Advertising Man Turned Farmer Looks At Wool Promotion

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31500, 14 October 1967, Page 25

Advertising Man Turned Farmer Looks At Wool Promotion

(Bp

VINCENT H. FREETH)

Let’? face it: the social and ecppomie future of this country and every man, woman and child in it, depends very largely on the future? ofwool. The first thing to do if we want to sell wool is to stop talking as if wool were dead. What are the facts? Until half way through 1966 wool was selling at record levels. Then we were hit by a world-wide recession, which had been looniing for years, without anyone seeming to take much notice of its coming.

' The writer ef this article ha* for O year* been farming and developing an 1100-acre sheep and cattle property In Hawke’* Bay.-

During that time his wool production has in-' creased from 19,0001 b a year to 47,0001 b. For 30 year* before taMag over the property Mr Freeth was In the aiarketing and advertising bosiness in Australia and New Zealand.

Tn Australia he - was employed In a consulting capacity by the wodllen worsted industry and the rayoo' weaving industry a* sales and advertising counsel

If wool was hit the recession has had an equally disastrous effecton its eompettata and no one has tnggested that they are finished and done with. In a war for individual survival the big synthetic manufacturers have cut prices to the bone. Prices for basic synthetic yarns are less than half those of five or six years ago, and they will soon be a good deal cheaper. Recently I had a letter from a man who, for years, has been a key figure in the manufacturing industry over-

sea*. He ha* had a worldwide experience of wool and synthetics in the process of manufacture. While not minimising the sort of competition wool may expect in the future he said this: ' "I think that one of the best things that has happened over the last two years is that many synthetic garments are now cheaper than -wool.” Makes you think doesn’t it? The synthetic msnufacturers know only too well where this cut-throat competition has led them. In an endeavour to recover some of the lost ground and recoup millions that have gone down the drain, their efforts are now directed towards producing, via texturising and processing, various attractive fabrics, which will be higher in price than woollen fabrics. What better idea equid we have of the acceptance by eur competitors of the superior qualities of wool. Quality Market In the textile trade there are two divisions. One is utility and price; the other is quality and fashion. Wool belongs in the second category and there is no future for it except in promotion-in this market. We must trade up, not down. ’: ?/ If we try to compete on price we will go broke. Wool is not something conceived in a test tube and turned out a thousand miles at' a time at the drop of a switch. Producing good wool take* generation* of breeding and careful selection. The sheep that grow it must be carefully tended and fed, and often in the nature of the true sheepman is some affection and quite a lot of wonder.

It is the natural process which produces wool which gives it that lovely, intimate, soft feel and eye appeal that no man-made fibre has ever matched and probably never will. We should not waste time, therefore, trying to find processes which will help wool to match the characteristics of synthetics. Status Symbol Markets are people. There are those who buy on price and impulse and discard what they buy just as quickly. Then there are more sophisticated people who know quality when they see it and are prepared to pay for it To them quality is a statu* symbol. They are proud of their possessions and get lasting pleasure from them. In this latter group, too, are the fashion leaders. They wear clothes with a certain flair, which is ks obvious to the discerning as the unmistakeable quality Of their clothes. ' It is in this more sophisticated market that wool belongs. It may be a small section of the total of the world’s textile market, but there is sufficient in it to keep our 60 million sheep working overtime if we capture it and hold it. In women’s fashions imaginative promotion and styling, colour and design, sufficiently attractive and expensive to ensure that wool remains a status symbol, should ensure an ever-increasing sale in the

top realm of fashion. It may be many years, also, before' the discriminating male will want other than wool, or nearly pure wool in

his clothing, if we keep on his trail. ' Nothing that ha* been said here should suggest that we should, sell wool to the jet set only, nor should it- preclude a. range of prices. The only respect in which we can learn profitably from our competitors is in enlisting. the. world’s best tech-

nician* to apln, knit, and weave samples for the leaders of the world textile trade Then we : must employ artists, designers and sbnie of the world's leading couturiers to assist knitters and manufacturers inthp creation of attractive end products. Mr Vines (of the international Watt Secretariat) aay« ; this is all belatedly under way. Another very important avenue for wool promotion is the top end of the furnishing field where we can replace the cold, hard, stare of some modern homes with the warmth and beauty of a real home in which modern high quality woollen fabrics take their natural place.

The Yoyth Market Let us never neglect the youth market. It is the young people who buy most of the clothes and most of the furnishings, and it is to the more sophisticated of our youth-that we must direct our sales efforts in the promotion of wool. Here in New Zealand we may Appeal to their self-inter-est iii promoting the sale of wool but, both here and overseas, a. surer way to the hearts and pockets of youth will be a new look in woollen colour, styling and design. in this way we can enlist a great army of users and enthusiastic sales people for wooL We must bring youth right, into the picture in design, styling and promotion. Happily we may find new and fascinating careers, for them in the world of textiles and fashion. Premium On Courage Did 1 hear someone say: "The man’s out of his senses. What ia the use of all this activity when there is a slump on? What will We get out of Jt?” _ The only answer is this. During my long life in .the field of promotion, marketing and advertising 1 i went through many recessions, hut at no time during any . of those recessions did buying stop entirely. There was always some spending going on somewhere, and especially among the people who had money. These people are the market for quality woollen products and it is these people to whom we must sell tf we are to survive and proa per., There will never be a better time to strike than now when our competitor* are in confusion and do not know quite where they are going. The way may be very hard, but the market always re- , spond* to a resolute attack, well planned, if the attacker really ha* the goods. ( «. 1 cptM count numberless taddenees when I eoupaelled fuff' steam ahead when (the ta(ficafion* were, as they are nw. Ttay invsatebly paid off. l£i*aiMeaae.ttaeon>phi>y <»■ ■ persoikflnWlYed'''rtung ’.fiito. >' the tead and casae out of the' recession away ahead of competition. . ,

It 1* an bid saying that 'the foundation of most fortunes has been laid in time* of adversity, but' i( is a* true today as ever. , ■ In the past few years when our market seemed so certain, and the future so rosy, the art of promotion and salesmanship has largely withered and died. There should be instituted in our universities * course in marketing, promotion and advertising and the top graduates should be sent overseas to get practical experience in tiie markets of the world. Thus we could train a bard core of young, active, imaginative people to ensure New Zealand's markets in the future. ’ > No Miracles It seemed to me on the departure of Mr Vines of the International Wool Secretariat that we had made a neat pareel of our wool woes, passed it over to him, and were now sitting back in the hope that Something favourable would happen. Mr Vines; from all I have been able to glean overseas, is a very able man indeed, but he cannot be expected to work miracles in short order. We did not give him much of a start anyway. It is well to remember, too. that the I.W.S. is an international organisation concerned with selling all descriptions Of wool, and that our types of wool may get lost in the rush. To keep in the race, it is imperative that an able lieutenant to Mr Vines be appointed to act here in New Zealand. This man should have drive and initiative and should hyve proved himself in the world textile trade The* I.W.S. should keep him informed of woollen fashion trends and demand with a view to guiding our wool growers in what to produce. He should, in turn, keep the I.W.S. informed of production trends and wool-growing prospects here. He would be in charge of public relations, conduct a clearing house of wool promotion ideas, and be the contact between woolgrowers and local mills. He should see that the full weight of promotion is behind the woollen goods we already produce and assist where he is able. None of these jobs are for a board, the duties of which are general administration and the formation of general policy, and which meets at more or less frequent intervals. This is no reflection on the Wool Board. The job calls for day to day drive with a free hand and judgment on results.

Restricting Production Ira aware that this may not be 'a popular advocacy in some quarters, but I See no point in developing new land, or pushing our sheep numbers up further, until we can get wool moving again in world markets. The drive for increased production has .not yet spent itself, and there is more wool coming on the market, particularly of inferior types, than we can handle. Until we can quit what we have there seems to be no sense in stockpiling great quantities of wool and mortgaging our future further. We have seen enough of this already. We would be much better employed improving the wool we already have, and there is great room for improvement.

Promotion Idea* As this was being written my mind was roving over various idee* for promoting wool in New Zealand. Recently 1 saw a set: of cover* for csr seats made of sheepskins. They were detachable andrwere snugly fitted over the/ existing covers. The owner said this about them. “In winter our car seats used to be as cold as a frog. In summer we perspired and were uncomfortable. With these sheepskin covers we are as snug as a bug in a rug in winter and quite comfortable in summer. What’s more 1 have never had a backache since we fitted them, even after a very long trip, of which we make plenty.” What an opportunity to promote the use of these sheepskin covers for use tn thousands upon thousands of cars throughout New Zealand. NW I read that this very idea has become all the rage in Great Britain so that there might he an export prospect as-well in world markets. There are a lot of cold* people in the world and many 'of them are motorist*. , Also 1 hgre reoentiy seen a

tlrely of sheepskins and the armchairs in the same room covered with coloured sheepskins. 1 drooled with envy

As far as 1 have been able to discover these sheepskin coverings are not in production to any extent, but 1 think there is a great market for them in a wide colour range. Cute toys made of sheepskin could be another market.

No doubt hundreds of similar ideas will come to mini/ The more valuable of these will be those which apply to long production runs in our mills and when we have a department to which we may send these ideas, they can be accepted or rejected as they come along. It might -be a good idea to award a yearly Oscar, with a cash award, to the person or company putting up the best idea for wool promotion. This would help to get the man and woman in the street behind wool. Tourist Market With the constant increase in visitors from overseas, we should have displays of our most attractive tourist goods at all airports in addition to those in leading stores. They should be stamped with their country of origin. Novelty lines not seen overseas would be of special value. I have seen lately some very attractive gift rugs of new designs. No doubt the Tourist Department is taking advantage of including in the packaging coloured booklets featuring leading tourist attractions for visitors to take home with them. We must break down these trade barriers, and find markets, for our woollen goods with new stylings and designs.