BRITISH POST OFFICE

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19457, 22 December 1934, Page 4

BRITISH POST OFFICE

INCREASED BUSINESS. DUE TO ADVERTISING. In a recent -public address Sir 'Kingsley Wood, the British Post-master-General, said':— "'Much of our reoent reoord Increase of business at the Post Office has been due to extensive and consistent advertising. It has certainly well paid the Post , Offioe. ” in connection with ithe new telephone -drive -we are about ito make In thii-s -country—made possible by the recent substantial rental reductions—we shall again fully utilise the valuable medium -of 'newspaper advertising. In my judgment lit is one of the most effective and economical means of informing thousands of potential ■telephone -subscribers of the new and valuable facilities which the 'Post Office is now able to offer.”

Sir Kingsley Wood s-aidi that it was '.some two and a-ha-lf years ago when the Post Office first 'Utilised the newspapers, and the first tiling they found was that the public did read -the advertisements and- assimilate their contents.

Post Office advertising was l-aun-ched ■then under depressing economic com.'diitions, which taught them the lesson that advertising was as -necessary and as valuable- In bad times as 'in good. W-hen -other countries had suffered very heavy los-ses in telephone -stations, Great Britain not 'only maintained its number -of telephone- .subscribers, but increased them. For the 12 months ended March, 1934, the net increase in telephone 'stations was 87,906, and •the figures for the month of April last recorded 7915 new stations, an increase of 227-5 over the -same month of 1933. Last year 'Post -Office advertising was extended to include the Air Mail services, and iit had been a great contributing 'fac'to-r to a record increase of iso-me 49. par -cent in air mail traffic during the first four months -of 1934 as compared with 'the corresponding period last year. Speaking on advertising generally, the Postmaster-General said that the recent economlo depression from which he believed the Country was not emerging had proved the power, value and stability of advertising. Firms who sold -their go’o-ds by advertising were bigger to-d!ay than i-n -pre-war d-ays. It was essential to good advertising -that goods -should be made to -suit the -public demand, 'that they should be 'the products of skilful -or-, ganisation and sound finance. It was •on repeat orders that advertising returned its profits, and tjiece were no peat orders on bad goods. Advertising could certainly help to spread throughout tha worldl a strong con3olouaness of British Industrial supremacy, ,of British Inventiveness, of British craftsmanship, thoroughness and finish.