A SELLING MEDIUM.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20298, 7 May 1934, Page 8

A SELLING MEDIUM.

Newspapers Still First Choice of Advertisers. jMR YY. "TLETOX'S IMPRFC^TONS Newspaper advertising is still the chief selling nv-di :.n of the d' v in England. This was the message v.*hi V. Mr Will Ar. letr.n, of Welli*-*-' ~n gave to business men of Christchurch in an address at the Business Men's Club luncheon to-day. Mr Appleton recently returned from a toxir of the world, and gave his hearers an outline of his impressions regarding the latest developments in advertising in England, where he represented New Zealand at the Advertising and Marketing Exhibition. “ To use the Prince of Wales’s expression, the exhibition,” said Mr Appleton, ' was magnificent.’ The theme was advertising and world recovery, and there was indisputable evidence, strikingly presented by the adverti ing fraternity and the newspaper interests, that effective steps hr?d been, and were being taken to overcome the apathy of the buying public. The displays lmde on behalf of Australia and New Zealand were most impressive and created splendid impressions of these two countries as markets for British manufacturers. The New Zealand stand had excited a good deal of interest. ?nd it was rather noteworthv that when the King and Queen visited the Exhibition, her Majestv had specially stopped in the New Zealand pavilion nnd had inquired abou‘ this Dominion. She remarked particularly on some of the pictures of New Zealand scenery which w'ere displayed, and said that •die remembered some of the spots.” The progress made by the leading newspapers and bv practitioners in the Old Country in the matter of market investigation and research was well brought out at the Exhibition. “ The wealth of detail now available for the information of advertisers, not glittering generalities, but precise information, was a revelation to me,” said Mr Appleton, ‘‘as it must have been to those interested both in the Home and Colonial markets. It exemplified how advertising men, in keeping with most other business executives in Great Britain, had met the disabilities created by the financial 'blizzard which had swept most parts of the world.” A lesson learned at Olympia, stated Mr Appleton, was that in staging an exhibition of this character something not only of real value to those who use advertising but of educational interest to the general public had to be pro vided. The fact that the exhibition at Olympia, involving the expenditure of some thousands of pounds, had resulted in a net profit of £3OOO to the advertising association, spoke volumes as to the acumen and organising ability of the committee. General and technical interest were happily bier ded, and, apart from specialised information graphically presented for the benefit of national advertisers, there were many features of a popular though kindred character. One point which was forcibly brought out at the Exhibition, and which was subsequently confirmed by Mr Appleton in his tour of Great Britain was that newspaper advertising is still the chief selling medium, not only of the large stores, but of the leading manufacturers. Those concerns which had kept up the advertising pressure during the days of depression had come out on top, and were now reaping the reward of their efforts. Some people thought that, due to the development of the talkies and broadcasting, the Press was losing its hold over public opinion. Such, however, said Mr Appleton, is certainly not the case in the Old Country. It was realised, mentioned the speaker, both by the advertising practitioners and by the newspaper interests, that a definite responsibility for the success of advertising rested on the shoulders of those who asked manufacturers and traders to make use of their columns. For instance, more attention than ever was being paid to the question of suitable “ copy ” and illustrations. A tremendous amount of work had been done in the way of research, and publishers were closely analysing their circulation figures so that they could definitely advise advertisers as to the lines to adopt. Publicity to-day is not the “ hit-and-miss ” system that it used to be in the past. A good deal of criticism had been levelled at advertising as being an economic waste, and it behoved not only the Press but all those interested in publicity to see that money devoted to it was wisely expended.