VALUES OF PUBLICITY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 132, 17 March 1930, Page 8

VALUES OF PUBLICITY

NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING. A SEARCHING SUMMING UP. The “Sydney Morning Herald” of a recent date printed the following from a contributor: . Last October, in Detroit, I put this question to the officials of the hold Motor Co., the General Motors, and the Chrysler Motor*Car Co.: “ Wliat was the greatest single factor in the development of the automobile industry during the past quarter of a-cen-tury; what brought about the univeisal ‘ interest of the people and made the enormous sales possible?” In each case the answers were practically the same. To sum them up, each answer was this, and with emphasis: “Newspaper advertising.” In elaborating, each one said in effect: “While some may think newspaper advertising expensive, we do not look upon it that way at all. When we think of the marvellous results we have .obtained, from our millions expended! in newspaper advertising, we feel that we had the -best of the newspapers for our investments in their advertising columns paid us many hundreds of per cent, in profits.” This is a literal quotation from what the president of one of the divisions of the General Motors told me. Tasked a high official in each of the first companies mentioned above if they expected to advertise as vigorously in England and other European countries as they have in the United States and Canada, after they get their factories across the Atlantic well started. “Yes, we are planning to use full pages- in the newspapers over there and will aldo use the magazines. Our advertising campaigns in Europe will be practically the same as we have had in the United States , for several years. We are told that the psychology of the people in the old and conservative countries across the sea is different from that of the people in the United States, and that the British and other automobile makers over there have never believed in heavy advertising like that on. this side of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, our appropriations for advertising in European countries will be sufficient to ‘ set those countries on fire,’ as one of our publicity men expressed it,” said this motor magnate.