ADVERTISING.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19112, 22 September 1927, Page 11

ADVERTISING.

IS IT AN ECONOMIC WASTE?

MB WILL APPLETON'S VIEWS. "Is Advertising an Economic Waste ?" was the subject of an address given in the Chamber of Commerce last night under the auspices of the-Canter-bury Advertising Club by Mr Appleton, of .Wellington. Mr -J. W. Batv, president of the club, was in the chair, and there was a large attendance, including members of the Canterbury Justices of the Peace Association. ' "It is frequently contended that merchandise and goods which are nationally advertised must carry heavier prices to pay for the advertising,'' said Mr Appleton. In admitting that there can be no economic justifications for all advertising, the speaker pointed out that there were waste and extravagance in advertising just as there are inefficient methods and practices in operation in connexion with other departments' of commerce. The real test, however, as to the economic value of advertising is as to 'whether it benefits the - consumer, because it is conceivable that publicity which may make selling quicker and easier for a manufacturer may be at the expense of the purchaser of tho goods. Advertised Goods Bought. "While most people had the common misconception that the advertising was included in the cost of the -goods, and consequently increased prices, the face remains," said Mr Appleton, "'that the man in the street buys advertised goods and continues to buy tlieiu. Why? Because taking all factors into account advertised goods are cheaper in the long run, more convenient,, and more reliable. Advertising, properly conducted, operates to ' reduce other costs out of all proportion to its own cost, and so long as it continues _to make possible economies in production and distribution so will the public purchaso. the advertised articles." I

Another instance cited by, Mr Appleton was tho experience of the Red Gum Manufacturers' Association of America. Like our pinus insignis,-red gum was considered of little commercial value, and except, for crates and boxes, there was little demand for it. An educational advertising campaign was started and the public - and the trade informed of the many uses for which red Rum was admirably suited. Now it is in good demand, the millers are securing a reasonable price,, and the public is being given the benefit of cheaper backing for furniture,. interior woodwork.for houses, and so on. . .Mr Appleton stated that much the same'could be done with pinus insignis as few people realised just what could bo done with this timber. At present it was used principally for. fruit and packing cases and was generally r'egarded as very indifferent material. Huge Advertising Bills.

Because. of ■ the vast sums spent on advertising, 'people, said the speaker, were ■ apt - >to get-' quite a' wrong impression.. Mr, ISdward Bok, the well-known American, had estimated th'at last yea* there was spent in U.S.A. somewhere in the vicinity of . £321,000,000, while Mr Hartloy, Withers, the prominent British financial writer, estimated that the advertising bill for Great Britain was well over one hundred millions/.

3 "If, instead of considering that ad--7 vertising is an economic waste, iye were ' to look upon it as a big and growing 1 business we would be riearer the mark. 1 A statement that the Kodak people 5 spent half.a million oil salesmen's sal- ■ aries last year would leave us unmoved, ■ but if we are told that the same sum ' lias ,been expended on newspaper and • magazine publicity some of us would • thiiik it a huge waste, yet, • from a ' selling point of view, the expenditure ■ 00 the. advertising may be the ihore ■ economical outlay of the two. • Motor Industry. "One! of the best instances of the economical value of advertising," said Mr Appleton, "is in connexion with the motor industry. Advertising Has created a demand which made volume 1 , production, volume selling, and -stan- J dardisation of parts possible. The re- j suit is that we can now get an im--i measurably better car for considerably less money than we could a few years ago. As a piece of high-grade machin-* ery wherein highly technical skill' and costly materials were blended, it would be impossible to obtain -the same relative value in anything else. Not only had the cost of production been reduced, but advertising had pre-sold the output to a very great extent, thus reducing selling expenses. In this case all parties had benefited, and there was no more striking example of the benefits of publicity. Improved Services. . "Most of Us remember what housekeeping was to our mothers. The house without running " water, hot water wheu available from a boiler on the ,fire, often a-pump out-of-doors, sometimes frozen; the. bathroom a,wooden or tin tub beside 'the • kitchen fire; laundry work done with a washboard; : cooking ijith heavy black iron pots and pans, clumsy and unhandy; light from candles and kerosene lamps; no light porcelain and aluminium ware j no gqs or electric range. Advertising lias changed all this. Although men would have evolved "better- ways and better tools, it wculd not have been so fast without -advertising. .These improved things and services have been brought within the reach of the masses because of volume production, volume selling, and in a sense, volume education per medium of the advertising pages.. "Smaller profits are necessary on advertised ' goods ' because quicker turnover means reduced selling expenses,'' . said. Mr Appleton. "It was on the pri- ■ vate. brand ,tha.t the retailer had to make a good margin. The manufacturer, again, who invents a considerable sum of money 011 advertising dare not take liberties with his product. He has, to maintain quality to protect his | investment, and in a sense, confers a I bond on his product. This was not the ■ case with the nondescript, unadvertised line. The argument against advertising that it makes people loolishlv want' things that they would be' just as well "off without, is' more or. less an ethical question, and is purely ■ a matter of .opinion.". In concluding, Mr Appleton drew attention to the advantages of. Press advertising. . The daily newspaper had 1 become so interwoven with - our daily existence that it would be almost inconceivable to imagine our living without it. Many people-: would sooner do , without their breakfasts? than miss the morning newspaper. That was tho reason why the Press offered the finest . possible vehicle for the .dissemination 1 of an advertiser's message. People are ■ in a receptive frame of .mind when they read the newspapers. There is ; conscious . desire on their I>art to ab- : sorb the contents and quite subconsciously they also take in -.the advertiser's story, if it'is attractively presented. One of the' great advantages, too, of dailv Press advertising is tne time factor." In a matter' of a few ' hours a national advertiser can _reach , 90- per cent, of the people or this country with his message per medium , ,of ■ the* Press, whereas to try-to get a _ personal message 'across, in any- other ( way would take weeks of labour in $ preparation, quite apart from the extra cost.- Then: too, it would not carry , the same conviction as if it were car-, ; rie'd in the newspapers. . Of-alKfOrms t o£-advertising,-- Press ■•■■• publicity • bad 1 been -proved to bethe most eeonomical.- f A number of, .questions., .were i subsequently answered, and on c