PRINTERS’ INK

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 244, 9 July 1921, Page 12

PRINTERS’ INK

GREATEST SALESMAN OF ALL ADDRESS ON POWER OF PUBLICITY The °f advertising, in its relation to ooirmierce, formed tho subject of an address delivered to over 200 business glen in the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Hall, Christchurch, on Wednesday evening, liy Mr. Will Appleton, of Wellington. The address was given under the auspices of the Canterbury Business Science Club, Mr. IV. Fraser being in the chair.

Mr. Appleton stated that, if business men had onlv tho confidence they could bv their own individual exertions have a wonderful influence on the public. Advertising promoted commerce, was an instrument of distribution and an agency of civilisation. Webster defined the ■word "advertise” as "to give notice, advise, appraise, or make known through tho Press.” Some people had the idea that advertising was confined solely to the Press. There ' was the ease of a woman who. considering that she had been overcharged foi' rm article by 6d., went back to the shopkeeper, who admitted that a mistake had been made, and refunded tho Gd. That man was advertising himsolf in one of the best ways possible. Then, again, business firms advertised by their efficient telephone service, tho wav tho employees went to their work, tho way the heads treated tho staff, and the way patrons were treated. It was all advertising, and advertising was the sum total of the goodwill of a man’s business. Good roads constituted the advertisement which the Romans had, and, when they cressed the Alps, they advertised a new phase of civilisation to the barbarians. In the Middle Ages advertising "went back," but with the Renaissance, bringing tho art of printing, advertising came into its own. The only thing to convert a savage from his crude ways was to show him something better. In the past, men started to make articles: one roan made his better than another, so that he found it necessary to mark his wares, and so sprang up the guild system. Then came the age of steam, and a tremendous growth in production. Selling was not producing, and it was unfortunate that tho number of people distributing liad grown out of proportion to the number of producers. The greatest salesman of all was printer’s ink. New Zealand, he thought, had got over the worst of the slump, but there was the future, an-dl io face that salesmen had to think more and get down to what was ahead. As instancing the tremendous growth in production in the past, ho stated that in 1779 it cost 16s. to produce a pound of cotton yarn, labour taking Its.; in 1862 in cost 10.1 d., the labour accounting for 3Jd. Merchants began to mX-ertisc their wares, and took thorn round the world, seeking markets. So production was increased. There were more commodities in New Zealand than were needed, and it was necessary fr> increase the consumption and reduce selling costs. Improved transportation and costing systems had all aided production, but tho same progress was not made at the telling end of the business. Advertising was only a link in commerce; it was the work preceding and succeeding the advertising which made the difference. Business men were slow to realise the vital selling force in tho power of advertising. Finns thought nothing of spending <£looo in salesmen’s expenses — they could curtail a great deal of that, and roach their buyers through print. Ho had known of 57 commercial travellers in Hawera, Eltliam, and. Stratford at ono time. They were all employed at i n very heavy coat, and it was notneccs- i sury for firms Io spend money like that. Letters couched in suitable terms would serve just as useful a purpose in a great many cases, whilst eliminating expense. Advertisements represented a wiioKs group oi salesmen. Mr. App.etbn referred to those firms which would not sendi out an untidy ' salesman, but which retained unsuitable ' advertisements. Advertising gave birth to new wants and desires, and a community which had wants was making progress. Advertising benefited- the manufacturer, it helped to get a large scale output, and he could standardise his equipment and build up his goodwill. That enlarged output enabled the manufacturer to turn out an article-at a reasonable price, thus bringing it into popular favour. The Ford car was everywhere because Henry Ford standardised it, and reduced the production cost. Ford offered one dollar for every joke about his car—that was how he advertised it. Mass production of the kodak was brought about by advertising. Tho best advertisement the kodak ever had was tho picture of a soldier with a photo, and the words, "A picture from home.” Those four words did the trick, and the manufacturers spent .£50,000 in having the picture reproduced in magazines. Before a man advertised, he must' know what his competitor was doing, and whether his article would appeal to the public; he must consider the popular fancy, make his wares up in tho correct package, and arrange his prices. Advertising reduced tho selling costs of tho retailer. Those linos the price of which was raised least after 191-1 were lines that were advertised extensively. The manufacturers did not want their goodwill spoiled; they had large stocks, and an advertiser could not afford to “monkey with the public.” The consumer, too. was benefited, since he could call for tho standardised article. The man w'ho advertised his goods put a. bond on them; when he got a complaint he took heed. A firm which consistently advertised built up its goodwill, and it could not afford to turn out inferior goods. Mr. Appleton gave several. instances of the increase in price effected by standardising goods. Better conditions and workmanship were brought about by the power of advertising, the arts were made known—music, for. instance, by the gramophone. Advertising was a great, free correspondence school. A man considered what he would buy, and he turned to the newspaper advertisements. By cheap newspapers there was disseminated a knowledge never possible through other channels. Twopence was not a high price for a newspaper when it was considered that the cost, of paper had increased 600 per cent. Advertisers made the cheap newspaper possible. Some people thought that an immediate return should bo shown for an advertisement, but time must elapse. If a well-known firm offered to sell a certain high-priced hat at 10s. 6d., there would be a rush, but if a non-aclvertiser sold at the sumo price he would bo considered a faker. Goodwill counted, and that came through advertising. It was said by some that, because a man advertised a cheap line, he was trying to got money. That was bad business, which had its react ion on the person giving effect to the false statement. Tho speaker then quoted instances of the power of advertising in England, and referred to the “laughing joke" system of advertising of the New Zealand Government. He went on to deal with tho preparation of “copy," and stated that advertisers were always competing with the brains of the journalistic profession. An advertiser hid to make his story as interesting as that of the news writer. Copy must be simple and terse—just what a salesman would say! Advertisers must have faith, and continue to advertise, not spasmodically, but with concentration. Money spent on programme advertising was charity—"chicken feed"—better to give a guinea ( donation and have done, with it.

He then mode a plea for publicity on public questions, a plea for the true facts, and the sympathy of the public on industrial questions would go with

Hie truth. It was a disgrace to New Zealand that propaganda affecting public health, consumption, infant and maternal mortality were not advertised. Thanks to the Press of the country, the work of Dr. Truby King had been advertised. It waS a disgrace to Wellington that large numbers of women with perambulators should have to wait for nurses outside a two-roomed shack. A number of the newspaper men did not appreciate the power behind their pens; they did not believe in tho power of advertising. They asked, “Does it matter?” A newspaper should study the question more deeply. It was a psychological study. Advertising depended on conditions, it had come into its own in commerce, and business people should get trained experts to go into the question. Mr. Appleton concluded by stating that advertisers should not indulge in price-cutting—it never paid to hit a competitor. A vote of thanks was passed to the speaker, after ho had answered a series of questions.