ADVERTISING IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12439, 4 September 1933, Page 2

ADVERTISING IN GREAT BRITAIN.

DISTRIBUTION OF AVINDOAV „ DRESSING MATERIALS TO RETAIL GROCERS.

The annual report of the Dairy Board contains the following: This aspect of the programme is still put first in order of importance. Y’ears ago it was an innovation, regarded in some quarters almost with suspicion. Certain traders were reluctant to use it, and needed a good deal of persuasion before they could be , induced to regard it as a definite asset to their New Zealand butter and cheese business. But the habit has grown steadily, and nowadays the majority of grocers have come to regard it as a service almost automatically associated with their New Zealand butter and cheese trade. In fact, if the facilities we can offer in this direction had for some reason or other to be withdrawn or curtailed, there is no doubt that a large, number of grocers would feel a keen sense of disappointment at the loss of this support. It is quite remarkable how the distribution of this material has developed from the stage when a grocer accepted it under some pressure and with an air of condescension, to the present time when the same grocer would be so perturbed at not having a New Zealand butter dummy or price ticket handy in his shop when he wanted one, that he wpuld write or telephone immediately for a supply. At the same time, there is, of course, still plenty of scope for progress in this direction. We have not by any means gone as far as it is possible to go, and it is now more a problem of resources than anything else. Given the means to do itj. the amount of material that could be now put into profitable circulation would be almost without limit, up to the total number of grocers available to accept it. Even to-day, although we do everything possible to satisfy the growing demand, it is vitally necessary to exercise the most rigorous kind of consorship, and in some instances to cut down the quantity desired to proportions we consider' should be sufficient, having regard to the limited resources. The provision of this display material is the most difficult item of all for which to budget, simplv because the demand one*-. having been created, follows its own course and cannot reasonably be stopped. Given the slightest encouragement ment by special advertising in the trade papers, the requests come in in hundreds. During the past two months, for instance, we have had constantly before us the necessity to keep within the sum allotted for the year’s publicity, a necessity which we fully appreciate. As the supply of display material appeared likely to be the chief source of anxiety in this connection, it was decided to stop drawing any attention to it in the trade press. In spite of this and other efforts to quieten the demand temporarily, however, we have experienced perhaps one of the heaviest two months we can recollect, particularly in regard to butter dummies. It has placed us ill the unenviable position of having to make a choice between refusing supplies or exceeding the allotted sum of money for the year, a choice which would have been difficult enough at any time, but considerably more so just now when we are doing everything possible to encourage the retail trade to even greater efforts with their New Zealand butter and cheese sales. Sample sales: We believe we are correct in stating that New Zealand butter was the first to be sold in small sample form for advertising purposes. Since those days the idea has been taken up by many others. Each year marks a steadily declining interest on the part of the public towards the purchase of samples, and the tendency has undoubtedly been accelerated during the last twelve months by the general low price of butter and the correspondingly poor value represented by the samples. In order to remedy this to some extent, we commenced during the early part of this year to sell the

butter samples at l£d each, but although the demand was stimulated slightly, it did not by any means provide a solution to tKe problem. Our view is that this method of sampling is steadily losTng its attractiveness as an advertising med'ium, and that the time has arrived when new ideas will have to be developed to take its place.