. Some of the most effective cards are those printed in onty one color or two colors and with an attachment at the back by which they can be set in a window at a slight angle. 150 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK In the preparation of window-cards, as well as in the prepa- ration of newspaper electrotypes, national advertisers fre- quently make the mistake of giving too much prominence to their own name or trade-mark. It is better tactics often to arrange a card something like the following: Belted Back Coats will be popular this season. Blank & Co. Models will please the most careful dresser. Just the thing to please her A Whitman Sampler Box. Fig. 3. DEALER AIDS 151 In other words, cards of this character look as if the dealer himself prepared them, and this feature appeals to him. Figure 3 is an attractive window-display card furnished dealers by a manufacturer of high-grade stationery. If an advertiser is doing street-car advertising, he can make effective window-display cards by putting a cardboard ''easel back" to some of these. Some effective window-card novelties are those that can be illuminated at night and those that present different scenes as the observer passes by. These, of course, greatly increase attention, and naturally a dealer is partial to features that get unusual attention for his window. Charging for Dealer Material. — Various advertisers have found that an effective way of getting dealer material used is to charge the dealer with the whole cost or part of it. This Victrolas Fig. 4. requires strategy, for the dealer is accustomed to getting advertising material in large quantities without paying even the transportation charges. Some manufacturers will furnish circular letters, address them, and send the material to the dealer for maiUng if he will pay the necessary postage. Many advertisers have sold signs of such a character that the dealers feel it worth while to buy them for the sake of their business as a whole. 152 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Figure 4 is an example of Victrola signs furnished dealers by the Victor Talking Machine Company. In this case the advertiser stands about one-third of the cost and the dealer pays two-thirds. The fact is that if the dealer were to attempt buying such a sign himself, the cost would be several times what he pays through the Victor Talking Machine Company, for the advertiser in such cases places a good-sized order and gets a quantity price. A number of advertisers have sold their dealers a calendar at whole or part cost. The argument in such a case is that the calendar is an effective local medium and that the advertiser makes it possible for the dealer to secure a low quantity price on the job. No rule can be laid down about charging for advertising material. A new advertiser may not be able to do what a well established firm can do in the matter of collecting part or the whole cost of advertising matter. Imprinting of Dealer Name. — A feature that the dealer will insist on, and with some reason, is that his name shall appear on the booklets, samples, or novelties sent or given out for the advertiser. It may not always be possible to do this with such advertising devices as novelties or specialties, but the advertiser should take care of it when possible. It is usually feasible to leave a small space on the folder, booklet, blotter, etc. for the dealer's imprint, and the advertiser will do well, as a rule, to have this imprinting done before the material is shipped. Otherwise, his literature will often be stamped with a rubber stamp or be crudely imprinted. If, in the case of calendars, samples or novelties, it is im- practicable for the advertiser to imprint the dealer's name, he may do well to furnish the dealer a series of imprinted cards with copy something like the following: It gives me pleasure to tell you that I have received a limited number of the American Fertilizer Company's valuable diary for next year and that I am reserving one for you. Please call for it within ten days. John Jones, Agent for Monroe County 118 Main St., Blanktown DEALER AIDS 153 Where dealers ask for imprinting on expensive novelties, it is better to explain that these should be given out in person, so that the person receiving the gift will naturally associate it with the giver. Many advertisers do dealer-imprinting in their own offices, using the multigraph or a job press, and maintaining slugs of dealers' names and addresses. This has the advantage that a special lot of material can be rushed out. Other advertisers prefer to have such work done by job printers. HELPING DEALERS WITH DEMONSTRATIONS, COOPERATION AT FAIRS AND LOCAL EXHIBITIONS, ETC. Sometimes the most effective aid to a dealer is to furnish a demonstrator to operate for a few days in his store, to conduct a plowing test with the advertised tractor, etc. While advertising in the programs of fairs, exhibitions, etc., is usually a good-will item rather than an advertisement of real force, furnishing the dealer with appropriate material for a booth or, if possible, having a salesman or demonstrator aid the dealer in conducting a striking exhibition, may prove to be a good investment. It is obvious that the amount of expense must be measured in every case by the good that the exhibition is likely to do. Unfortunately, many '' exhibitions " are merely money-making affairs planned to give some one the opportunity to tax local business firms or national advertisers, and it is not unusual to have clubbing and political methods used to drag in unwilHng participants. The advertiser must discriminate between the good and the bad. He cannot avoid some good-will contributions, and sometimes real effort put behind an apparent good-will contribution will make it a profitable venture. LETTERS TO DEALERS ABOUT USE OF AIDS Getting retail dealers to cooperate with national advertisers is an art in itself and a subject about which much may be written. The letter reproduced in Figure 5 is merely a suggestion. 154 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK The advertiser's and wholesaler's salesmen can do much in the direction of coaching the dealer to adopt local methods of sup- plementing national campaigns, especially when the advertiser furnishes appropriate material. It is often necessary for the salesman to give the dealer a start by personally installing a display, putting up a sign or having a maiUng-Hst addressed. ALPHACEMENT Tg sled' Hourlya n d - G a a r a n t e e d Alpha ■ Portland- Cement • Compant- Genera 1' Of fices : Easton. Pa. Make Your Postage Do Double Duty The endoKd blolta w« made up w«h ihal idea in niid. Il i. of mch . lize ihal it wiH Jip eady wta a budneM envelope. The bkxring «ock ii 1 60-Ib material— eilra heavy » ihat ilvviB J«tb ink inaUmhr. The blodei. bib up with Ihe latert ALPHA waiehouie and wajoo ligni. a> the deiign loflow. cMf the am deiigB. The four colon attract favorable attention and the li< ol Service Sheett and BuBedoa, totelhcf %>idi the megtion o( the 95-page practical handbook. ALPHA CEAIENT-HOW TO USE IT. wj brinf you many requesU for the handbook and other berature. Immediately under the wording "ASK US HOW," we imprint the buiineis addiea of the ALPHA dealer. Bringing inquiren foe literature on concrete woik to your office i> the biggejt thing we can do for you. Give the* peopU the ALPHA handbook and the Service Sheeti and BuDetin. on the work they are planning lo do. When handing out the maleriaL you have a splendid opportunity to inject a little salei talk about the bdUing H|ip8e< that you cany. The tervice you give vnB not be forgotten and you w3l reap the benefit of thia --^ 1 ihii letter to gt today. Youn to make 1920 BOOM ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENTT COMPANY. Pleate anpcint tor w teveral hundred of your new blotten mkJ we wiU uk them « •C oncrcte' f o r-Pcririancncc' Fig. 5. The salesman can also do much in the way of coaching the dealer to follow up inquiries that the advertiser has referred to him. Most advertisers furnish their sales representatives a list of all inquiries turned over to dealers, so the salesman can easily give these his attention. DEALER AIDS MISCELLANEOUS POINTS 155 Letterheads, billheads and envelopes bearing the manu- facturer's advertising are used much more closely than many- kinds of advertising matter, for the simple reason that they are useful to dealers and get into the mails naturally. The BROWN BROTHERS Coal AND Building Materials 216-220 Smitt A..nue ' JONESTOWN, PENNA. TEitmioNE ,« Our Gttarazxtee of Quality ami om- Service Co with Everything \/e SelL Do You Like the New Letterhead Design ? From our dealers, asking us if we I I any suggeslioos to make od the rleneihe^dt From time to time we have recerred I cut that would be suitable (of their use. or if v they were (banning to have printed. We look this matter up with « 6nn of commercial artisU and asked ihrm to design for us a strong but ample design of letterhead for our dealers. Thn they have done and the two-color <&• play at the top of this page is the result. Any comments that you may wish to make about the new dcsii^ win be gladly received. Plates of the design have been made up in two sizes : one size suitable for 8^ by 1 1 letter- sheets and the other size for 6 by 9 lettersheels. This sheet and the one enclosed, show the design io both sizes and we have printed them m different colors to bring out the results thai may be obtained. It requires two plates for the printing work and ) in any color that you desire. We a«n b,= gUd U> furnih you. wnhout cod, . «H of pUl« o( either ize. Howev«, t you want Io use ihe Uiger size (or pdndng letterhe«J> a»i ihe .nallef size fee bilD^d^ command u> for bolh «»i. A. you know, we are furnishing dealen with a large number of advertising helps 10 promote busness and these cuts wO enable you Io ha>e your printer make up a distmclive-looking kUerhead or Mlhead-ooe that will stand out from the usual lelterhe«). TnJyyou,^ ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT COMPANY Uyou wiB send ihe cuts indicated below, we as«ire you that we w31 use ll>effl. Set cuts suitable foe 81^ by 1 1 letterheads. Set cuu suitable for 6 by 9. letterheadL 3V.me JlJJrtu Fig. 6. — Letter offering dealer a letterhead that advertises the product of the advertiser. Note panel at right in which dealer can list the principal commodities he handles. larger dealers are not so Ukely to use them as are the smaller dealers. Figure 6 is an example of such a letterhead and of the way in which such an aid may be exploited. Sometimes as a means of stirring the small dealer to action, the new advertiser will offer to take the dealer's mailing-list and send out a good circular letter or a lot of samples in the 156 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK dealer's behalf. Some advertisers will use the dealer's own letterhead for this circularization if he will send the stock. The weak point about this, however, is that the post-office stamp shows where the letters were mailed, and something of the local effect is lost if persons in Richmond, Indiana, receiv- ing letters over a local dealer's name, see that they were mailed in Chicago, Toledo or Boston. This can be overcome ^diattheii! a 'ivord of advice hy L- Fig. 7. by the advertiser getting the mail all ready for putting in the post-office and then returning it to the dealer for mailing. Figure 7 is an example of a simple but effective design for a dealer aid card or blotter. This is an example of an electro- type offered dealers by the American Optical Company. Figure 8 illustrates what is known as a Traveling Display and is made up of units large enough to dominate most windows. The cut-out figures in the center are of about half size. There was some hand-painting on this exhibit. The entire outfit was packed in strong cases and sent from point to point* DEALER AIDS 157 Fig. 8. Fig. 9. — Each of the pigmies features a point about the "Corona." 158 THE ADVERTISING HAI^DBOOK Fig. 10. — A handsome counter feature. Fig. 11. DEALER AIDS 159 Figure 9 shows a very attractive display of the Corona Typewriter with a few '^borrowed properties," which any dealer can procure. Each of the various Httle figures held a card that covered just one of the points of advantage of the Corona. Figure 10 is an example of a most artistic perfumery display feature with a background suitable for counter display pur- poses. The fixture was about 18 inches long and 15 inches high. Such a device makes an attractive setting for the merchandise and sets it apart from other goods displayed on top of a counter. w> 'Mi>^^ Fig. 12. — The attraction of a striking window display. Figure 11 is a good example of an electric flash sign and sug- gests also how such a fixture must be packed. When the sign is lighted, it gives the appearance of a cozy room in which the Sonora is the chief attraction. Figure 12 shows how an attractive window display feature will draw the crowd on the busiest of streets. The view is that of one of Lord & Taylor's windows, Fifth Avenue, New York. A dealer in a small city furnishes the following data with reference to the number of people passing his store and the 160 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK NEAT LETTERING FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS We now have in stock some attractive lettered signs, in blue and red, which can be put on the glass of a door or window by merely moistening the strips and smooth- ing them out on the glass. When dry they look so much like the woik of a good sign painter that observers often think it is hand lettering Washing the glass doesn't disturb the sign after it has dried The words SAND, STONE. COAL, FEED, LIME. PLASTER ROOFING. SEWER PIPE, arc on separate strips, so that you can make up any combination with the ALPHA centerpiece that may be desired This card shows the ALPHA centerpiece arranged to good advantage with the words SAND and STONE. This new form of sign is sure to draw attention of people to the lines that you want to feature. Check ofl the words that you can use to advantage and we will send you the set by return mail ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT CO. FILL OUT AND MAIL THIS CARD Be aure to check other side. Date- Alpha Portland Cement Co. Easton, Pa. - Gentlemen : In accordance with your offer please send a set of your new transparent signs suitable for doors or windows In addition to the ALPHA centerpiece, we would like to have the words that we have checked on the other side of this card. We will sec that this lettering is put up promptly. Name — Address (If two of the ALPHA centerpieces can be used to advantage, ask for two.) Fig. 13. ALPHA THE GUARANTEED PORTLAND CEMENT SIONE COAL FEED LINE FUSTO llinK hVt>'£ Fig. 14. — Part of mailing card shown in Fig. 13. DEALER AIDS 161 proportion of these who stopped to look at a special window- display feature : *'The number passing between 8 A. M. and 6 P. M. was 2430, but of these 1875 glanced at the window displays or stopped to inspect. From 8 A. M. to 9 P. M. the number was 3743, and 2794 of these looked in, showing that the lighted windows attracted more atten- tion than by daylight." Figure 13 illustrates how ' Vindow- sticker signs" were presented to building-material dealers. Ordinarily, dealers object to sticker signs, but if these can be made artistic or made to advertise a number of commodities that the dealers handle, they are wiUing, as a rule, to have such signs on their windows and doors. Fig. 16. Fig. 15. The strips illustrated in Figure 14 were in red, white and blue and could be arranged in various ways according to the incli- nation of the dealer or the advertiser's salesman. It is only necessary to moisten such signs in order to apply them to glass. Figures 15 and 16 show a compact counter case for the Conkhn Fountain Pen and a counter fixture of particularly distinctive design for the Venus pencil. The Venus case was decorated in the mottled green that is characteristic of the Venus pencil. Such counter cases will largely increase the sales of small merchandise hke pencils and pens. 11 162 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Number of Dealers In Different Lines in the United States — 1918 (Compiled by Buckley, Dement & Co., Chicago) State Agricul- tural imple- ments Boots and shoes (retail) Clothing dealers (retail) Druggists (retail) Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi ... % Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Total 32 18 20 275 163 41 '22 7 6 47 84 1,404 737 1,309 845 180 39 92 142 44 866 1,114 14 653 202 870 10 22 108 26 544 37 807 847 400 128 602 1 15 538 104 359 53 22 131 187 46 1,019 26 15,258 313 85 132 1,158 274 575 69 101 243 438 151 1,462 979 538 531 506 279 369 421 1.507 1,573 775 144 968 114 500 50 272 1,195 53 3,367 357 116 2,170 297 217 3,042 205 337 154 591 453 113 161 395 401 231 1,001 62 197 79 175 768 272 370 64 87 169 436 130 1,207 781 777 495 372 237 413 259 844 1,044 605 130 761 149 329 39 205 583 34 1,570 292 146 1,349 398 191 2,033 94 272 179 399 621 116 158 430 437 318 648 53 750 75 900 1,075 600 550 100 200 490 1,000 240 2,900 1,825 1,700 1,000 875 600 400 415 1,525 1,500 860 675 2,500 220 900 50 230 1,000 130 3,950 700 450 1,475 1,275 400 3,200 250 475 450 675 2,300 150 175 600 600 325 975 80 29,445 22,784 43,790 32,472 DEALER AIDS 163 Number of Dealers In Different Lines in the United States — 1918 — Continued (Compiled by Buckley, Dement & Co., Chicago) state Grocers (retail) General (stores) Hardware (retail) Jewelers (retail) Lumber (dealers) Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia . Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming. .' ,400 175 ,200 100 ,900 800 600 400 900 ,950 200 ,800 ,900 700 500 ,277 700 800 500 ,700 ,000 200 ,700 ,400 250 ,100 115 800 ,300 200 ,000 ,100 250 000 700 ,100 000 ,400 700 250 850 100 500 575 ,600 ,400 ,450 ,200 100 Total 172,842 7,000 300 6,300 1,800 825 400 400 5 2,500 7,700 690 4,800 3,800 3,400 2,800 7,400 4,500 1,350 2,500 600 2,800 3,200 6.900 5,600 475 2,000 225 450 1.019 775 3,600 7,500 1,500 4,900 3,305 960 7,800 150 4,400 1,100 6,500 6,500 675 625 7,000 1,300 4,900 3,400 265 307 63 368 860 291 195 56 36 193 367 191 2,099 1,117 1,526 1,250 463 149 262 232 565 1,351 1,283 196 1,321 197 1,015 48 109 529 86 1,931 332 610 1,844 867 222 1,665 72 187 519 334 1,217 59 146 330 423 242 1,164 90 147,984 28,979 225 55 250 900 275 260 45 100 150 300 100 1,675 875 925 600 300 200 260 240 700 830 625 175 900 125 500 30 150 575 60 2,150 250 225 1,300 460 250 1,700 75 150 250 250 775 70 125 280 375 225 625 60 226 80 375 750 525 325 100 25 150 225 175 1,900 800 1,800 1,075 300 205 460 400 725 1,250 1,325 265 1,200 225 1,600 40 400 675 86 1,620 370 800 1,450 1,200 426 1,550 126 160 575 350 1,200 126 350 926 400 360 1,200 75 22,000 30,925 SECTION 9 THE WRITING OF COPY Important Place of Copy. — The great interest manifested during the last ten or twelve years in research work as a pre- liminary to advertising, the coordination of advertising with distribution and with selling practice, etc. has brought about a disposition to regard the copy part of the advertising cam- paign as a secondary consideration — something that can be easily attended to by almost anybody when all the ramifica- tions of the promotion plan have been worked out. Copy, however, is the advertiser's message, his contact with his public or the public that he hopes to make his. Unless the messages are prepared with great thought and skill, all of the varied prehminary work will come to naught. It is easy to fill costly advertising space with smooth- sounding words and nicely balanced sentences. It is easy to have illustrations of fair quality drawn. It is quite another thing to have illustrations so strong in attention-attracting and demonstration quality as to draw instant favorable attention from the group to be reached, and it is no easy task to plan a message that will drive home the advertiser's story and to put it into words that will do this work with the most efficiency and least cost. Basis for Copy. — As is indicated by other sections of this volume, good copy cannot be written, no matter what the skill of the writer may be, until the proper preliminary work has been done, and the writer has the facts that he may need about : The product itself, Its history, Materials of which made, Processes of manufacture, History of manufacturer or merchant, 164 THE WRITING OF COPY 165 Trade conditions : possibilities for article, Situation with respect to competitive articles, Audience: characteristics of, their location, their age, edu- cation and environment, their reading, living, and buying habits. For a more elaborate study of all that may precede the writing of good copy, see the chapter dealing with Marketing Campaigns. Of course it does not follow that every item of this data is essential in every case. It does happen that some- times a copy-writer is called upon to write advertising matter for some subject that he knows so well that no investigation is necessary. Again, it may happen that only a few new facts are needed. Questions that the Copy-Writer may Ask Himself. — The requirements set forth in the preceding paragraphs may be conveniently put into a number of questions that the copy- writer may ask himself, forming a safe quiz as a copy-writing preliminary. 1. Just what am I selling or trying to make people believe? 2. What point or points about it should be emphasized? 3. To whom must I address myself? Where do they live and how do they live? What are their ages, their environment, their education, their sex, their reading, living, and buying habits? 4. What shall I incorporate in the headline or first sentence of my appeal? 5. Will illustration help my message? If so, what style and size is most suitable? 6. What medium is to be used in presenting the advertisement? 7. How large shall the advertisement be? Is it best to tell the entire story in one large advertisement or to give a point or two at a time in smaller advertisements? 8. What style of appeal and language is likely to be most effective? 9. Is my audience so varied that I must have different appeals for the different groups that compose it? 10. What action can I reasonably hope to get from my readers? 11. How can I make it easy for that action to be taken? 12. Is there any way by which I can key or check the effects of this advertising? 13. How shall I support and follow up this advertising? 14. How can I experiment or test my appeal before spending a con- siderable amount of money on it? 166 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Copy should, of course, be written with the strictest regard for the advertiser's marketing plan, so that it will reflect what he is really offering to do, will appeal to the consumer, dealers, dealers' salesmen, perhaps wholesalers and wholesalers' sales- men and even to the manufacturer's own sales manager and salesmen. Unfortunately a great deal of advertising is ineffective just because it was prepared and inserted without due regard for the many classes of people it was supposed to help or because it did not fit the selling plan of which it is a part. Considerable that has appeared in preceding sections of this volume will aid in forming intelligent answers to the fore- going questions. In following pages there is a detailed con- sideration of various factors of copy- writing that bear on the fourteen items listed. Such large topics as Illustration are dealt with in other sections of the book. Analysis of Copy Subject. — The trained advertisement- writer works much as a good newspaper reporter works. He goes into his subject, picks it apart so as to determine what there is about it that will interest the particular type of audi- ence that is to be addressed. If the product is a washing machine he will want to know all the good features of the machine and try to understand how these will appeal to women. In doing this he should not trust entirely to his own mind but should get women to inspect the machine and get their impressions and questions. Then he will be in the best position to decide what points shall be featured as the major points of the appeal and which as secondary points. He may find that an instalment-payment plan, the so-called ''Club Plan" of buying, may prove so attractive that the leading appeal of the advertisement will be ''You can now have one of these wonderful Elmira Washers at only $2 a week." Or it may be that a distinctive selling point of the machine should be made the chief appeal: "The only washing machine that forces the dirty water away from the clothes." Possibly he may have to write advertisements for some communities where people are not generally convinced of the desirability of a washing machine and use an appeal that will emphasize how the Elmira Washer saves not only hours of hard, back-breaking labor but the clothes also. THE WRITING OF COPY 167 The copy- writer's work may, therefore, be said to cover: (1) gathering all the pertinent information; (2) deciding which shall be used; (3) arranging appeals or arguments in their most effective order, if a number are to be used. In the case of the product referred to, this might possibly be the following arrangement: 1. Distinctive feature of the machine used as an attention-attractor. 2. Elaboration of this feature in a logical and convincing argument for the purchase of such a washer. 3. Convenient or easy purchase plan. 4. Strong closing suggestion, so as to induce action. THE VARIETY OF APPEALS As is pointed out in the chapter devoted to the Psychology of Advertising, the range of human motives or instincts is a very wide one. Sometimes general charts are made up to suggest helpfully what a copy-writer may use in the way of appeals. But a chart to cover every subject must be so general that its very wide range is almost confusing. Time- saving, and money-saving, for example, are two of the most common appeals made in advertising copy and yet these mean nothing to the purchaser who is looking first of all for a stylish shoe. Cleanhness and purity mean much in food advertising and nothing in selhng a motor boat. Here are some of the most common appeals used in advertis- ing: money-saving, time-saving, style, pleasure, convenience, comfort, luxury, healthfulness, personal pride, service, strength, exclusiveness, distinctive package, distinctive plan of payment, striking color, pleasant taste, agreeable tone, dehcate odor. Figure 1 is an example of a copy chart showing the different appeals or points that entered into one campaign — that for the Fourth Liberty Loan. In this case the audience appealed to was such a large one that a variety of appeals was used, some for one group of readers, others for another. Unless a writer, after gathering the full information needed is very clear as to just what appeals should be made or what selling points should be featured, he may do well to prepare such a chart as the one depicting the appeals of the Fourth 168 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Liberty Loan. Often charts are a decided help, not only to the writer of the copy but to employers, committees and others who may be interested in seeing what the motive of the copy is. FOURTH LIBERTY LDAN NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING DIEECTOR OF PUBUCITV R.E.NORTON COPY JURY J.AVVDOD H.C.BROWN M.F.HANSON ALDENMARCH JT.SPURGEON| COPY COMMITTEE 6.E.GABLE T.J.MULVEY I.F.PASCHALL TYPE fy PLACING I T.H.WARREN THRIFT Results of buying Bonds Benefits of saving SACRIFICE Comparisons of sacrifice Reasons for sacrifice — SECURITY Backing, percentage, safety. PATRIOTISM Love of courxtry. Love of Fla^ — - V^.L.LARNED- HOPE For success of loan For success of War FEAR For outcome of War For success of Loan I ANALYSIS Where the billions _go SHAME Condemnation of sladcers Examples set by others PRIDE In country, vocation , history, and oar army. GRATITUDE Tb our men, our allies and to Ood RESPONSIBILITY lb our man, our allies, our familiM,and humanity HATE Caused by atrocities, broken integrity.etc. COMPETITION With neighbors VTlth other communities Fig. 1. Copy-writing cannot, however, be reduced to mere charts any more than oratory, story-writing or newspaper-writing can be. In one case, very interesting and effective copy might be written with the history of the founder cf the business or the development of the business as the main appeal. In other cases such an appeal might be decidedly tame. THE WRITING OF COPY 169 Where is John MTormack? Where is John McCormack? In Australia? Yes— but his greatest gift to humanity is never further away than the nei^st Victrola. Victor Records by the world's great artists represent moments of inspired achievement, and contain not otily the notes they sang or played, but their very intent. When you hear their Victor |lecords on the Victrola you hear the great artists exactly as they themselves have chosen to be heard. Victrolas $25 to $1500. New Victor tlecords on sale at all dealers on the 1st of each month. Victrola Victor Talking Machine Co. d7.!s^i:!^'t^rrf.CL _,.,". VICTOR TALKINOMACHWE. CO. Camden, New Jeney cia^TrA^»TakKAf.K4»vK.K.». H^H*H^«4H^K^X[^ ir4^K^»>«^U4F^^ Look at this for a program! [££ It is possible on the Victrola only ! For only with Victor Records on the Victrola do you get the subtle shades of color, tone, and interpretation which mean pre-emi- nence. When you hear Victor Records played on the Victrola, you hear precisely what each artist heard and approved as his or her own work. Any other combination must necessarily be less than the best. Be sure you get a Victrola and not an imitation. $25 to $1500. Victor dealers everywhere. New Victor Records demon- strated at all dealers on the 1st of each month. VICTROLA ■ cs.u. « MT orr. Victor Talking Machine Co» Camden, New Jersey Fig. 2B. THE WRITING OF COPY 171 Very often the starting point of an advertisement is a striking photograph, an appeaUng drawing, a news item, an incident, the experience of the user of a product, or some other such basis which necessitates that the secondary matter be some- thing to harmonize with the leading thought. These Victrola advertisements in Fig. 2 are based on a high- class musical program such as Victor artists make possible, and the personahty and popularity of one Victor Artist. These two exhibits are fine examples of how copy ideas somewhat apart from the product itself but deahng with its service can be worked up into effective appeals. In the one case the popularity of John McCormack is used as the ''point of contact" with the public. The other advertisement is built on the simple but effective copy idea of the high-class musical program, from which starting point the conclusion is built up that such a program at its best is possible only by the use of the instrument that the artists chose. SIMPLE FORMULA FOR EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING Probably the most simple formula for effective advertising ever written was that devised mainly by the George Batten Co. The Batten Company declared that to be effective an advertisement — Must be seen, Must be read. Must be beheved. Must be remembered. The first requisite makes it necessary that an advertisement have such an attractive headline, illustration or general ap- pearance that it commands attention, and this involves some- thing more than copy. Attention may be earned by many different appeals to the eye and mind. The eye is the window of the mind so far as printed advertising is concerned. Action (depicted or actual action), art, color, contrast of values in display, personal interest, may all prove effective in securing attention. 172 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK The second requisite means that the copy must be so in- teresting or appeaUng as to hold the attention of the reader that has been for the moment secured. To induce the reader to beh'eve is perhaps the most difficult of all the requirements. To accomplish this the copy must be just, must be convincing, must be satisfying. Finally if the reader forgets what he saw, read, and for the time being believed, the advertiser is not helped. So '*Arid a can of White Hoiisf^ Co||ee. please. No! I must fiave White House ^ nothin g' else will do. 0xe nqiHSfior qtoUl^ el White House *"^"* Coffee and Teas i Never add b bulk, but in this aU-tin package. A picture of the White House on CAch tin. An un- broken label is our guarantee and your [Ht^ection. DWINELL- WRIGHT COMPANY Principal Coffet Roatttr, BCSTON-CHICAGO Fig. 3. — This advertisement begins with a "conversational opening" that is very appropriate for the illustration but the copy appeal is not pointed. Every advertiser of coffee argues for goodness and economy. More empha- sis could be placed on the all-tin package. there must be something about the message to inipress the reader. Then if the proposal of the advertiser is not some- thing to be acted on at once, there will remain on the mind an impression that will help the advertiser later. Some sub- stitute ''must cause reader to act" as the fourth requisite, rather than ''must be remembered." In some kinds of advertising immediate action would be more desirable than remembering. The product and plan of selling determines this. THE WRITING OF COPY 173 CENTRAL COPY IDEA There are many campaigns in which each advertisement is a separate unit and where nothing is to be gained by having a connection among the various pieces of copy. Much retail advertising is of this class. In many other cases, however, there is a product to be advertised possessing a strong feature that should be emphasized in all advertisements. The leading feature or point may not necessarily be connected with the product but may be a feature of the advertiser's business — the location of his store, his plan of selUng, etc. Illustrations are found in Ivory Soap, which has been advertised consistently as being 99.44 per cent, pure and as being a soap that floats. Throughout all the advertising of the Buick Automobile the "valve in the head" feature has been wisely exploited. The Larkin Company, on the other hand, features the "Factory to Family" point in all Larkin pubHcity. The advertisers of the Bundy Steam Trap keep hammering on the fact that the Bundy is operated by the force of gravity — has nothing in its general principle that can go wrong. Details may be forgotten but these distinctive features of the advertiser's product or of his plan of selling can be so impressed on the minds of readers that they will remain. A series of advertisements carrying a central thought has a cumulative effect that separate advertisements do not possess. Suppose, for example, that an advertiser was the originator of the kitchen cabinet. He may keep repeating this in such a way as to carry the suggestion that as his product was the first article of its class there has been the greatest chance to work out improvement, to secure the important patents, to test every feature through long experience, etc. To have much effect the central thought must be a point of real value. The advertiser who merely repeats that he was " EstabUshed in 1848" is featuring such a commonplace point that he is not likely to make any great impression. If he in- troduces a little novelty into this and runs the phrase as "For Fifty Years America's leading manufacturer of Hickory Furniture" he has a better chance. 174 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK Four Reasons Why You Should Buy The Noiseless Typewriter I— It Ls durable - - - 2 — It is speedy ~ — ~ 3 — // does beautiful work 4— It is noiseless - — THREE of the (our reuona g above might be called commo any good typewriter But the fo u exclusively a Noiseless feature. It IS the feature that sets this woi machine above and apart from,' other and makes it mdeed "The 'J 1 writer Plus." After all. m t! of progress, why should any t noisy typewriter? SomeUmes a business man that he realizes the value of 7>ie • i less Typewriter but his only q« j »s— "Will It stand up"? In answer, we need but poi thousands of machines that h in constant daily -use for four, SIX years I And to the list of Reasons No. 2 and No. 3 i easily demonstrated. As a r THE NOISELES; fact. slenoKraphert wfio uie The Noiw leM Typewriter will tell you that they can do more work and better work on It than on any other machiae they have ■ I^ • Nco^len; Typewriter bnng, you " ^hc No J (C) sel p^*: ffsl^V^H^ RITE "^^umA er nine' nozu f^,i^. ^'"Private Seen 'etary' / /l\ Rattle Noi«e May itev€i!£^S: Sji»° the 4^^/^% ■*. ^^^m^\ hearts of the little children is a void that cannot be filled ^^vlMBBf — but that can be forgotten by the reading and re-reading ^T^ByW of these simple and childlike poems. r ^Kif J ^ - No more does Uncle Sam's postman stagger under the weight of t M ^. Riley »> lo,ocx5 letters — the tribute of the children of the world to their Uncle j^i " ^ J,*' ,'*i^ Sidney (James Whitcomb Riley) on his birthday. Riley has passed on ^ ^JS —luut children^^^^ but his work lives. You can read it to your children — and enrich ^^IB^ °^" ~ «""<<>'»<* caUei their lives and yours for all time. . ^^^ ero^m-up: Those of us who have missed things in childhood — missed learning to xideor to swim — feel that there is a lack that can never be made up. Even more is this so with things of the spirit. The child whose imagination has been enriched by the beauty and charm of Riley, carries a treasure to old age — a treasure hard to get later on. From the little girl who said she felt all alone without him to the President of the United States, who pays him tribute, Riley is in all hearts— big and little. HIS HEJRS DESIRE ONLY A SMALL ROYALTY The Heirs of James Whitcomb Riley came to us. as the pub- and beautiful illustrations by Howard Chandler Christy and Ushers of Mark Twain, and said that they would be glad to Ethel Franklin Beits — some in (uU color — some in two colors, reduce their royally so that we could place the works of James and some in black and white. ' ' w,'"»'S^hli*i^''Jri,l''fh'???^^( t" ''V«« "ho loved him. So The limited edition of Riley's complete works sold from »I2S J^S^^nin„ o^J^^^ l^f *^ i* "V ^" ?''7 '.T^J^ to »'7So a «»• Yet you can have your set for less than one- ^n"^°^vV^w'i;i?e-?o^fhe''^t^'^^i'w° fifth the lowest price made before./ can pass on to you. The generosity of the Riley heirs and We have planned a fitting form for these books-beautifully ^^n^i^'^'^'D^'t^^i^"" ^""send ' the made— the easy-to-read. comforUble sort of books that Jam«a S^^ witLut ™„L 1^ Lur Whitcomb Riley would have Uked. This set is full of lu;iirioS ^S^»".l "t^d^. """"^ '** ^^ HARPER. & BROTHERS I8I7-19I7 NEW YORK ^ ^...ZT^ icoo"mr«T ol JA WHITCOMB RILKV. loth, stamped Ir lustrated io color , •nd white by HowarfL Christy and Ethel Franklin Belts. ptnse. il I mnussions that other Compsunies pay their agents THE POSTAL LIFE u the only Company tWt opeiw it* doow to the public so thai those desiring sound insurance-protection at low cost can deal Sn€df for it, either penoiuJly or hy correapondence. Whether you call or write, you make a gtiamitecd saving corresponding to the agent's commission the firat year, less a moderate advertising charge. In aubaequent years you get the Renewal Commiasion other companies pay their agents, namely T^fo, and you also receive an Office-£x« pense Saving of 2fi>, making up the STSONO POSTAL POINTS First: SUmianl voUeu- retervei, aow $9,MI JM. IntHrancf in Joret t44.«N.«M. Wnnrfnrd volioh pinriff/mt, apurored bf tae Stele InMinnee Dcputmeat Fearth: Openia ooda itTicl Sfnie rmiiremmt' nd Mbial le^Uailed FiMii Bigh medieot UnndartU ia die iilictiw e< Postal Life Blildino }S Nassau Sirccl. New York -1 Annual Dividend -pi Guaranteed in the Policy Bearinniiic at the doM of the Mcona year, the POSTAl, pays .. lidM, depeudiiiK on earnings as in the case of other coiniwnies. Such U the POSTAL wny: it is open to yon. Call at the Compaay*a olBees. it convenient or writs now and find out the exact sum it will pay yoa at ya«r age— the fint yMT and ev«ry othar. POSTAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY WM. R. MALONE. Pmident 35 Nassau Street, New York Fig. 9. — An advertisement that proved to be more effective for the Postal Life Insurance Company than any human-interest style of copy tried. Here the copy treatment is based on the use of the mails, well illustrated by the mail pouch, and the commission-saving argument. This advertiser's ex- perience illustrates that human-interest copy is not always required. 184 THE ADVERTISING HANDBOOK advertiser makes it known that his Charms are dainty fruit tablets and that they are obtainable in handy 5-cent pack- ages of raspberry, orange, lime, grape, and other flavors, his advertising becomes more than name publicity. Human Interest. — Human interest is a broad term. In advertising copy it may mean tying up advertising informa- tion to the experiences of users of the advertised product, giving actual names and details, using photographs of newsy events, interesting applications, etc. It may mean going into the history of products and processes and making use of whatever romance and interesting data may be available. Human interest may mean the use of conversation, real or imaginary, as a means of putting more Hfe into information that otherwise might seem dry, abstract, and wholly commercial. Pictures, naturally, enter largely into human-interest copy but it is not the purpose of this chapter to deal with the illus- tration of advertisements. The advertisement of the Riley books. Figure 8, is one good example of human-interest copy. In years past books were described in advertisements just as books. There was no effort to throw around them something of the personality of the author of the books or to tell bits of the stories that the books contained. But a woman, in advertising the O. Henry books, hit upon the plan of having each advertisement start off with a dramatic incident of an 0. Henry story. The great success of that style of copy changed the selling of sets of books. J. K. Fraser, with his cute Spotless Town characters and rhymes, threw Hfe into the advertising of a cleaning preparation that otherwise would have been a prosiac commodity. Frank Crane, Elbert Hubbard and many others have been unusually successful in weaving human interest into advertising. In spite of the great increase of human-interest copy, how- ever, there are cases where plain, undramatic, argumentative presentation of the merits of a product or a service has been more successful than any of the more showy styles of advertis- ing. An example is afforded in the Postal Life Insurance advertisement shown in Fig. 9. The conclusion, then, is that different kinds of commodities require different kinds of copy. And it is also true that commodities often require THE WRITING OF COPY 186 MilUon Hands . dainty ^nowy Jf„", pillion J • ^"^°"^**"^ieany-«c^^ If you "'^^^ *„?markeli • «°' *'?,ron progressive. ', tise U to the w _ j^^5,^ \ they are »*** ^ I , tgents. , The , • DeUneatO; 3 Million Cold Feet Every third family of the million who read The Delineator buys a hot-water bottle each year. Four and a half people — nine feet — to a family, a total of three million cold feet for manu- facturers of hot-water bottles to cater to. The great Delineator audience of a million prosperous families buy vast quantities of house- hold products every day. Do you manufacture something used by American homes? _,^ . The Delineator ; ^Babies Born ! ''■"" baVest '^""^ '"'■'- '"'''eUniteVstaLrl^"' means that- JOS inf- ^'"" ' arriving to-dl;, . '"'fts are ' ''»" famiW '{ '" ">e mil! 'P-^JineaTr fe '"^'d The l.d'^r. baby carri^^ ""^ P°*v-- •'"?. rattJes^r:i^^"i cloth- ' /'^'^ babies 'eve?v; ^"' ^0« ' ''^'••', Their ?M^°^ the ' •rs rely on Then ,'"°"'- ' Didn't YOUR Wife i Have Her Say? • I Did you select your auto- . mobile all by yourself ? On , second thought, didn't some- ^ thing your wife said about ^ the upholstery prove a factor ^ in your choice? One large manufacturer says women influence the sale of nine out of every ten automo- I biles. Women had a voict | in determining the choice , of probably 200,000 of the , cars bought last year by , Delineator families. If you , manufacture something, used by American homes. ^ advertise it to women in ^ Delineator| ■Jne In , Ullion Morrtes [^ Bristles From 118,055 Boars It takes that number of boars to supply the eight and a half million tooth- brushes bought yearly by The Delineator families. These same families buy tons of tooth-paste, millions of shoes and train-loads of food. Do you make any- thing of interest to the women who do the purchas- ing for a million progressive households ? —^ ^ The Delineator Th^^^S^^"""" , Take the man out of de- , mand, and retail stores wouKI I loseonly 15% of their sales. I Woman does 85% of the pur- i chasing and has an influence I over 10% of tlie balance. ' If you make an article • used in a home, or an article I worn by any member of the J family; or, in fact, nearly , any article except steam- , shovels, the way to sell it is I by advertising to the u omen. I They are the "purchasing I agents" for American I homes, and 1,000,000 of I them are influenced in their , bnying by what they see ad- , vertiscd ill The Delineator. iDelineator \JhB Ma