SAVING WASTE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 November 1924, Page 6

SAVING WASTE.

IX ADVERTISING

One of our readers unburdens himself as follows:—“A, dapper little man called at our office on 29th May, 1923, soliciting an advertisement for The Timbuctoo Tourist Guide, a. publication of a first-rate grade to be circulated widely, particularly at toe great- International’ Exhibition at Wembley, where thousands of copies were to be given away. This was the very thing we -were looking for, as we were most anxious to avail ourselves of such a splendid medium. We signed up and paid a deposit of £4, leaving £l2 to be paid on issue of the publication. We sent forward the advertisement, but a promised proof was never received. We had the utmost difficulty in getting replies to letter's of • enquiry as to what was being done, andj we discovered that the dapper little man had disappeared from the scene. “East month a copy of the wonderful book was sent to us, but not a word about the circulation of free copies at Wembley. The little nrrin apparently sold out to' another* firm, but from the latter is has not been possible to secure satisfactory information as to' the promised distribution in England. Altogether the transaction has been a most unsatisfactory one, : and we wonder if other subscribers have had a similar experience. We have doubts as to our liability to make any further payment.” As we are not in possession of the contract that our correspondent signed, we are unable to definitely advise him as to his liability, but on the facts submitted it would as if; the advertisers have good reason to repudiate the contract. If part of the consideration was tlie distribution of the-. Guides at Wembley, and tlie publeatioii wa.s issued too l'ate for this to be done, the publishers will have t a slim chance of enforcing payment, unless, of course, they have been ! astute enough to obtain the sanction of their clients to the variation in the eonti'act. 0 There seems to he kind of glamour

about advertising that fascinates even

the keenest men of commerce. 'Apply sound business sense, to some of the: stunts that are taken up in the guise ,of advertising by these men, and they would stand aghast. It is a curious thing, but the business community as a class* seems to be fair game for these itinerant stunt publicity solicitors. By far the greater proportion of these publications, are produced as a- means of securing advertisements. They possess little or no value as publicity .media, and the main claim to consideration is that it gives a. fat living to the glib salesmen who fatten on the vanity of their victims. / Advertising in a sense is an intangible commodity. Its value cannot he measured by a foot rule or a sirring balance, and as the true worth of any publicity calls for keen discrimination and judgment, it follows that there are- few men expert enough or experienced enough to give a. reliable estimate. The hard-headed man of business., who- lias been taken down by the artful dodgers of the advertising game seldom falls for the “get-rich-quick Wallingford” ,stunts tli,at are so skilfully bandied bv the commission salesman, but, as the Americans say. ‘‘There is one born every minute. ” and we are afraid that the unsophisticated trader parts with a good share of bis profits on worthless schemes in the , fond belief that he is advertising. If a retailer' increases the size of ■ his shop, or engages extra, staff, or carries a larger stock, it is possible ! to gauge whether the extension is | profitable or not, by the direct returns! in extra business. In advertising, however, • this is , not so easily ascertained, particularly if the retailer is using, various forms of publicity.' Because of this lack of check, propositions that men of experience know to be positively valueless obtain support and flourish sometimes better than a genuine scheme. It is not an uncommon practice for “fake” publications that have no real circulation or influence to carry for practically nothing an advertisement for a leading advertiser as a bait for less . experienced traders., The fact of seeing the announcement of a man whom you regard as a r : ouud buyer is not always conclusive evidence that- the scheme possesses merit. We do not hold a brief for any particular class of advertising. Generally, ' however, it is agreed by experts who should know the business that news- • papers and magazines which possess a > definite circulation offer the best value to advertisers. The very fact that all the leaders in the advertising field consistently use this class of media, noc ; only in New Zealand, hut the world : over, is convincing proof that the Press comes first. Another golden maxim is that publications that are given away indiscriminately are not valued by the recipients, and. offer poor value to the advertiser. Probably the .best method of all is a direct personal letter, but this is expensive, and it is difficult to I locate all possible purchasers. That is where the newspaper scores. It reaches all prospect** at a minimum cost. If, however, a firm has a good list of customers, it would be folly not to announce special items, and to beep in touch bv means c.f a folder or booklet occasionally.

Hoarding advertising, tram - cars, railways, window displays, and sampling ail have their proper value under certain conditions, and it ivould be foolish for us to dogmatise as to any particular form of publicity. The opinion of experts differ as to the relativo values of the various kinds of advertising that mav be taken up, but all will- agree that most of the lie.tel menu, hotel directory, guide hook variety of stunt advcrtisVng means money thrown away except for the small share that reaches, the printer and the paper merchant.

The surprising thing is that hundreds of pounds can be frittered away in these so-called advertising schemes, lr, however, business men were to. look at the propositions in their true, light, ami regard the expenditure as charity pure and simple, there would soon lie a diminution of the evil. In this connection the accountant can do Ins part. By analysing the advertising expenditure, and showing his firm or chief iust- how much has been wasted on so-called advertising. be wiil be rendering a- distinct service to his employer, and also to advertising itself. Too many business men do not believe in publicity. ! because they liave never tried the effecl of true publicity. They have probably wasted their money c.n had propositions, and they blamed advertising, whereas advertising in the correct sense of the term did not get a chance. We are fortunate in New Zealand in having several firms that specialise in advertising. The majority of those who use publicity employ the services of these experts, who obviously must render a service or they would not- continue to exist. This is the age of specialisation. and. like most other professions, advertising is a specialised business. The advice o,f the experts will not only avoid the fly-by-night pitfalls of publicity, but it will produce advertising that will pay the advertiser. Every man thinks he is a born adver-

t-ising man, and usually he has to pay for liis experience. If he is wise he will save some of his money by utilising the services of a concern that- has “been through the mill” with the appropriations of other jveopie. In that way he will save much waste in his own allocation.

(The above appeared as an editorial in the “New Zealand Accountant” section of the Mercantile Gazette of October, 1924.)