' 7 7 THE ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING % Qraw-JfillBook (a 7m PUBLISHERS OF BOOKS Coal Age * Electric Railway Journal Electrical \Wsrld ^ Engineering News-Record American Machinist vingenierfa Internacional Engineering 8 Mining Journal v Power Chemical. Q Metallurgical Engineering Electrical Merchandising THE ESSENTIALS OF ADVEKTISING BY FRANK LEROY BLANCHARD DIRECTOR, COURSE IN ADVERTISING, 23RD 8T. Y.M.C.A., NEW YORK, FORMERLY MANAGINQ EDITOR OF PRINTERS' INK AND EDITOR OF THE EDITOR AND PUBLISHER FIRST EDITION THIRD IMPRESSION McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK: 370 SEVENTH AVENUE LONDON: 6 & 8 BOUVERIE ST., E. C. 4 1921 COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY THE McGKAW-HiLL BOOK COMPANY, INC. THK MAPI.K FRKSS T O R K PA PREFACE Advertising is such a big subject and the amount of material concerning it is so abundant that it is impossible within the limits of a single volume to present more than a small part of what might be written about it. In the preparation of a text-book all the author can do is to confine his attention to a few of its many phases with the hope that the student, after he has mastered the principles set forth, will desire to continue his search for advertising knowledge elsewhere. In the present book it has been the purpose of the writer to outline and discuss, as briefly and as clearly as possible, the funda- mental principles upon which modern advertising practice is based, the preparation of copy, the special advantages of the several mediums employed, the duties of the more important positions, and such other information as will give the student a comprehensive view of the subject. In taking up the study of advertising it is important that the beginner should get started right and the aim of this volume is to help him get such a start. When he has assimilated its con- tents he can then proceed through actual experience in the field and further study to build upon the foundation he has thus laid until he becomes a skilled practitioner of the art of advertising. A discussion of the more advanced problems of advertising is purposely omitted as such problems have no place in a work of this kind. Some of the important topics taken up are only briefly touched upon for lack of space. Students who desire further information can find it in the books listed in the last chapter. The author has been guided in the selection of material by his experience as an instructor in advertising and has endeavored to arrange the topics in such a manner that the reader is led from one subject to another in logical order, so that when he has com- pleted the course he will have acquired a definite amount of correlated information that will be of great service to him in his future work. 2223857 vi PREFACE Teachers of advertising will find the list of questions at the end of each chapter helpful in testing the student's knowledge of --the subjects discussed. It is a good plan to encourage the study of current advertisements appearing in the magazines and local newspapers and show how they illustrate the principles set forth in these pages. After the fourth lesson the students should take up the writing of advertisements, beginning with a help wanted ad, one being assigned each week as part of the home work, the instructor at first furnishing the material upon which they are to be based. The author desires to express his indebtedness for valuable assistance rendered him by Frank Presbrey, of the Frank Pres- brey Company, Inc.; O. H. Blackman, president of the Blackman Company; Lewellyn Pratt, former vice president of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World; Harold J. Mahin, of the O. J. Gude Co.; Louis Wiley, business manager of the New York Times; Roy W. Johnson, of Collin Armstrong, Inc.; Joseph H. Appel, advertising manager of John Wanamaker; George H. Larke, advertising manager of the New York World; A. W. Erick- son, president of the Erickson Company; Harry Levey, of the Harry Levey Service Corporation; C. H. Plummer, of the New York City Car Advertising Co.; W. Livingston Larned, vice- president of the Ethridge Association of Artists; W. B. Ruthrauff, of Ruthrauff & Ryan; Jesse H. Neal, executive secretary of Associated Business Papers, Inc. ; Ralph Starr Butler, advertising manager of the United States Rubber Company; Benjamin Sherbow, George P. Metzger, of Hanff & Metzger; H. J. Kenner, executive secretary of the National Vigilance Committee of the A. A. C. W.; Robert E. Ramsay, advertising manager of the American Writing Paper Company, E. H. Schulze, of the Making it Pay Corporation and Harry Varley of the George Batten Company. Credit is also due to Printers' Ink for helpful material. F. L. B. CONTENTS PREFACE v CHAPTER PAQH I. ADVERTISING WHAT IT Is AND WHAT IT DOES 1 II. WHAT You OUGHT TO KNOW BEFORE You WRITE AN ADVER- TISEMENT 8 III. How TO LAY Our AN ADVERTISEMENT 13 IV. ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION 22 V. ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 36 VI. PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 55 VII. ADVANTAGES OF COLOR IN ADVERTISING 77 VIII. PLANNING A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN 90 IX. PROBLEMS OF THE NATIONAL ADVERTISER 100 X. RETAIL ADVERTISING 116 XI. WHY ADVERTISE IN THE NEWSPAPERS 132 XII. MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 144 XIII. THE ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS . . 156 XIV. ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 165 XV. THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING 178 XVI. DIRECT AND MAIL ORDER ADVERTISING 187 XVII. BUSINESS-GETTING LETTERS 195 XVIII. SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOGUE MAKING 208 XIX. THE MISSION OF THE BOOKLET 218 XX. USEFULNESS OF HOUSE ORGANS 225 XXI. ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES 233 XXII. MOTION PICTURE ADVERTISING 241 XXIII. DUTIES OF THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 249 XXIV. WHAT THE ADVERTISING AGENT DOES FOR THE NATIONAL ADVERTISER 259 XXV. THE ADVERTISING SALESMAN 272 XXVI. How TRADE-MARKS HELP THE ADVERTISER 286 XXVII. THE ECONOMICS OF ADVERTISING 298 XXVIII. ON CORRECTING PROOFS 305 XXIX. BOOKS ON ADVERTISING AND SALESMANSHIP 313 INDEX. . 317 Vll THE ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING CHAPTER I ADVERTISING WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES Anything employed to influence people favorably is advertising. It may be the spoken word, as, for instance, the argument a clerk uses in selling a customer a pair of shoes; or the campaign speech delivered by a politician in behalf of a candidate for office. It may be something done, as, for example, the driving of an automobile at record-breaking speed across the continent to demonstrate its dependability and gasoline efficiency; or the making of cigarettes or cigars in a show window to attract attention to the methods of manufacture or the quality of the tobacco employed. It may be the written or printed word, as a sales letter, a catalog, or the newspaper display announcement of a merchant who seeks to draw customers to his store. This definition is a broad one and may include things that are not always purposely used for advertising ends, but it is only a broad definition that will cover all the mediums through which advertising finds expression. Advertising as a means for marketing merchandise is not a modern art as it has been used for that purpose since the early days of civilization. In the British Museum may be seen a sheet of papyrus found in the ruins of Ancient Thebes, in Egypt, upon which appears the oldest advertisement yet discovered, offering a reward for a runaway slave. It was written 3,000 years before the Christian Era began. In the time of the Caesars the merchants of Rome, then mistress of the world, called 1 2 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING attention to their wares through inscriptions upon the walls of buildings, or by means of placards written by slaves and displayed upon bulletin boards erected for the purpose throughout the city. The gladiatorial contests, chariot races and sports of the arena were advertised in this way. How suggestive of a modern poster is the statement made in a gladiatorial announcement which says : "The gladiatorial troup of A. Suetius Certus, the Aedile, will fight at Pompeii, on May 31. There will be a hunt and awnings." Wild beast hunts were frequently given as an additional attrac- tion to the regular games, while the awnings which covered the amphitheatre, usually open to the sun, were in great favor with the public. For rent signs were in common use. Here is one: "For rent from July 1st, next, in the Arrio-Pollian block, belonging to Cn. Alleius Nigidus Maius, shops with rooms above, second story apartments fit for a king, and a house. Apply to Primus, slave of Maius." It was not, however, until the printing press and movable type were invented in the Fifteenth Century that advertising, as we know it to-day, became possible. The earliest type-printed medium employed for advertising purposes was the newspaper. Just when the first one made its appearance has not been def- initely determined, but for a long time the Frankfurter Journal which Serlin launched in 1615, was supposed to be the earliest. But in 1876, Dr. Julius Otto Opel found in the library of Heidelberg University, Germany, copies of a newspaper edited by Johann Carolus and published in Strasburg in 1609. The first newspaper printed in English was the Weekly Newes, established in London in 1622 by Nathaniel Butter. During the same year the first newspaper advertisement, which, by the way, exploited a new book, made its appearance in its columns. The first newspaper advertisement in the United States appeared in the initial number of the Boston News Letter, which was launched April 26, 1704, and was the earliest newspaper to be regularly issued in the Colonies. It was written by John Campbell, the editor, who was then postmaster of Boston, and called attention of the public to the News Letter as an advertising medium. ADVERTISING WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES 3 For many years the newspapers printed few advertisements, their publishers depending entirely upon subscriptions for their income. To-day's newspapers are crowded with them, forty-five dailies printing over 1,000,000 lines of advertising annually. The literary magazines, like Harper's, did not admit advertise- ments to their pages until after the close of the Civil War. The publishers considered it beneath their dignity, and it was only when the cost of getting out these periodicals was forced, through competition, to such a high figure that little profit could be realized from subscriptions, that they finally yielded to the pres- sure brought to bear upon them by advertisers. To-day the magazines derive their principal revenues from advertising. Other mediums of national circulation include trade, technical, class and professional periodicals and house organs. In direct or mail order advertising the mediums employed are letters, booklets, catalogs, circulars, calendars, folders and display cards. Indoor advertising makes use of moving pictures, car cards, theatrical programs, window and counter displays, hangers, strips, cutouts, mechanical devices and demonstrations. Out- door advertising finds expression in electric displays, posters, painted bulletins and metal signs. Another class of mediums that is regarded with favor by manufacturers having a national distribution, and by many retail merchants, is advertising specialties or novelties. Some of the more popular articles listed under this head are watch fobs, pocket knives, letter openers, desk rulers, paper weights, ink stands, diaries, thermometers, cigar lighters, pocket match boxes, pencils, pocket memorandum pads, pocket books, watch charms and paper cutters. While the above lists do not include all of the media employed by advertisers they embrace a majority of those that have been found most serviceable in selling merchandise. Although advertising has now become a powerful merchandise distributing force, its value was not fully appreciated until within a comparatively recent period. Even to-day merchants may be found who are blind to the service it can render them in market- ing their goods. For generations advertising was like a sleeping giant whose strength was not known or appreciated until the 4 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING click of type and the roar of the printing press aroused it to action. At first its development was slow. Merchants were afraid to break away from the ancient method of barter and sale. Moreover, advertising was regarded as an experiment. Its worth had not been definitely established, although there were some business men who had faith in it and who would spend their money on it. But in spite of prejudice, indifference and opposition, advertising increased in popularity and effectiveness until it is now regarded as an indispensable force in the creation and development of business. What has advertising done? It has made the world a better place to live in by constantly suggesting public improvements and urging the adoption of hygienic methods in the homes of the people. It has created great industries, constructed railroads, built towns and cities and opened up to settlement vast areas of agricultural land. It has lightened the burdens of man- kind by introducing labor-saving devices; it has reduced the dangers of traveling by rail by bringing into use signal systems that prevent collisions between trains and permit their operation at high speed. It has taught people how to be healthy through the consumption of pure foods and the wearing of the proper kind of clothing. It has brought riches to the poor, given budding genius a hearing, and shown the public how to enjoy itself. It has marketed billions of dollars' worth of government bonds to finance great wars, and has called to the colors millions of America's sons to fight for home and country. It has warned the nation of threatening dangers and aroused its citizens to action. It has stabilized business, found markets for home-made products in foreign lands and stimulated domestic trade. It has opened up a whole world of opportunity to ambitious young men in search of name and fortune. These are only a few of the ways in which advertising has aided mankind, but they are sufficient to indicate the wide variety and the great importance of the services it renders. Let us now be more specific and from the records of actual achievements cite instances that show what may be accomplished by advertising. When the Oneida Community, manufacturers ADVERTISING WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES 5 of silverware, began to advertise in a modest way in 1904, its annual sales were $500,000. Twelve years later the annual sales amounted to $4,000,000, a result brought about through advertising. The Postal Life Insurance Company, organized under the laws of the State of New York, has depended upon advertising for its business from the day it was started. In 1905 the Company issued 205 policies, aggregating $347,000 of insurance, and spent $862.58 for advertising. Three years later 1,126 policies were issued, which was an increase of almost 500 per cent, and repre- sented $1,976,522 of insurance, at an advertising cost of $5,900. In 1914 insurance to the amount of $2,577,720 was written on 1,560 policies, the advertising investment being $39,616.13. The number of policy holders in 1918 was 25,000 and the appropriation for advertising about $40,000, or $1.60 for each policy-holder. As the company is limited by the laws of the State of New York in its advertising expenditures, as a part of the operating costs, to a certain percentage of the total annual premiums received, it follows that even though a far greater amount of business might be developed through a larger advertising investment, it is pro- hibited from pursuing such a course. Between twelve and fifteen per cent, of those who answer Postal Life ads become policy- holders a notable record. A single advertisement in Leslie's Weekly, costing $210.60 gross, brought 185 replies and $33,000 worth of business. At an annual meeting of the stockholders of the English cor- poration of A. F. Pears, manufacturer of Pears' Soap, it was announced that since the Company was founded it had invested $15,000,000 in advertising. According to the chairman this expenditure has made the name of Pears a household word in all the world. The business was started on a capital of $35,000. The Ford Motor Company, of Detroit, Michigan, on one occasion sold 338,771 automobiles through the use of 360 lines of advertising in 142 newspapers, published in 51 large cities, at a cost of less than $6,000. The American Druggists' Syndicate, which has 12,000 mem- bers, by spending $500,000 in advertising its preparations in 6 the cities in which its members are located, did a business of $3,000,000, at a net profit of $192,000. The best-known phonograph in the United States and the one having the largest sale is the Victor Talking Machine. Since its incorporation in 1901 it has been a constant and liberal advertiser. During the five years ending in 1918 its annual publicity investment did not fall below $1,500,000. One year it exceeded $3,000,000. These are only a few of the many instances that might be cited to show what has been accomplished through advertising. For every concern that has developed sales of a million or more dollars a year there are thousands that do a business of from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand dollars. The stories that might be told concerning the career of; some of these firms would read more like pages from a romance than from matter-of-fact business records. To business men who are familiar with modern selling methods the refusal of Congress during the great war to appropriate money to advertise the billions of dollars worth of Liberty Bonds it had to sell was, and still is, inexplicable. While it was willing to give manufacturers almost any price they might ask for muni- tions and other war supplies, it would not pay a cent to newspaper and magazine publishers for advertising. If the business men of the country had not voluntarily and patriotically come to the government's aid by planning, and paying for out of their own pockets the greatest advertising campaigns ever known to popul- arize the loans, it is doubtful whether any one of the bond issues would have been a success. No better illustration of the tre- mendous influence of advertising upon the masses can be found in the annals of business. In a little over a year, $20,000,000,000 worth of these bonds were sold. What is the secret of the marvelous influence of advertising? Is it something that only the elect can understand? As a matter of fact there is nothing mysterious about it. The principles governing it are simple and easily comprehended by anyone who has had a common school education. Advertising is the medium through which one mind seeks to influence another. It is an intensive form of salesmanship. It seeks by the use of display ADVERTISING WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES 7 type and pictures to impress upon people's minds a message usually concerning merchandise that may be of benefit to those to whom it is addressed. Sometimes the advertisement contains no sales argument, its purpose being wholly educational. Perhaps it tells of the char- acter and standing of the firm or company manufacturing a prod- uct, or presents interesting data concerning the plant, the sources of the raw material it employs, or enumerates the special advan- tages of its location and transportation facilities. Or it may be devoted to the maintenance of good will during periods of business depression, or when, through extraordinary circum- stances, deliveries of products cannot be made to regular customers. The mission of advertising is to persuade men and women to act in a way that will be of advantage to the advertiser. The more convincingly the message is set forth, whatever medium is employed, the greater will be its effect upon those who read it. To be successful in advertising a person must understand the human mind how it responds to the different kinds of appeal. As all people do not think or act alike, some reacting to one kind of stimuli and others to those of an entirely different character, the advertiser must have at his command a varied assortment of appeals which he can adapt to the particular audience he wishes to address. Questions 1. Define advertising. 2. What are its three forms of expression? 3. What was the first advertisement of which we have knowledge and when did it appear ? 4. Give the name and date of the first newspaper printed in English. 6. What are the principal mediums employed in modern advertising? 6. Enumerate some of the services advertising has rendered mankind. 7. Give an example of the successful use of advertising in building up business. 8. How did the merchants advertise in the days of the Caesars? 9. When was the first newspaper advertisement in America printed? 10. What is the mission of advertising? CHAPTER II "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" is an old proverb that applies with special force to the preparation of advertising matter. You cannot write intelligently and with an authority that will carry conviction to the reader until you know, in an intimate manner, the article you are to describe. The mere f acility of grouping words together in such a way that they read well and sound pleasing will prove of little value in selling goods through the printed word. If to the facility of ex- pression, however, there is added the ability to study and analyze manufactured products, the advertisement writer is in a position to do effective work. To write an advertisement that will influence people to buy what you have to sell is not as easy as it looks to those who have had no experience in the preparation of copy. Arthur Brisbane, of the Hearst newspapers, the highest paid editorial writer in the world, once said that advertisement writing was the hardest work he had ever attempted. Several years ago, Thomas A. Edison agreed to pay him $1,000 apiece for five single page ads. The great editor was willing to do the work and actually began to write one of the advertisements but after making several vain attempts to turn out something satisfactory he quit the job with- out having completed a single advertisement. He afterward said that whenever he thought of again undertaking the task the cold shivers chased up and down his back. Perhaps the real reason why he failed was because he did not take the time to acquire the information he should have had before he began to write. All advertising may be broadly classified under two heads general and local. General advertising is the term applied to 8 WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW 9 printed matter employed to create a demand for a product that is nationally distributed. Local advertising, as the term implies, is the advertising used by the merchants of a city or town to bring people to their stores to buy the goods they have to sell. Before attempting to write an advertisement the object of which is to sell an article nationally you should have at your command a store of information not only about the article you are to exploit, but about the market and the methods employed in securing its distribution. A physician cannot intelligently prescribe for a patient until he has first made a thorough diagnosis of his physical and mental condition, and has inquired about his habits and his personal history. No lawyer of standing would consent to represent a client in one of the higher courts before he had acquainted himself with all the facts relating to the case and had looked up the judicial rulings and decisions in similar causes of action. The advertisement writer likewise should not put pencil to paper until he has collected and digested every scrap of informa- tion concerning the article he is to write about that will be of assistance to him in his work. Neglect to do this is almost certain to result in the production of copy that is inefficient if not valueless. Many a campaign has failed because the adver- tising dealt with generalities rather than with facts. The Product. What should you know about the product? Having satisfied yourself that it is an article of merit and that a profitable demand can be created for it through advertising, information should be sought along the lines suggested by the following questions: How does it compare with the products of other manufacturers in quality, price, and appearance? If it is not of equal or superior merit, if it is not as attractive in looks, or if it cannot be sold at a lower price, it is usually con- sidered a waste of money to advertise it nationally in competition with goods that are already established in public favor through this form of salesmanship. A large investment in advertising may develop a temporary demand, but after it has been tried out through use, and people have had a chance to compare it with other brands that have given satisfaction they will stop buying it, although it is sometimes sold at a lower price. 10 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Is it an article of general consumption or does it appeal only to a limited class? What are its special advantages or selling points that will make people want to buy it? How is it manu- factured and of what materials? Can it be produced in sufficient quantities to fill orders that may result from the advertising? If sold in containers is it attractively packed? The Market. Having made a careful and thorough study of the article itself the next thing to do is to critically analyze the market in which it is to be sold. Preliminary to the preparation of copy for advertising campaigns involving a heavy investment it is customary for the advertising agency handling the accounts to send out several skilled investigators to interview jobbers, retailers and consumers as to their attitude toward the product, if it is already on sale, and to get a line upon the extent of the demand that may be developed through aggressive publicity. If it is a new article the aim of the investigators is to ascertain whether such a product is likely to appeal to the trade. If it possesses real merit, and can be sold at a price that will yield a fair profit to those who handle it, the chances are that when it is actually placed on the market a satisfactory volume of sales can be developed. These investigations are worth all they cost because they furnish the manufacturer information that may save him a large amount of money in planning his selling cam- paigns. In the hands of the copy-writer the data is made the basis of some of the strongest kind of advertising appeals. Knowing the market hi this intimate way he can take advantage of the suggestions that come to him fresh from the field and obtain results that would otherwise be impossible. But whether or not the copy- writer has the aid of field investi- gators he should know these things about the market: Can a permanent demand be created for the article or is it a novelty that will last for a few months only? Does it have a general or a sectional appeal? What classes of people will buy it, and how, in view of their character, education and habits, can they best be approached? What kind of copy should be employed? Should its immediate object be educational, to establish good will, or to sell merchandise? What mediums are best adapted to the purposes of the campaign? WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW 11 Distribution. The advertisement writer should have a clear conception of the methods of distribution used by the manu- facturer whose product he is to exploit. This may be obtained by making inquiries along the lines suggested by these questions : How is the article sold through jobbers and retailers, or direct to the consumers? Is the distribution nation-wide or is it confined to certain well-defined sections of the country? What kinds of stores handle the article? Have demonstrators been employed in department or other retail establishments, and if so, with what success? Are samples distributed by sample crews, are they given out by merchants, or are they sent from head- quarters upon requests received in response to advertising? Does the firm have the cooperation of the trade? What assist- ance does the manufacturer give the retailer in the local field in moving the product from his shelves? Are window trims, cut- outs, hangers, newspaper advertisements or cuts supplied? While the copy-writer when he starts in to prepare an adver- tisement does not always have in his possession all the informa- tion indicated by the preceding questions, the more facts he has at hand the better able he will be to construct advertisements that will bring big results. In preparing retail advertising copy, less preliminary investiga- tion is required than for national copy. The merchant, or his advertising manager who does the work, must know the im- portant facts about the different lines of goods carried in stock and must understand the public from which his patronage is drawn. Many retailers fail to score the success they might because they do not study sufficiently the people with whom they seek to do business. If they knew them as well as they should they would make fewer mistakes in buying goods and would know better how to influence them through their advertising. The following questions suggest the kind of information that will be helpful in the preparation of advertising copy for the local field : What are the attractive features of the store and the advantages of its location? What class of goods is carried cheap, medium priced or the highest grade? The answer to this ques- tion is highly important as upon it depends in a large measure the character of the advertising copy. Are the sales mostly 12 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING for cash or do charge accounts predominate? What is the character of the store service? Have the clerks a reputation for courtesy and attentiveness to customers? Does the store have a satisfactory delivery system? Is the "return goods" privilege granted to customers? Does it handle nationally advertised goods and to what extent? Does it hold special sales? Does it make a bid for suburban or rural trade? What is the reputation of the store or its owner for fair dealing, for enterprise and for public spirit? What has been the nature and extent of the advertising that has been done in the past? What has been the amount of the advertising expenditure for the last two years? Has the firm a fixed advertising policy? You will no doubt conclude after reading the foregoing ques- tions that advertisement writing is not quite as easy and simple a task as you had supposed. A lazy man will never be a pro- ducer of successful copy. The man who will make his mark in this field is he who is never satisfied with a superficial knowledge of the subject he is to write about, and who can put into simple but forceful language arguments or statements that will interest the public and produce a renumerative volume of sales. Questions 1. What are the three things that are of special value to a copy-writer? 2. Under what two heads may all advertising be classified? Define each. 3. What should the copy-writer know about the product before he begins to write an advertisement? 4. About the market? 5. About distribution? 6. Enumerate the kinds of information that will help in the preparation of retail advertising. CHAPTER III HOW TO LAY OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT Just as an architect draws the plan of a building before the actual work of construction is begun, so the writer should make a diagram, or, as it is technically called, a layout, of the advertise- ment he is to prepare. The direct purposes of the layout are, first, to visualize the writer's ideas, that is, to show roughly how the advertisement will look when put into type; and, second, to give the printer the necessary instructions for its typographical reproduction. From an economical standpoint the layout saves both time and money. If the O.K. of the advertiser must be obtained before the copy is sent to the publishers the writer can, by submitting a layout upon which the illustration is roughly sketched, and the general appearance of the advertisement is indicated, give him a clear idea as to how it is going to look. If the client turns it down, then only the brief time spent in sketch- ing the layout is lost, because no work has been done on it by the printer, or the engraver. In the layout is presented a diagram indicating the exact size of the ad, the headline and other important display lines; the position and size of the illustrations; the location of the text matter and, usually, the name of the advertiser; the size and kind of type in which the advertisement is to be set, the character of the border with which it is to be enclosed, and the arrangement of the white space. The text matter is not written on the layout but on a separate sheet of paper known as the "copy" sheet. Where the several paragraphs are to be placed in the advertisement is indicated by letters or figures which correspond to similar letters or figures marked on the layout. The Size. In preparing the layout the first thing to do is to decide upon the size of the advertisement. This depends upon 13 14 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING a number of things the nature of the article or business to be exploited, the territory to be covered, the mediums to be em- ployed, the class of people to be influenced, the character of the appeal and the amount of money available for the campaign. It is quite evident that more space is needed to adequately advertise an automobile, a house or a dry-goods store than would be required to advertise a lead pencil, a can opener, or men's collars. Some things from their very nature call for the use of full pages in the magazines or quarter pages in the newspapers. There is, however, no hard and fast rule to follow. For instance, Wrigley's Chewing Gum, which sells for one cent a stick, has been advertised in full pages in expensive magazines and newspapers. It seems like throwing money away to pay $6,000 for a page ad in a single medium to exploit an article that retails for such a small amount as a penny. And yet figures published by the Wrigley Company show that such advertising has been a profit- able investment. Although the profit made on a single stick of gum is small, when hundreds of millions of pieces are marketed it mounts rapidly to high figures. It is a singular thing that in advertising diamonds, the most popular and one of the costliest of the precious stones, small space is usually employed. Retail stores are accustomed to make yearly contracts with newspapers for a definite amount of space. Sometimes the advertiser agrees to use a certain number of lines every day or week, while in other cases he is allowed to vary the size of the advertisement according to the season or the needs of his business. The general advertiser knows the exact dimensions of every advertisement he is going to use in a large number of mediums in a campaign covering, perhaps, an entire year, and how much it is going to cost. There is no guess work about it for he has been furnished the exact figures by his agent. A small manu- facturer with limited capital should not indulge, except on rare occasions, in big advertisements. An eighth or quarter page in a standard size magazine, or a four or five inch single column ad in a daily newspaper is about all he can afford at the start. The more intellectual the community he seeks to influence, the less the need of elaborate descriptions of articles offered for sale. Busy people, those who have only a limited amount of time to HOW TO LAY OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT 15 devote to newspapers and periodicals, are more apt to read an advertisement in which the facts are briefly stated than one that is loaded down with long sentences and minute details. On the other hand, farmers and others who, during some seasons of the year have an abundance of leisure, will carefully peruse all the fine type that can be crowded into a given space. The character of the audience to be addressed, therefore, is an important factor in determining the dimensions of the advertisement. When you have finally settled upon the size and have assembled all the facts you need in the construction of the ad, you are ready to make the layout. In preparing small advertisements the commercial letter size of paper will be found most convenient. The grade used is a matter of individual taste although most writers prefer paper of fair quality so that in case ink is employed it will not run and spoil the appearance of the layout. Place your name or the name of the firm in the upper left hand corner. This is for the purpose of aiding the printer in identifying the advertisement. In a printing office where many pieces of copy are being set every day some such method must be used to prevent the making of mistakes by the compositors when the sheets are mislaid or separated. The space with which the advertisement writer has to deal is usually rectangular in shape because it lends itself more readily to the purposes of display. The favorite form is the oblong known as the "golden proportion," 3 to 5. It is the advertising man's job to arrange the type, the illus- trations and the white space in such a manner that the several parts of the advertisement shall be well balanced and har- monize with each other. There are three principal factors in balance measure, tone and color. In a layout there can be no consideration of measure balance without also a consideration of tone balance, because type from its very nature renders pure blacks and whites impossible, the space between the letters and lines inevitably introducing the element of gray. You should so employ your mass colors that they will give the advertise- ment a harmonious appearance. Every line of type, every cut, every ornament should be scrutinized carefully, with regard to the part it plays in the design. 16 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING The fundamental principles of the layout are the principles of contrast, but contrast in more than one direction. There is, for instance, the contrast of the several parts of an advertisement with each other, and the contrast of the whole with other advertise- ments on the same page or the opposite page. When the parts of an advertisement harmonize with each other, when black ink is used, you need not worry much about how it is going to contrast with the surrounding advertisements in representative mediums. It is only when color is introduced that you need to be specially concerned. Let us now proceed to lay out a single 4-in. column, shoe advertisement. Take a sheet of paper and with a pencil or pen, and a ruler, draw a diagram the exact size of the advertise- ment. A newspaper column is 2^ in. wide; therefore, the ad we are to write will be 2^ in. wide, and 4 in. deep. The four lines you have drawn represent the border. As an illustra- tion showing the size and appearance of the shoe will greatly strengthen the pulling power of the advertisement you must indicate its position and size on the layout. If you have a proof of the cut you can paste it in where it belongs. If not, draw a diagram of the block upon which it is mounted and write the word " cut " in the enclosed space. Write in the headline and other principal display lines in approximately the same size letters that you want the printer to use in setting them up in type. After locating the headline and other display lines, and the name plate, there is left a certain amount of space for the text matter which appears on the copy sheet. The marking of the size and style of type is done outside the layout diagram. Before you have become familiar with the different kinds of type and borders you can cut specimen letters, or sections of border of the style you desire to have used by the printer, from advertisements found in the newspapers and maga- zines, and paste them opposite the several lines you have written on the layout. If he does not have the particular type you want, the printer will use the one in stock that most closely resembles it. Of course this is only a temporary expedient. The number of styles of type used in setting up display adver- tisements is relatively small and it does not take long to learn HOW TO LAY OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT 17 their names and distinguishing characteristics. You can secure catalogues from type-founders or you can purchase at the book stores pamphlets or handbooks giving the different type faces. After a little study you will be able to indicate on the layout the exact style and size of the type in which your advertisement is to appear. A special chapter on the use of type will be found elsewhere in this volume. The completed layout of the advertisement we have been writing is presented on p. 18. On a separate sheet of paper, known as the "copy" sheet, is written the text matter just as it is to appear in the advertisement. It is not necessary to repeat the several display lines indicated on the layout although you may do so for your own satisfaction. The position of the several paragraphs on the layout is indicated by letters marked opposite them on the copy sheet. When the layout and copy, prepared as described above, are sent to the printer to be set in type, the latter knows exactly how you want it to look when the job is completed. If it is a rush job two compositors can be employed upon it at the same time one working from the layout and the other from the copy sheet. When, in the case of the shoe ad we have just been writing, the matter has all been set, a proof has been duly struck off, and the typographical errors have been corrected, the advertisement will appear as shown on p. 19. Much depends upon the arrangement of the matter in the layout. The position of the illustration or the headlines may determine the effectiveness of the advertisement. Sometimes the judicious use of white space will serve to give it a prominence that it would not otherwise have, and greatly increase its pro- ductiveness. A national mail order house which was running an advertisement in a large list of mediums discovered that the inquiries it received were costing $3 each. As one in every three inquiries resulted in a sale, and the article was sold for $10, every sale represented an advertising cost of $9. Adding to this the cost of manufacture $2.50 every sale represented an expense to the house of $11.50 or a loss of $1.50. It was quite clear to the manufacturer that unless the advertisement could be made to greatly increase the number of inquiries and thus materially 18 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING S-C. < y/**^ DEALER'S NAME. Layout for shoe ad. ( Teyi -for the. afore at/ } Any young girl would be attracted by the sleek beauty of these Dawn pumps. There are beautiful in line and style but above all they are com- fortable and they stay on. The price, for so ouch shoe beaut y / is moderate. HOW TO LAY OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT 19 "DAWN" A NY young girl would be ** attracted by the sleek beauty of these Dawn pumps. They are beautiful in line and style, but above all they are comfortable and they stay on. The price, for so much shoe beauty is moderate. (DEALER'S NAME) Completed shoe ad from layout and text shown on p. 18. 20 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING reduce the selling cost he would soon become a bankrupt. Evi- dently something was wrong with the ad, but what was it? An expert whose advice was sought declared that the copy was all right but that its attention-getting power could be im- measurably increased by a better layout a layout that was capable of pulling the reader's eye into the text. He rearranged the matter and had it reset. When a proof of the ad was pasted over the old one in a mail order publication it dominated the page. The redressed advertisement when used in two mediums the following month produced replies at a cost of 45 cents each! We have gone into the subject of preparing the layout at some length because of the need of a clear understanding by the student of the successive steps that are taken. If the instructions given are carefully followed you will have few disputes with printers over the set-up of your advertisements, you will protect yourselves from imposition, and save money that you might otherwise have to pay for work that would have to be done over again. Questions 1. What is a layout and what two services does it render? 2. In preparing a layout what is the first thing to be done? 3. What considerations enter into the determining of the sizes of ad- vertisements? 4. Of the two articles, cuff-protectors and bread, which would require the larger space? 5. In what way does the intelligence of a community influence the char- acter of the advertising to be used? 6. How do you indicate on the layout the size and kind of type in which the advertisement is to be set, if you are unfamiliar with the names of the different families of type? 7. Why is a judicious arrangement of text, illustration and white space important? Give an example. 8. Prepare a 3-in. single-column layout for an advertisement of a popular- priced restaurant one with which you are acquainted. HOW TO LAY OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT 21 The Regaf in Fine Russia Co// $9,50 The Newest Sport Oxford R evidence that even in this season of many frivolous JP fancies the need of a smart, practical sport shoe is not forgotten, you need look jao further than these new Regal Oxfords. Of ^soft, Russia Calfskin, so practical for out-o'-door sports, with rubber soles and heels, the "Yasser" expresses style in every line, Sltou Only 40 Wot 34th St. Wovun't Shotl Onlll BROOKLYN 4 Fltbuh Av. 1049 Broadway (or. Fulton St.) IS'6 " SOI Broadiviy 46 Fifth ATC. 367 Ffclton St. litn't .<:o< O( NEWARK. N.J. JERSEYCITY 835 Broad St. 108 Newark AT*. Regal Shoe advertising has always been distinctive. The space used is never overcrowded and the layout is always well balanced and in good taste. CHAPTER IV ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION In writing an advertisement it is well to keep constantly in mind the four things it is expected to do, namely, to attract attention, to arouse interest, to create desire and to effect a sale. It is quite evident that unless it catches and holds the eye of the reader it cannot deliver its message. It takes the eye only a few seconds to travel across the several columns of a newspaper, but in that brief time lies the only chance the advertisement will have of making a customer out of the reader. What we must do, therefore, is to so arrange its physical appearance or dress that he cannot fail to see it as he hastily glances over the page. Hence, to attract attention we make use of display type that is, type that is larger in size and bolder in outline than that in which the body matter of the publication is set. We employ headlines which serve as sign posts for arresting attention; borders, which furnish an appropriate frame for the advertisement and separate it from other announcements on the same page; illustrations, which add to its attractiveness and increase its selling power; and, finally, white space, which, if judiciously distributed, causes the text to stand out on the page and, at the same time, makes it easier to read. To arouse interest we appeal to the senses sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell and sometimes by working upon the reader's ambition, pride, vanity, love of home and kindred, his social and religious instincts, his thrift. To create desire we appeal to his reason by presenting arguments showing how the possession of the article will contribute to his personal comfort or that of his family, or increase his efficiency or that of his employees. We must not only demonstrate to him its advantages but we must convince him of his own need of it. To effect a sale we state prices and, when necessary, how payment 22 ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION 23 may be made; we tell where the article may be obtained; if by mail, we lighten his labor in sending for it by attaching a coupon which, when his name and address are filled in, constitutes a formal order. A well-constructed advertisement, designed for newspaper or magazine use, consists of first, a headline; second, the introduction; third, argument or statement of facts, and fourth, the name-plate. Of course there are many variations of this arrangement. For instance, the advertisements of a certain Philadelphia cigar manufacturer carry no headlines. Those of a popular men's clothing house in New York substitute for headlines illustrations, often of a whimsical or humorous character, but never correct representations of any of the goods it offers for sale. Many advertising men claim that an advertisement without a headline does not have the same chance of being read as the one with a headline. People object to being compelled to read half way through an announcement before they can tell what it is about. Therefore, when they rim across one of these headless ads the chances are that they will skip it. Another disadvantage it has is that if it appears at the top of a column the reader cannot tell at first glance whether or not it is a continuation of an article or an advertisement from the bottom of the preceding column. If he has sufficient curiosity to study into the matter he will in time, of course, discover the truth. But why put this extra burden upon the reader? It should be the writer's con- SPENCER1AN PERSONAL Steel Pens Fiiw Medium. Stub and Ball pointed The Standard for over lialf a century It's the special Spencerian steel and the finely worked,, uniform points that make Spencerian Pens last so long and write so smoothly. Send lOc for jo samples, different pailems. -Then pick a style that fits your hand. Use that style always. We will also include that fascinating book, "What Your Handwriting Keveals," free. SPENCERIAN PEN" CO. 349 Broadway .New York Citr The falling stream of pens directs the eye to the text at the bottom a clever device that can be employed to advan- tage in newspaper or magazine ads. 24 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Valspar Makes Another Record! It withstands 36 hours of live steam HUMAN ingenuity never devised a more One startlne fait soon became evident severe and conclusive varnish lest, but namely, that the furniture teas absolutely it all happened accidentally in the unharmed. orporatio i New York Cit; one Saturday. At no A cold mi orders we heat. This was complied with, but one little detail was overlooked to close on open E>n umK .SPAR An investigation developed that the reason "i'' 11 '" 5 ' had\"l beTnv^nUhed whh*V,J.p" had ".welled ^ucluhat only tilh dlffic'dt'y wa an entrance forced. which , The Inspector's Letter re quote. l,.,.l bten forced '. iih V.l.p.,. A Scene of Wreckage When the steam was finally turned off and dworl . ""ur,"" 8 ! 'bid tc'. "l^'hed wTil ""' is absolutely waterproof. It won't turn while in water, and it is adapted for every dustrial buildings of all kinds. For your front door or piazza rain and For your front hall wet feet and dn'p- For your kitchen and pantry so you can wash it freely and sterilize the place, where your food is prepared. For all your furniture-because Valspar hoVdishes a'nd"Ipi*ied"liqu'ids o"all kinds' For your bathroom making a finish as waterproof as tile and far less costly. For all your floors because you can freely wash them and you'll never need to wax or polish them. was* iTe'raHy boilecf away" The wall-pa| was hanging off in sheets. In fi thing at first sight seemed utterly that |K| ibiolutely the bril var. Mast paint dealers carry V ah far. If you cannot get it Mite direct la us. VALENTINE & COMPANY to ' Special Offer cvcied copd. B . ,; j b - - SSESllM? H VA.LENTINE & COMPAMY. 4* Four* A^. N Y 4^>ue un ol VJ,p. f ohid. I 0- The writer of this ad has taken advantage of a news event to direct attention to a strong selling point of Valspar Varnish. The headline states a news fact and the human interest picture backs it up. Advertisements of this kind are certain to be read. ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION 25 slant aim to make every advertisement easy to read and easy to understand. Another variation in the construction of an advertisement is the omission of the introduction. Introductions are not always necessary, especially in presenting an article which has long been made familiar to the public through advertising. In such cases the sales argument is brief, sometimes only a sentence or two being used, but with the name of the article conspicuously displayed. Royal Baking Powder, Postum, Cream of Wheat, Babbitt's Soap, Mennen's Talcum Powder, are products often advertised in this way. Let us now consider the construction of the several parts of an advertisement as enumerated above. The headline, as we have already seen, serves to arrest the eye of the reader as it moves over the printed page, just as the word "Hello!" shouted by a friend on the street causes you to look in his direction. If you should go to a country fair and walk along the street upon which the side shows are located the one that would receive your patron- age would probably be the one displaying the most attractive picture banners, or the one having the most persuasive "barker." The headline serves as the "barker" for the advertisement. Glance over the pages of your favorite daily newspaper and see how quickly certain advertisements will make you stop and look at them. While illustrations and the size of the copy are features that appeal to your eye, in four cases out of five it will be found that it is the headlines that cause you to read the text matter. Much care should be given to the construction of the headline because of its importance in securing and holding the attention of the reader. There are several kinds of headlines and it is your duty to select the one that is best adapted to the article you are exploiting and the particular audience you wish to influence. Headlines. Headlines may be divided into three classes as follows: 1. Those that state a fact, as for example "Sterling Silverware is a Solid Investment." (The Gorham Company.) "There is No Magic in Any Dentifrice." (Dr. Lyons' Tooth Powder.) "Why Some Beds are Better than Others." (Simmon's Beds.) "Your Skin is What You Make It." (Woodbury's Facial Soap.) 26 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 2. Those that express a command, as shown in the following examples : "Book Lovers, Lend Us Your Ears!" (S. D. Warren Company.) "Lighten Household Work!" (Arco Wand Vacuum Cleaner.) "Make Spare Time Pay!" (Curtis Publishing Company.) "Don't Force Your Widow to Marry Again!" (Insurance Company.) 3. Those that ask a question, as in these headlines : "Good Morning! Have You used Pear's Soap?" (Pears' Soap.) "What's On To-night?" (Paramount and Artcraft Motion Pictures.) "Are Your Radiators Fuel Savers or Wilful Wasters?" (Hoffman Valves.) " Have You Bidden in the Essex?" (Essex Motors.) The desirability of giving a news interest to the headline when possible should not be overlooked. Such a headline will get attention when others do not. The public is accustomed to look at newspaper headlines for an outline of the important news of the day. The first thing a person does on picking up a morning or evening edition is to glance it over to see what has happened. Headline writing is one of the most important duties of the editorial department and the editors who are particularly skilled in this kind of work are well paid. Given two newspapers of equal merit in news and editorial values the one having the best headlines will have the largest circulation. From these facts it is easy to understand why in advertisement writing it is advisable to use news headlines whenever the subject will lend itself to such treatment. Intelligent people are always seeking information on all sorts of subjects. Hence if you can present in news form some striking fact regarding your product, or, through a well expressed question, can arouse curiosity that will lead a person to read the advertisement through to the end, you have attained one of the chief results aimed at in all advertise- ment writing. Here are some good examples of news headlines taken from national mediums : "You'll Have to Dig Up Some New Alibi." (Multigraph.) "Saving 5,000 Miles by 'Tuning Up' Wheels." (Goodyear.) "Doing The Thing That Couldn't Be Done." (Graton & Knight Belts.) "40,000 Airplane Plugs a Day." (A. C. Spark Plugs.) ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION 27 Text matter, or "copy" as it is technically called, in advertising practice, may be classified under four heads selling, educational, institutional and good-will. If Napoleon. Could Have Sent a Telegram He might have recalled Grouchy from his fruitless attacks on the Prussian rear guard and protected his own right flank. But communication was slow and the battle of Waterloo was lost In times of war, as in times of peace, speed in com- 'taunication is an important factor often the deciding factor. Whatever the need or special emergency, The Western Union's fifty thousand employees and one million, five hundred thousand miles of wire are at your disposal at any hour of any day or night. Telegrams 'Day Letters Night Letters Cablegrams Money Transferred by Wire THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO. The headline and its supporting illustration quickly attract attention and appeal to the imagination. Before a line of the text is read one begins to specu- late upon what might have happened at Waterloo had Napoleon been able to wire instructions to Grouchy. Selling copy constitutes the bulk of all advertising matter, and therefore is the most important and deserves the closest study. As its object is to create sales directly or indirectly, it 28 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING points out the advantages of the article that is being exploited over others of the same kind or class, tells why the public should purchase it, names the price at which it is sold and states where it may be obtained. Educational copy describes the article, enumerates its uses and tells how it is manufactured. Institutional copy aims to arouse interest in the company or firm producing the article through descriptions of the organiza- tion, the factory and its equipment, and the method of doing business. Good-will copy deals with the character of the concern its commercial and financial standing, its policies and practices. Earlier in this chapter we learned that the four objects of an advertisement are to attract attention, arouse interest, create desire and effect a sale. If you will keep them continuously in mind while you are preparing an advertisement you will be restrained from throwing away a lot of money and wasting much valuable space upon copy that possesses none of these qualities. In a previous chapter (Chapter II) we enumerated some of the things that you should know about the product you are to exploit, and its market, before putting pencil to paper. Assuming that you have assembled the information therein indicated and that you have prepared the layout, you are now in a position to proceed with the construction of the advertisement. While the writing of an advertisement seems an easy matter to those who have had no experience in such work, nevertheless, as a matter of fact, it calls for ability of a peculiar kind, and the exercise of much patience and perseverance. Advertisements are not usually dashed off at the high rate of speed maintained by a reporter in turning out a news story. Much depends, of course, upon the writer's quickness of mind in creating ideas and in clothing them in attractive language. Some men have a natural facility of expression that enables them to write rapidly and convincingly upon subjects with which they are familiar; while others are obliged to hammer out laboriously on the anvil of thought every phrase they employ that differs from the ordinary forms of expression. In advertising agencies handling many accounts the copy-writers must be able to turn out good copy at a ADVERTISEMENT CONSTRUCTION 29 "Good workmen know the ditft What was wrong with Bus on Saturday, J^ovember 8th? s. ftV Ixiptrmuaoa me rtfrmt machine has got to wort like the very dickens to keep up with the tide. "A delay of 15 minutes in the morning will grow to two or three hour* before night. Thai is, if one nun jlows up for 10 or i> minutes early in the day, work thai should come out at > (Kit after- noon u not finished until neat 7 o. We can't nuke up the lost time, the schedule for the day is broken, and it gets worse *nd worse. "About 8 30 on Saturday morning (November 8, toio). Bus Wdkes, *ho rum the shop sander, stops his machine and reaches for a ptcce of Speed-grits i ' '< D Garnet Paper The bo< n empt) . boy scurrying to the stockroom for a supply "9,'t ate out.' sj> s the stock boy. I aimed to order it m yesterday but she slipped my mind.' " 'Skip across the street to the hardware ore, quick,' says the foreman to the Bruih^>oy. 'and get a couple dozen sheets of sand- paper ' Back he comes and Bus Japs on a sheet, switches on the motor and -iy goes the under. 1 "No* Bus Wilkcs is a 'bear' on hi* machine. He fought the Boche all ov France for more than a year and he's in the habit of treann' 'em rough When he turns loose on a pile of shoes he mualty nukes the fur fly "But rfus day there was something wrong with Bus- Work ptled up all around him. He passed up his lunch hour and stuck to it, but he just couldn't seem to keep up. The Brush-boys took it easy. waiting for Bus to pass them the sanded job- The whole shop, from the sander down to the boys that shine the shoes after they are finished, was on a drag. "We ended up the day three hours behind schedule. After it was all over I called Bus over to me. 'VC'hat was the matter all day, Bus 7 ' I sa*d. 'You slowed up something awful.' * 'Mr. Skinner.' said Bus, 'it was that dog rotten sandpaper WJlif got this morning I just couldn't get the work out of it Look at Hits sheet, you don't call ttut Manning's Speed gnts, do you? 1 'I looked, and sure enough, it wasn't. "This is a true story of how a litdc 'ornery' sandpaper lost my shop three h.-urs and several dollars" Abtne it it pichtrt, rjfai ofiet tint letter Jt Tsnttr*, Jve*[ Aw W&et emkmhta*Jer. Nx*r ll* mle! Tfa>W mrMnri^M SfffJgnti M uofkforhm j/f.T (Ar.. "GWo'W* l*c tt* ekgfmcr ' mjde iff Mjtnmg Abstore>s toilet An artistic and effective combination of illustration and typographical arrangement. 40 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING There has been but one supreme piano in the history of music. In the days of Liszt and Wagner, of Rubinstein and Berlioz, the pre- eminence of the Steinway was as unquestioned as it is today. It stood then, as it stands now, the chosen instrument of the masters the inevitable preference wherever great music is understood and esteemed. STEINWAY 6 SONS, Steinway Hall, 107-109 E. 14th Street, New York Subu'au Express Stations at llic Door A fine example of the appeal to sentiment through an artistic illustration. In every lover of good music it awakens tender memories. ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 41 OF PLATINUM THE ROMANCE Edison's phonograph was not known in mythological times. Platinum is imperishable. Whitehouse Bros, of Cincinnati, "The Jewelry City," have done much to make it the matchless medium for the jeweler's art. Hard and permanent, brilliant and untarnishable, more valu- able than gold, it is the perfect metal for jewels, impcrishably perfect. IF ONLY the masterpieces of Turner had been painted in permanent colors! If only the Alexandrian library had consist- ed of books written upon stone! If only the music of Orpheus could be heard today ! But Turner's pictures were painted with cheap colors, Caesar burned the priceless treasures of the ancients in the Alexandrian library, and Mr WHITEHOUSE BROTHERS JYlakers of Patented < JtssemBfeJ Sofifaiivs and Cincinnaii.Ohio Platinum ^Jewelry The Jewelry City The art embellishment of Whitehouse Brothers jewelry advertisements is of an exceptional character. The ornate border with its accompanying illustra- tions forms an appropriate frame for the "The Romance of Platinum" told in the text and adds greatly to its value. 42 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Sensitive films, those walls of childish memory. The pictures they register It will pay you to remember that, in the lighting of your children's rooms Let sunshine flood them by day, and the light of Edison MAZDA lamps by nrght For the light that shines in children's rooms is magic stuff the , . r B*ai ReMirth Ltbora- rams of the General Hem* Company. nd by tony yftn at contm- uxu development. Biuoo MAZDA Ump represent tht UICM and bc u. Lghimg. EDISON MAZDA EDISON LAMP WORKS OF GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY Pictures of children when appropriately introduced in advertisements possess a universal appeal. Every mother and father who looks at the above adver- tisement will feel a tug at the heart strings. The evening lamp, the little ones saying, "Now I lay me down to sleep" at their mother's knee and the shad- owy background form a picture that will linger long in the memory. ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 43 events in which some of the prominent persons appearing in them are represented as smoking the manufacturer's brand. The young man who is a clerk, or who works in a machine shop, or drives a truck, is much impressed by these pictures and concludes that if the cigarettes are smoked by society leaders, actors, and well known sportsmen they must be of high grade quality and therefore worth buying. Even if they cost 50 cents a box he feels that he is justified in the extra expense by the satisfaction he gets in being identified, even remotely, with such notable consumers of this particular brand. We are so constituted that we often buy things because they are purchased by prominent people, provided, of course, they are within our means. Writers who understand this tendency take advantage of it in preparing advertisements. For instance, if the King of England, a hero of the great war, or a popular actress uses a certain table water they play up the fact in text and picture because of the influence it will have upon the public. Never use a picture simply because it is pretty, odd, or striking. Advertising space costs too much money sometimes $5 to $8 a line to be thrown away on illustrations that do not help to put the message across. Pretty girl pictures have been found effective as attention getters in advertising toilet articles, femin- ine wearing apparel and other things, but in many cases they are out of place or serve no real purpose. An advertisement of a Western gas engine manufacturer which appeared in several publications showed a very attractive looking young woman standing by the side of the machine. Much to the surprise of the advertiser he received twice as many inquiries concerning the identity of the girl as he did about the gas engine. In using the pictures of very pretty young women or unusual illustrations of any kind there is always danger that the picture will receive so much attention from the reader that he will neglect to look at the accompanying text matter. Many advertisements are spoiled by poor and meaningless illus- trations. In these day's when there are so many high-class artists devoting their attention to the preparation of commercial illus- trations there is little excuse for the employment of stock cuts or indifferent art work. Unless you want to get a reputation for 44 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING cheapness avoid the use of poorly drawn pictures. Every city of 50,000 inhabitants, or upwards, contains at least one photo- engraving plant, the owner of which can recommend the names of one or more commercial artists who will execute any orders you may have to give. Determine in your own mind what kind of a picture you want and describe it to the artist. Often he will be able to improve upon the design you suggest. That is a part of his business. If you are a national advertiser and employ an agency to handle your campaigns it will furnish the drawings as a part of its service. As a general rule humorous illustrations should be avoided. In a somewhat extended experience we can recall only a few instances in which pictures of this kind have been appropriate or effective. Unless precaution is taken in the selection of a subject a humor- ous picture may do more harm than good. A local merchant in an Eastern city once ran an illustration showing an old negro, nearly bald, with his mouth wide open, crying out something at the top of his voice. The headline was, " Much Cry and Little Wool." It was designed to create a laugh and as an exposition of that old saw it was a success, but it gave offense to a very worthy body of colored people who were the merchant's custom- ers. The retailer had used the picture thoughtlessly, not dreaming for a moment that it would antagonize any of his trade. It took him a long time to win back the patronage of those whom the illustration had offended. A number of years ago a humorous character called "Sunny Jim" was introduced in the advertisements of a widely exploited breakfast food. The artist showed "Sunny Jim" doing all sorts of clever stunts, and thousands of people each day when they picked up their favorite newspaper turned to the advertisements to see what the funny man was doing. After the advertising had been running for some time the manufacturer discovered that the public was so much interested in the antics of "Sunny Jim" that it paid little attention to the selling talk about the breakfast food he was exploiting. From that time on "Sunny Jim" was banished from his advertisements. The power of pictures to influence voters in national elections was first demonstrated in the second Cleveland campaign. The ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 45 Soap Jor your c Wmter Skin? DO you know that a glowing, smooth, active "winter skin" for children and grown-ups is largely de- pendent upon an easy-rinsing soap? In winter, of course, the pores of the skin are less active than in summer. If a. lurd-rinsing soap remains be- hind in the pores, their ac- tivity is further diminished, and they cannot continue their work of keeping the skin soft and smooth. Tests made with a number of well-known toilet soaps proved Fairy Soap to be the aisiesl-rinsing soap. Fairy's pure lather was found to cream thoroughly in and out of pores, without sacrificing that important quality of rinsing off cosily, rinsing off completely. We would like to have you try this pure, easy-rinsing Fairy quality for your "winter skin." But be sure to make the trial a thorough one with both the complexion and bath benefits in ivunJ. -17OL' JL in * IMPORTANT FACTS *'!r;jtfYliar "a nd am ears-i iasiitz J*A k;r.wtruiia winter even i- th*n the jJd -,rt winter ctiir jnuc^ ci UK. fcn. nukii them lc*- : of tK- sim Av- n.* - SivJ ,j-*ftr>.>- .;.- '-fs r ' - ti> 'wrinttT " hr' ; - - -inl in the Comes in bodi Toil^f ami /I.irl. FAIRY SOAP ^l^i-.^ j/.'M a little Fairii i/i.i/oi"- fo.' t In this advertisement the illustration at the top, showing the winter sports of children, supplies the atmosphere for the message of the text. 46 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING new way to manicure without cutting the cuticle clea: Ibe aggcd edges and hangnail* vanish! How to manicure llic new way Send for the complete Manicure Set offered below and have your first Culex manicure. In the package you will find orange stick and absorbent otto Wrap a little the end of the stick and dip it into the bottle. Then carefully work around the base of the nail, gently pushing back the cuticle. Almost at once you After your first Cutex manicure, examine your nails. When you see how smooth the use of Cutex leaves the skin around the base of the nails how free it is from ragged edges and rough places that make hangnails, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. Try it today See for yourself! in 30c. OOc. and $1 25 bottles.' Cutex Nail White is 30c. Cutex Nail Polish in cake, paste, powder, -liquid or stick form is also 30c. Cutex Cuticle Com- fort for sore or tender cuticle is 30c. der direct from us. Complete Manicure Set for 15c IK with'lfr and wt will send you tins c plcte Midget Manicure Set, which today Address NORTHAM WARREN 114 West Uih St MAIL COUPON WITH 15 CENTS TODAY : NORTHAM WARREN If we can show by illustrations how to use the article we are exploiting we enhance the readers' interest and make the advertisement more productive of sales. The Cutex ad presented above is a fine example of this type of publicity. ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 47 cartoons, which were the work of the best artists, were printed twice a week in 500 daily newspapers. They were also enlarged, and, printed as posters, were put up on billboards and dead walls in all parts of the country. Their effect upon the public was immediate. Thousands of men who could not read caught the point of these cartoons at a glance. Throughout the rural districts the liveliest interest was shown in them, and after the election had taken place the Democratic leaders admitted that the cartoons had done more to elect Mr. Cleveland than the stump speakers. One of the insurance companies the Prudential Insurance Company of Newark has made the Rock of Gibraltar famous in the United States through the advertisements it has published for many years showing a picture of the rock with the name of the company printed in large letters upon it. As a result it is almost impossible for the public to think of the Rock of Gibraltar without associating with it the Prudential Insurance Company. It is said that a traveler who took the Mediterranean trip, on his return to the United States expressed great surprise at not seeing the name of the company outlined in white letters across its surface. Advertisers are sometimes puzzled to know whether or not they should use pictures of themselves in their advertising. They have seen the features of W. L. Douglas in his shoe advertise- ments for a quarter of a century. They recall the pictures of Lydia E. Pinkham, Gerhard Mermen, Dr. Munyon, the Smith Brothers, and other less celebrated vendors of manufactured products who have achieved success through printers' ink, that were used in the same way. As a rule it is considered inadvisable to regularly employ the picture of the advertiser in his business announcements. It weakens instead of strengthens the advertise- ment because, if used continuously, it suggests egotism and a waste of space. Moreover, the advertiser misses the mark at which his advertising gun is aimed. He is not engaged in selling himself but his product. Public attention is diverted from the text to the picture, which adds little to the value of the appeal and has no selling force. Therefore, why should he employ it in his advertising? 48 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Photography is now generally utilized in securing suitable pictures for the illustration of advertisements. The ordinary photographer, however, is not successful in this kind of work. Those who specialize in commercial photography secure the best results. They understand what is needed to make effective copy. Some of the most productive illustrations in use are those employed hi the street car advertising of Omega Oil. The company dropped $400,000 before it discovered that it was using the wrong kind of a picture that of a boy carrying a bag of corn under his arm as he walked along the road, from which the kernels were dropping upon the ground only to be gobbled up by geese that were following him. The trouble with the picture was that it was in no way related to Omega Oil. But when the company introduced photographs of living models showing the oil being used to alleviate pain, the volume of sales rapidly increased. One of these shows a little girl whose sore throat is being treated with an application of the oil. Another reveals a man's back which is being rubbed with the oil for the relief of rheumatism. The Washburn-Crosby flour advertisement illustrations are made from photographs of real people. So are those employed in the Beechnut products and the Eastman Kodak announcements. These are only a few of the many advertisers who have dis- covered that the public is interested in pictures taken from life or nature more than they are in make-believe representations. The C. Kenyon Company, of Brooklyn, since it adopted the use of living models in preparing illustrations for its magazine and trade paper advertising, has increased its sale of women's coats far beyond all previous records. In order to secure satisfactory results in illustrations good copy must be furnished to the photo-engraver. This means that the pictures from which the cuts are to be made must be clear and distinct. No engraver, no matter how skillfuj he may be, can make a good plate from a poor photograph. Sometimes, however, a photograph can be made effective through retouch- ing by a capable artist who makes a specialty of that kind of work. By retouching is meant the bringing into stronger relief the principal and sometimes the subordinate features of the ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 49 MAZDA ffot the name of a thing, but the mark of a service" A MAZDA Lamp for every purpo MAZDA is the trademark of a world- wide service to certain lamp manu- facturers. Its purpose is to collect and select scientific and practical information concerning progress and developments in the art of incandescent lamp manufacturing and to distribute this information to the companies entitled to receive this service. MAZDA Service is centered in the Research Laboratories of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York. The mark MAZDA can appear only on lamps which meet the standards of MAZDA service. It is thus an assurance of quality. This trademark is the property of the General Electric Company. RESEARCH LABORATORIES OF GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY The strong feature of this ad is the skillful manner in which the reader's eye is directed to " MAZDA" on the electric light bulb in the illustration. It is al- most impossible to glance at the page without following the pointing finger to the word. 4 50 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING The strikingly original advertisement of one of the leading firms of optical instrument manufacturers in the United States. ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 51 photograph. It is expensive but adds so much to the appearance and drawing power of the illustrations that it is money well invested. The drawing or photograph should always be considerably larger than the cut which is to be made from it. When this sug- gestion is followed the picture printed from the cut will be sharper and clearer in outline than the original. Frequently it is neces- sary to rout out of the surface of the plate some of the background or unessential details in order to bring out more strongly the principal figures or features of the illustration. Proofs furnished by the photo-engravers should be printed on the same kind of paper that is to be used in the publication in which the illustration is to appear, in order that you may determine just how it is going to look. Usually the proofs are taken on high grade plate paper which, although it gives the illustration its full value, does not give a correct idea of its appearance when printed on ordinary paper. Unless the plate is adapted to the quality of paper that is finally to be employed it probably will print poorly. Examine the plate with care and see if the en- graver has given you what you want. Sometimes it is necessary to have it etched deeper before it will print satisfactorily on the press. Plates for illustrations are mounted on metal or wood bases preferably the former when they are to be stereotyped, because wood shrinks and warps on the steam table, thus making the base uneven. Halftones are photographic reproductions, usually on copper, but sometimes on zinc, of photographs, wash drawings, pen-and- ink and other sketches, and even of paintings, etched by a chemical process. A picture is taken from the photograph through a fine screen which is only a glass plate with lines en- graved upon it at right angles to each other. Upon the fineness of the screen depends the quality of the printing plate. For newspaper purposes the screen used is 68 that is, 68 lines to an inch. For halftones that are to be employed on a high grade of calendered paper a screen of 133 to 200 lines to the inch is used. If you will examine a plate under a magnifying 52 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING glass you will notice that there are a great many little dots which vary in size according to the fineness of the screen. Instead of solid blacks and whites the engraver is able to reproduce the vary- ing shades or tones of a picture hence the name, "halftones." Line engravings are made from drawings, sketches, etc., by a process of chemical etching, usually on zinc but sometimes on copper. In the chalk plate process a highly polished steel plate which is 34e in. thick is covered with a coat of soft white composition which gradually hardens. By means of steel tools a drawing is made by cutting through the soft composition to the surface of the steel plate. When the drawing is completed it is placed in a stereotyping box and a cast is made from it, the chalk plate serving as a matrix or mould. Molten stereo- type metal is poured in and the result is a plate reproducing the picture, which, after being cleaned and touched up, is ready for printing. Line cuts are used in newspaper and other work where it is essential to have plates that will make good impres- sions on coarse paper with rapid printing. Wash drawings are made with water colors or India ink spread lightly and evenly on drawing paper. Electrotypes are copper-faced duplicates of type matter or cuts. They are far less expensive than the original halftones or line cuts from which they are taken. They are copies of originals and therefore are not as sharp in detail. A vignette is a halftone illustration in which the background shades off gradually into pure white. In ordering a cut made from a picture you need indicate only one dimension, for if it is properly made the other dimension will reduce in proportion. You can determine the other dimension exactly by using the following diagram: Take a sheet of paper exactly the size of the photograph and draw the diagonal line A-B from the upper right-hand corner to the lower left-hand corner. Beginning at the left, measure off B-C to the right on the bottom line of the diagram exactly the length of the cut you want made. Draw from this point a perpendicular line, C-D, until it touches the diagonal. Then complete the rectangle by drawing the line E-D parallel to the ON THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 53 base line until it strikes the perpendicular line at the left. You now have a diagram of exactly the size of the cut the engraver E B will furnish you. The length of the perpendicular line C-D connecting the base with the diagonal is the second dimension of the cut. Questions 1. To what extent are advertisements illustrated? 2. For what four purposes are pictures used in advertising? 3. Select from a newspaper or magazine advertisements that illustrate these purposes. 4. Name half a dozen articles that have been successfully advertised by means of pictures. 5. What is meant by "creating atmosphere" by the use of illustrations? 6. Give several suggestions on their employment. 7. Why should humorous pictures, as a rule, be avoided? 54 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 8. Give an example of the improper use of an illustration. 9. Should advertisers use pictures of themselves in their announcements? 10. Name several national advertisers who use their own photographs. 11. What is a halftone? A line cut? An electrotype? A vignette? 12. In ordering a cut made from a picture, when one dimension is known, how can you determine what the second dimension will be? 13. Under what circumstances is a "pretty girl" picture appropriate in an advertisement? CHAPTER VI PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE After you have hammered the copy for your advertisement into such shape that it expresses in exact form just what you want to say, the next step is to put it into an appropriate dress of type. If you are able to command the services of a high class printer who has made a study of advertising typography, and therefore knows how to adapt type to copy to the best advantage, you can safely entrust to him the typing of any advertisement you may wish to have set up. But as such printers are few, even in metropolitan cities, and are rarely found in the smaller towns, it is necessary for you to have a sufficient knowledge of the principles governing typo- graphical arrangement to enable you to tell any printer you may employ what kind of type to use and how to display the copy to secure balance, harmony, stability, and produce action. Let us start our discussion of the subject with the well estab- lished principle that the effectiveness of an advertisement depends largely upon the type in which the message is clothed, and upon such an arrangement of its several parts that the eye can rapidly take in the important facts presented and determine their relative value. There are many kinds of type, so many, in truth, that the beginner is bewildered by their number and variety, and con- cludes that he will never be able to identify or use many of them. And he is right, for the reason that the kinds or families of type that are especially adapted to advertising display do not, according to some of the best authorities, exceed a dozen. Benjamin Sherbow says that he has used hardly more than six in all his work. Those that have found special favor are: Caslon Old Style, Scotch Roman, Bookman or Antique, Chel- tenham Bold and the Bodoni family. To these may be added a very few others Kennerley, Cloister, Goudy and Goudy Bold, 65 56 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 30 Point Scotch Roman ADVERTISING Advertising Knowle 24 Point Scotch Roman ADVERTISING KN Advertising Knowledge 18 Point Scotch Roman ADVERTISING KNOWLE Advertising Knowlege is acqui 12 Point Scotch Roman ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQUI Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years o PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 57 30 Point Cheltenham Bold ADVERTISING KN Advertising Knowled 24 Point Cheltenham Bold ADVERTISING KNOW Advertising Knowledge 18 Point Cheltenham Bold ADVERTISING KNOWLEDG Advertising Knowledge is acqui 12 Point Cheltenham Bold ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQUIRE Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years 58 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 30 Point Bookman ADVERTISING Advertising Know 24 Point Bookman ADVERTISING K Advertising Knowle 18 Point Bookman ADVERTISING KNOWLED Advertising Knowledge is acqu 12 Point Bookman ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQU Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years o PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 59 30 Point Bodoni Bold ADVERTISING KN Advertising Knowled 24 Point Bodoni Bold ADVERTISING KNOWL Advertising Knowledge is 18 Point Bodoni Bold ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE I Advertising Knowledge is acquir 12 Point Bodoni Bold ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQUIRED Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years 60 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 30 Point Caslon Old Style ADVERTISING Advertising Know 24 Point Caslon Old Style ADVERTISING KN Advertising Knowledg 18 Point Caslon Old Style ADVERTISING KNOWLE Advertising Knowledge is acqui 12 Point Caslon Old Style ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQU Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years o PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 61 30 Point Bodoni ADVERTISING KNO Advertising Knowledg 24 Point Bodoni ADVERTISING KNOWLD Advertising Knowledge is a 18 Point Bodoni ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS Advertising Knowledge is acquired 12 Point Bodoni ADVERTISING KNOWLEDGE IS ACQUIRED Advertising Knowledge is acquired with years of e 62 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Century Expanded and Century Bold, which are considerably employed by successful advertisers. The faces of type just mentioned differ so materially in design that it is possible for the ad writer to find among them faces that are adapted to almost any advertisement he may wish to construct. Type, besides conveying thought through words, can, through its shape or design, express refinement, strength, beauty, dignity, and even humor. Therefore, by the exercise of proper care in the choice of type, which someone has called " uncrystal- lized thought," you can create almost any kind of an impression you may desire. In this connection it is well to bear in mind that the type should, if possible, suggest by its physical appearance the character of the article you are to exploit. For instance, in picking out a suitable type for a jewelry advertisement we should choose an artistic and refined face like Caslon or Scotch Roman because they are suggestive of the creations of the gold and silver workers for which we seek purchasers. On the other hand, neither of them would be at all appropriate for a machinery advertisement which naturally calls for a more vigorous face like Bookman or a type of similar strength. Cheltenham, one of the popular type faces among advertisers, was designed a few years ago by Ingalls Kimball, of New York. Cheltenham Bold is adapted to nearly every kind of display. Its legibility and its peculiar adaptability to display are charac- teristics that highly recommend its use to advertisers. Caslon, although first cut in London over a hundred years ago, is a face that is much favored to-day by printers who like an Old Style face which, though heavier than some of the old models, is yet light enough in design to be suitable for booklets, circulars, programs and advertisements. It is a type possessing attractive features that give distinction to all classes of printed matter in the production of which it is employed. Scotch Roman, of later origin, is considered one of the most legible, precise and pictorially beautiful of modern faces, as distinguished from the Old Style, that we have. Century Expanded Roman, much employed in setting up news- PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 63 paper advertisements, contains no hair lines, is clear in design and wears well whether used in type form or in plates. We cannot at this time describe other kinds of type in general use because of a lack of space. Those students who are suffici- ently interested to pursue the subject further will find in the public libraries and elsewhere the catalogs of type founders and books on typography that will furnish all the information that they may desire. The kind of type with which we are most familiar is body type that in which text matter in books, newspapers and mag- azines is set. It was modeled after the letters used by the ancient Romans in written manuscripts and in mural inscriptions, and is known in the printing world by that name. All the faces used in text matter in books and periodicals are Roman and are classified as Old Style Roman and Modern Roman. The Old Style of today closely resembles the real Old Style of long ago, while the Modern resembles the style of letter cutting employed subsequent to the introduction of the original Old Style. The apparent difference between the two is that in Old Style there is less shading while in Modern Roman some of the lines are darker and stronger. Type is sometimes classified as light face, like Caslon or Scotch; monotone, like Bookman or Antique; and bold, like Cheltenham. How Type Sizes Are Indicated. Formerly the sizes of type were indicated by names. The smallest was known as brilliant and the next as diamond. Then came pearl, agate, nonpareil, minion, brevier, bourgeois, long primer, small pica, pica, etc. As there was no fixed standard of sizes the type cast by the several foundries did not agree in dimensions. Therefore it was almost impossible to lock up together in a form brevier, or any other size of type made by two or more type founders, because of this variation, without spending much tune in "blacksmithing" that is, in using bits of metal or pasteboard to fill up the spaces between the type. When, through the rapid increase in the use of printed matter that followed the close of the Civil War, it became evident that no one type-maker or group of type-makers could hope to monopolize the business, the type-founders of the United States 64 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING got together and adopted the Point System, which insured absolute uniformity in casting the different sizes. Under this system the measurements are based upon the seventy-two parts, or points, into which an inch is divided. For instance, the type formerly known as nonpareil is now called "6-point" or six seventy-seconds of an inch; brevier is " 8-point " or eight seventy- seconds of an inch, and pica is "12-point" or twelve seventy- seconds of an inch, etc. A printer can to-day buy type from any source and be certain that the sizes will be absolutely identical. How Type Is Measured. The em, which is the square of the body of any size of type, is the unit of measurement in computing the cost of composition, the dimensions of pages, or for indicating the size of dashes, quads, spaces, etc. The en, which is half the size of the body of any size of type, is used to designate the size of quads, leaders, etc., as an en-leader, an en-quad, etc. In line measurement the em of pica, 12-point is used. There are 6 ems pica to the inch. Therefore, a newspaper column 2^ in. wide contains 13 ems pica. One of the fundamental principles to be observed in selecting type for advertisements is that it should be easy to read. That is why fancy faces, those in which there are many fine straight or curved lines, or in which art work is introduced, should be avoided. Plain, clear type can be read by anyone who knows the alphabet. You don't have to study it, as you would a puzzle, to identify the letters. Another principle that should be kept in mind is that in an ordinary-sized advertisement not more than two or three, preferably two faces, should be employed and these should harmonize with each other. Advertisements containing half a dozen faces produce a crazy-quilt effect upon the mind. They look spotty and inharmonious. The best examples of advertisements found in the newspapers and current magazines owe their attractiveness to the use of one or two kinds of type. There are so many different sizes, in- cluding italic, of the same families that the printer is able to produce any typographical effect he may choose through their selection and grouping. PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 65 The Spirit of New England THE prosperity of present-day New original Plymouth settlers, who bought England is due in no small mcas- up in seven years all the stciek in the intinuanccof this old spirit London Company which financed the of the bootmakers of Boston. The policy of "good work and pride in it" ilony. New England's reputation for stabil- ity and integrity has led many non- with the Old Colony Trust Company, a practice which has decided advantag for Lynn, Brockton, Havcrhill, Boston, Manchester, Auburn and Lcwiston. So that today over half the nation is shod by New England. Not only in the shoe industry, but explained in our booklet, ** in other lines, the outstanding feature '/>- Clocks of less perfection '^D would not be worthy of such a time -honored name An example of hand lettering that wins attention because of its legibility and refinement. Although the advertisement contains only a few words of text the reader gets from them a distinct idea of the reliability and high-class character of clocks bearing itfl name of Seth Thomas. Borders and rules are furnished by type-founders in endless variety. They are made on the Point System, whether plain or ornamental. Plain brass rule borders are to be had in various sizes from 3^-point to 12-point and even greater thickness. Those most frequently employed are^-point, 1-point, 1^-point, 2-point, 3-point, 4-point, 6-point, and 12-point, the faces being solid black. PUTTING THE ADVERTISEMENT INTO TYPE 71 Some pleasing border effects are produced by placing a heavy and a light rule together. Ornamental borders frequently add greatly to the attractiveness of an advertisement, especially when To 27 Men MORE than 350.000 will read this morning's Times. We want to reach only twenty- seven men. These twenty -seven men are vitally interested in buying sugar mills and engines for cane-sugar plants in Cuba. We want them to find out why they should buy Hamilton Sugar Mills and Engines. The men who design and build Hamilton Sugar Mills and Engines built Henry Ford's 60,000 h. p. power plant in Detroit and he put it in a glass case and set it on the sidewalk for the whole world to see that it was good. They built marine engines for the Emergency Fleet Corporation.- and while others previously had taken six weeks to cast and machine one cylinder, these men built/bur complete 2800 n. p. marine engine*, a week and they, too, were good They have built thousands of power plants for many industries throughout the United States and engine Number One, built in 1882. is still in perfect running order, though it Jras passed through a fire and a flood. Best ef all, they have built com- plete sugar -mill equipment for many Cuban "Centrals." They have proved, by actual grinding through big crop seasons, that Hamilton Sugar Mills extract the highest possible amount . of juice from the greatest feed of cane at s cost that is small consistent with the sure, steady, continuous results and economical efficiency of operation. Each of these twenty-seven men can get fullconstructiondetailsfroro our illustrated catalog. THE HOOVEN, OWENS, RENTSCHLER CO tSTAKJSHUM Hamilton. Ohio. U. & A. New York Office: 39 Cortlandt Street Cc in mo* large citiw Representative in Ojba. Martial Facio,Obr[>i 23. Hav Set in Scotch Roman this advertisement shows what can be done with plain type and white space in securing effective display. The arrangement of the text in double column form, the use of short, leaded paragraphs and a direct address headline, make a combination that is strongly attractive. it occupies fairly large space. The best of those appearing in the magazines and big city newspapers are hand-drawn by high class commercial artists who specialize upon such work. 72 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING In such cases the borders not only furnish an artistic frame for the advertisements but serve to strengthen their appeal through the clever introduction of figures, illustrations or sug- gestions relating to the articles exploited. A Wrigley Chew- OFF1CERS GERHARD M. OAHL Prnfljc* LINDSAY RUSSELL ChtrnUM. Board of Dirteforl AUGUST LMONT Mai eUGBNB C. WORDEN SmctirT DOUGLAS L. DUNBAR AIM. 10 Prctldcnl OSCAR E. RILBY H<>< BANKERS TRUST CO. H ami I to Gerard Swopc Jacob H. Schiff 1 Herbert S. Houi.o* wfftffm 0*o J Baldwin JttmMlLUorM Wm'.'m North DoSM R. Ichlnomiy* Dr. Jokichi TakmniM Hon. El'bert H P G*ry " Called "The Gem of the World" NO traveler to Japan should miss a trip through the Inland Sea. Rich as Japan a in scenic beauty, the natural grandeur of this fairy waterway excels all eke. 240 miles from East to West and from 3 to 30 miles from North to South its four channels com- municate with the outer sea. The. shores of granite rock are splashed with gaily colored flowers. The islands which dot the basin contain many beautiful parks, all the highest examples of the Japanese landscape gardener's art. The waters of the Inland Sea, usually smooth as a mirror, contain more than one hundred varieties of fish. An ever-changing panorama of scenic beauty delights 'the traveler. The Sacred Island of Miyajima with its great Torii Gate rising from the water to a height of numerous side trips about the islands for those who wish a more extended tour than that offered by the main line steamships. Numerous ferries and launches provide transportation and overnight accommodations may be had in the native inns. Japan through the Japan Society, an organization of 1400 Americans, which places at your disposal its Trade, Travel, Service. News and Publication De- partments and its Trade Bulletin, How may we serve you ? Japan Society e*se. Kre no*, il an O4.U BI.rt.-Gn...> Wntm ufiM.i'.:u "Only One Way to Realize What a Marvelous Thing Is This August Furniture Sale Come In and See the Goods! The best furniture sale from your point of view Is the sale that has the furniture you want at the lowest price* that ary one who values real quality and real economy is safe in paying.. This Is the Sale This is the sale for people who want to feel certain about the quality of the furniture they buy and who want to feel equally certain about the genuineness of the economy they effect in the buying of it- . The Wanamaker Furniture Sale has always been essen- tially and pre-eminently the sale of real quality and real economy. Today, more than ever, it fives up to that description. The finest furniture made in America and some, of the finest pieces made in Europe are here in an assortment with- out a rival either in America or Europe. There is not a maker of nne furniture in the country who. js not anxious to have his goods on these floors. The stock* as you see them represent the pick and choice of the oytput of the best shops in the land, and, no- doubtedly. they look it It is not only a pleasure to go through them, but some- thing of an education also. The beauty of them, tho fineness of the woodsmithing. the charm of the desi#i$ and theclevemess and skillof inte- rior and exterior cabinet craft are an impressive object les- son on the marvelous development that has taken place in the art of home furnishing in America within comparatively recent years. The one factor above all others responsible for this erer- rising standard is the Wanamaker Furniture Sale, It has spread the light regardingfurniture qualities, . ? :ir- niture beauties and furniture values.. And it must meet the Dew demand resulting from the newer knowledge of furni- ture and the furnishing arts as no other sale can meet them, because the people have made it the greatest sale of any kind in the world, and they must have good reason for doing so. The Three Chief Division* The Fifth Floor with all Its lovely and luxurious p(cw for tMnf The Sixth Floor contains a wonderful a-^i-ran.-a^.|agia 9"he Dcbts-knit Top Jacket, shown in the illustration, is offifed in a va- riety of attractive mixtures . Dobbs- tailored with exquisite nkiety of de- tail. A Dobbs Hat. DobbsShirtand Dobbs Skirt complete the costume. "IheTop Jacket is F(fty Dollars. Sbc-tvenQr Fifth Avon* This Dobbs ad possesses character and individuality. Its artistic design and its quiet tone appeals to people of refinement and good taste. Avoid Superlatives. Don't say that an article is "the best made" or that you have "the finest line of merchandise in the State," or that you offer "the most wonderful bargains ever seen in this city." How ridiculous it is for a merchant occupy- ing a small three-story building to advertise that he carries the " greatest assortment of dry -goods in the city, "when right across the street is a department store, occupying an entire block, that RETAIL ADVERTISING 125 sells more goods in a day than he sells in several months. What is the use of lying when the truth is so much more effective? You cannot safely say that anything is "the best" because you don't know and you cannot know. There are enough plain adjec- tives to use in describing the store or the goods it carries without employing superlatives. It is better to understate than to over- state the quality of merchandise. STORE HOURS 9:30 A. M. to 6 P. M. you get nto a Saks-tailo red garment you just can't help feel- ing the least bit conscious of the quality. The feeling may wear off but the quality won't! BROADWAY AT 34th STREET Small space utilized to its full value. One of a series of Saks ads that appeared in New York dailies. Just a sentence or two, set in large plain type, with the name plates at top and bottom, enclosed in a double 4-point border. Get Your Clerks Interested in Your Advertising. Every employee in the store should be "sold " on the firm's advertising. Without the hearty cooperation of the clerks half the value of the advertising will be lost. They ought to see in advance of publication every advertisement that appears that they may intelligently answer the inquiries of customers who ask about the day's offerings. In order to get them to read carefully each 126 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING advertisement, some firms offer a prize of $5 to any clerk who finds an error in it. If all the clerks are furnished correct information about the merchandise they sell their efficiency behind the counter will be greatly augmented. Many a sale has been lost because they were not sufficiently posted to answer convincingly the questions of customers. The girl at the hosiery counter ought to know temfi and shades juring Au[uit WHILE we do not wish to cry "wolf, wolf, it is nevertheless true, that it is impossible to replace, at the same pri- ces, many lamps and shades in the Ovington showing, which', during August, may be had at dis- counts of 10% to 50%. OVINGTON'S "Tbt Gift Skop ef Fifth Avenue" 314 Fifth Ave. nr, 32d St. Ovington's small ads they seldom run over three inches are models of their kind. They are set in Bookman, with a two-line initial, carry a single figure illustration and are framed in an artistic border. why the brands she sells are better than some others. She should be informed as to the different weaves, the effect of dyes upon the wearing quality of the hose, how silk stockings should be washed, and a hundred other things that will be helpful to the customer. The man who sells shoes should be a mine of information on the entire subject of footwear. He should be acquainted with all kinds of leather, should know when to recom- mend a straight last and when Q, curved; he ought to be able to RETAIL ADVERTISING 127 fit anyone with the proper kind of foot covering. With intelli- gent clerks behind the counter, people who take a real interest in their work, a store is in a position to render the public a real service. The mediums employed in retail advertising are newspapers, street car cards, posters, booklets, catalogs, letters and store windows. Department stores in the larger cities use them all. In the smaller cities retailers confine their advertising to one or two newspapers and to their store windows. Of these mediums newspapers have the lead in popularity for reasons that will be given in another chapter. There are few towns with a popula- tion of 500 in which there is not at least one newspaper published. Therefore it is the most available and the most direct means of reaching customers and prospective patrons of the store with the single exception of the show windows. Window Displays. Many retailers fail to make full use of the store windows in advertising their goods. Sometimes the clerks are too busy or too lazy to dress them attractively. In the big department stores expert window dressers who draw large salaries are employed to do the work. In the average retail establishment one of the clerks who has shown that he possesses better taste in planning displays than the others is entrusted with the job. Even in the country towns there is little excuse for poor window dressing as there are half a dozen trade papers that devote much attention to the subject. At least one periodical is wholly devoted to it. These tell how to arrange artistic displays that will attract attention to the store. Then, too, many manufacturers employ traveling window dressers to call on retailers who handle their goods and show them how to make effective displays. Manufacturers who do not send out special men for the purpose often supply ready-made window displays or furnish full descrip- tions of several designs which any intelligent clerk can lay out himself. One of the main advantages of window .advertising is that you can show the goods amid attractive and appropriate surroundings. By the aid of wax figures you can display gowns, hats and other apparel worn by women, almost as effectively as you could upon 128 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING THE KEWTORK TIMES. SVCTAY.^ MJCUST 1. 19. . Sale Begins Monday 9 A. M. An Economy Event Watched For and Taken Advantage Of By Home Makers people look forward to our Mid-Summer Sale of Hut year will prove no exception to the high reputation daioed t caaiaioaeMurebeeiu2tdbrthemai,r inquirietthM our preriotii evenn. Plant arc complete and we tut ready. odFumimicomraaineaMrebeffaugedby the majyinquirie* that our prerioui event*. Plant are complete and we art ready. For many yean, people ha chat twd with a uiirum.ua of ciDene- aadtfactory iclechoa it aNurcd. For Your Dining Room furaiined with For Your living Room l prte. UO OfAn- iUtlrw Boom Odd Arm Chain " ^^'gyggutaa For Your Bedroom tf~~} f~*. PA g,,,., ,y propottlon mat i-Mtja ot period to featured. *- CdVCha flOrrtNaUnd kd Rtom-ftukix-fil-kinifiaaM dcfdtnton; nfu AijUTj l RiSrS.,ji JUJl '" r " - hu a t*d.'ir, diLffc*^ wmtin't mMtin, rf d. 1 .^ Cwtii-.ni*iiiTieUT."ti**i'*''""o.l ( -* lt ** toOH Ufck; fa piccfav MM*. full i bed, rtiiKwot*. taki Utk; B Bs S B*-*^-M ! ^---*i caK.as.sf'**' iS*jS.jL.g.j ntuci> o.' Brtaifa-l Room Soltea Bedroom Furniture SS^S^S^ S^S.T'ij!.! SSSr.iJS; c:u~. j< SS5?k . . JH ^^, ullllt eiaebdtekbclooiboerd,dett.er. curff MreA Tencer "wite, eontlrtinj jcJrt^,bk.eL, ^.' 1 ^y^g55;;^ 1 Metal Beds and Bedding iu>d. (nr the Fill tilled endilic*lr. efdcwrttx ui, . fe 1 ^!.".-: ,' . ;.. _s *-^> * :;,. sw Herald Se,iu t^/lC. *~ OKI Tht Pnblk Is Now Giricg Its Veriict ^yagg> ti rt> FVxir of tfc F>nr St A Woodnrd An t Many Unusual Values in the Girls' Shop Important A Sale of 2,500 Women's Blouses at J 3.95 BBfa-^irTis In the Infants' Shop Mid-Summer Sale of Rugs 40 Bot> t S15S 6 Bngi at M9.50 PilloWCases, Etc. GnrtoMn* ft auuni*! trait ttatbMaBltlfoBdMM tdt tkji^ to b* abte to HT puaiUMij *fc^ w OTMUv **^* It bMi>othli>IB>ltiitt!iitt.^s!"n^mrtr Cane Sugars SAVE THE FRUITCROPJ An advertisement like this appearing in the newspapers when berries and other kinds of fruit are ripe is certain to appeal to housewives. The bag of Domino granulated sugar and the heap of ripe raspberries, suggests the desirability of canning fruit for winter consumption. 136 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 3. Newspaper Advertising Produces Quick Results. A daily newspaper is published 30 or 31 times a month, a magazine, usually once a month. The salesman who can talk to his customers or prospects every day in a month has a tremendous advantage over the salesman who can talk to them but once in that time. Frequency of appearance is, therefore, one of the chief advantages of the newspaper as an advertising medium. If, however, newspapers were not continuously read by a majority of the buying public frequency of issue would not carry much weight with advertisers. It is because they are bought and read by practically the same people, day in and day out, that they are of special value to those engaged in the sale of merchandise. Reiteration of statement is one of the most effective means of influencing the human mind. Through the constant repetition in advertisements of a fact or series of facts about an article it is possible to produce an indelible impression upon the mind of the reader. He may or may not know that the impression is being made, but in the end he will be led, consciously or unconsciously, to buy the article if it comes within the range of his needs or desires and he has the money to meet the cost. Some of the most successful and most profitable business enterprises of our time have been created through newspaper advertising. C. W. Post, of Battle Creek, Michigan, brought out Postum Cereal, a new substitute for coffee, in 1895. Through the liberal use of newspaper publicity he made a profit of $175,000 the first year. His success was so unusual that a dozen or more cereal substitutes for coffee, several being close imitations of Postum, were placed on the market at a much lower price Postum retailed for 25 cents a package. In order to meet the competition of the cheaper brand Mr. Post organized another cereal company and placed on the market a coffee substitute called "Monks' Brew," which was sold at retail at 5 cents a package and was advertised as "The equal of any cereal coffee made." Admitting that Postum was the best coffee substitute on the market Mr. Post did not misrepresent the new product as every carton labelled "Monks' Brew," it afterward turned out, contained real Postum. WHY ADVERTISE IN THE NEWSPAPERS 137 Sold by Reliable Dealer* Phone Prospect 1800 for puna of dealer in your neighborhood PHESE tires are JL built on the prin- ciple that you can't get the best out of your tires unless the best was putin them in the first place. C. KENYON COMPANY, Inc. Maktrt of Ktnyon Weathtrproaf and Kmreifn Waterproof Coat* DEALER'S SERVICE DEPT. 754 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. There is no fuss or feathers about this Kenyon newspaper ad but it does three things and does them well. It visualizes the tire by means of an outline picture; it impresses its name, "Kenyon Cord," upon the reader's mind, and by a single brief sentence starts a train of thought that ends in the conclusion that Kenyon tires must be good tires. 138 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING This move drove the rival manufacturers out of business. As soon as this happened the Monk's Brew advertising was stopped and the demand soon dropped off to such a degree that the wholesalers sent it back to Battle Creek by the carload. Post accepted the returned shipments and promptly mailed checks for the full amount paid by the jobbers and retailers. The manufacturer poured the contents of the packages into 25- cent Postum cartons, which were then shipped out to fill orders for Postum that had been received from all over the country. At the end of the second year this enterprising manufacturer found that he had lost $46,000. The following year Mr. Post's profits were $384,000; the next $465,000; the next $930,000, and for\ number of years after that they averaged over $1,000,000. In 1908 he invested $1,317,952.- 55 in newspaper advertising; hi 1909, $1,245,779.30, and in 1910, $1,500,000. At the time of his death a year or two later he was spending more than $2,000,000 annually. In an address before the Sphinx Club Mr. Post stated that his sales increased in direct proportion to the amount he put into advertising. He laid down the principle that "in conducting successful newspaper campaigns it is of the first elemental im- portance that you have a high-grade article, containing all of the honest merit that human intelligence can put into it. Let the advertiser know the ground-floor facts about his product, and then tell them steadily and persistently, and all the time right in the face of all ignorant criticism, however perverted it may be, and he will win out in time for the people seek facts and ride over biased and self-seeking comment." W. L. Douglas, at one tune Governor of Massachusetts, and one of the largest manufacturers of advertised shoes in the world, once paid this tribute to newspaper advertising: "Newspaper advertising has made me what I am. I have tried all the advertising mediums there are and the newspapers give me far the best results. A newspaper advertisement strikes the eye the moment the sheet is opened. The same advertise- ment would be hidden among the many pages of a magazine until the reader found his way to it, if he ever did. Every man reads a newspaper but every man does not read the magazines. There WHY ADVERTISE IN THE NEWSPAPERS 139 4 never-ending procession of ships is passing along this route, bringing fresh, fra- grant Lipton's Tea to America. In the great Lipton Plantations of Ceylon and India, over 8,000 miles awayj the picking, curing and shipping of is always going on. That is why you always get fresh tea when you buy Lipton's. Freshness is vitally essential to the satisfying flavor and fragrance of tea. Tell your grocer you want Lipton's Tea because you know it will have this freshness. Look for the signature of Sir Thomas J. Lipton on every package of tea you buy TEA COFFEE** COCOA PiMtTfuCtruoH It insures you the utmost in tea quality and is a guarantee that you will enjoy tea drinking at its best. Ask your grocer for Lilian's blends of Ceylon and India Teas Black, Green or Mixed, also Orange Petot THOMAS J. LIPTON, Inc. Hobokeo San Francisco Chicago Toronto London The never ending procession of ships carrying Lipton's tea from Ceylon to New York, as shown in the illustration, is, to the reader, convincing proof of its popularity. The reproduction of Lipton's signature, and the package in the lower left-hand corner are helps to identification. Well adapted to newspaper 140 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING is no place where the newspapers are not read with eager interest. That is why I advertise exclusively in the daily newspapers." Mr. Douglas has invested from $200,000 to $300,000 a year in this kind of publicity. It would have been utterly impossible for Mr. Post or Mr. Douglas to have achieved the great financial success they did without advertising they say newspaper advertising. A large national advertiser in starting out to introduce a new product began by spending $300 a month in the local newspapers of a restricted territory. Disregarding the cost of advertising he made a profit of $50, the first month; $75 the second; $100, the third and so on up to the twelfth when the profit was large enough to cover the cost of advertising for the month. At the end of 18 months the profit equaled the cost of the advertis- ing for the entire period, and beginning with the nineteenth month he was doing a large volume of business with a fair profit. He continued this same policy for 17 months in several other localities, the results of the three years' use of local mediums being three new factories with a fourth under construction to meet the demand that had been created. The above are only three out of hundreds of cases that might be cited to show the substantial results that can be achieved in a comparatively short time through the employment of newspaper advertising. Herbert Kaufman says: "Newspaper advertising is to business what hands are to a clock. It is a direct and certain means of letting the public know what you are doing. A dealer who does not advertise is like a clock that has no hands." 4. Newspaper Advertising Increases Profits by Speeding Up the Turn-over oj Stock. It is a well-known merchandising principle that the more frequent the turn-over of goods the greater will be the profit, as overhead expenses remain practically the same. Hence the more goods sold the larger the profit. Frequency of advertising, provided, of course, it is of the right kind, promotes frequency of turn-over. It is this constant turn-over of capital that makes large profits possible upon a comparatively small initial investment. Volume and reasonable profits should be the WHY ADVERTISE IN THE NEWSPAPERS 141 aim of both manufacturer and retailer. Newspaper advertising promotes both. 5. What You Get When You Purchase Newspaper Space. When you place an advertisement in a newspaper you buy much more than the white space it occupies. Along with it goes the prestige and influence which the paper has been building up for many years. Victor Lawson spent $25,000,000 in developing the Chicago Daily News. Four hundred thousand families read the paper daily because of its dependability and their confidence in it. Every advertiser in its columns buys the good will that has been created by many years of square dealing and efficient public service but all he pays for is space. It took the great war to demonstrate to the Government, bankers and business men of the country, the dominance and force of newspaper advertising. One of the most impressive illustrations showing what can be done through newspaper ad- vertising was the Chicago Red Cross Membership Campaign. By using 42 full-page advertisements in the local dailies for four weeks the enrollment was increased from 17,000 to 416,000, at a total cost of 7% cents a member. The best previous cost record made without advertising was 16 cents per member. 6. Another Advantage oj Newspaper Advertising Is Its Flexibility. You can localize your advertising by adapting it to the varying social, financial, business and climatic conditions of the territory you wish to cover. You can use one kind of copy in Florida and Louisiana, another kind in Ohio and Kentucky, and still another in Oregon and Washington, in each instance the text matter being adapted to the special needs and customs of the people of those sections of the country. A newspaper advertising campaign can be confined to one state or group of states, or it can cover the country like a blanket. It can be canceled on a few days' notice or it can be extended to territory that was not included in the original plan. The ad- vertisements used need not be of uniform size. You can run a page or double truck on Sunday, a quarter page Wednesday, and a column or half a column on Friday, without the slightest trouble. When the season for your product is on, if you are a manufacturer, you can employ as much space as you may need 142 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING to properly influence trade. In the dull season you are under no obligation to advertise in the newspaper unless you want to. 7. One More Point to Be Considered in Newspaper Advertising Is the Promptness with Which Newspaper Readers Respond to Ad- vertising Appeals. They have been taught by experience to act at once, notably in responding to classified and retail advertising. They know that unless they immediately visit the store where a special sale is taking place their chances for getting one of the articles advertised are few. Delay mean loss of opportunity. Prompt action prevents disappointment. National advertisers say that readers of newspapers are more quickly responsive to their advertisements than the readers of magazines. It is this habit of promptness in answering advertisements that appeals to merchants. They can tell within 24 or 48 hours after a special sale advertisement has been printed just what results have been achieved through that particular piece of copy. How to Know What Newspaper to Use. The retail merchant has little difficulty in selecting the proper daily or weekly papers for his advertising. He lives right where they are published. He reads one or more of them every day if he is a live and intelli- gent merchant. He hears them discussed by customers in the store, and by his friends and neighbors. He knows which ones print the most reliable news and are the most helpful to the community. Therefore when he advertises he is measurably certain to pick those that will do his business the most good. The national distributor hi making up the list of newspapers in which his advertising is to appear naturally does not have first-hand knowledge of the several city dailies possessed by the local merchants. He can find in the newspaper directories facts that will help him in his selection, but aside from the circulation figures, political complexion, frequency of publication and the names of the owners, there is little information that will assist him in determining their standing in the community or their value as advertising mediums. The basic facts that are most helpful to the national advertiser in determining the real advertising worth of a newspaper do not appear in directories. They can only be found in the possession of the large advertising agencies and big national advertisers 143 who have assembled them for their use as the result of thorough and costly investigations made by members of their own staffs. What advertisers want to know is embodied in the answers to these questions: What kind of people comprise the bulk of the paper's readers? Is it an alert and progressive publication, taking the lead in civic affairs and making its influence felt in all directions, or does it drift along without definite aims or purposes? Is it a sensational or a conservative newspaper? Does it print objectionable advertising? Are its rates reasonable and are they the same to all people? Does it give the advertiser a square deal? Is the paper well printed and edited? Does it have backbone in dealing with public questions? Are its classified columns fat or lean? Does it have a distinct moral tone? When these questions have been satisfactorily answered the advertiser can make his selection with intelligence and good judgment. Questions 1. How does the cost of newspaper advertising compare with that of other mediums? 2. What would be the expense of running a 10-line advertisement in all the daily newspapers of the country? 3. Give six advantages of newspapers as an advertising medium. 4. Tell the story of Postum. 6. What effect does newspaper advertising have upon turn-over? 6. In buying space what do you get besides the white paper? 7. Are the readers of newspapers more quickly responsive to advertise- ments than magazine readers, and if so, why? 8. How can an advertiser tell what newspapers to use in a campaign? 9. What are some of the points that should be considered in their selec- tion? CHAPTER XII MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS All magazines may be grouped under three heads literary, class and business. Usually when we speak of magazines in advertising circles the literary or class publications are meant. Because of their country-wide distribution magazines stand in high favor among national advertisers. Retail merchants do not use them in their campaigns unless, like B. Altman & Com- pany, Tiffany and the Gorham Company, of New York, and Marshall Field & Company, of Chicago, they have mail order departments. Owing to the nature of their business they aim to concentrate their advertising upon the territory from which they can reasonably expect to draw customers. For their pur- pose the local daily or weekly newspaper is an ideal medium. On the other hand, the national advertiser generally a manufacturer or jobber who sells his product all over the country wherever he can find a market, uses the magazines be- cause of their wide distribution. The publishers of these period- icals do not contend that theirs is the best or the only advertising medium that should be used in a general advertising campaign. As a matter of fact they recognize the value of newspapers and are themselves liberal advertisers in them. They have found by experience that if they want to arouse public interest in a striking feature article, or in an unusual story appearing in their magazines they must use newspaper space. The Literary Digest, the Pictorial Review, the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's, employ full pages in the highest priced dailies in the country for this purpose. Whenever the time element is an important factor the newspaper is undoubtedly superior to other mediums. The Place of the Magazine. Before enumerating the argu- ments in behalf of the magazine as an advertising medium let 144 MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 145 us consider the position it occupies in the reading world. Maga- zines are not a necessity in the same sense as are newspapers. Their function is different. Business men depend upon news- papers for market reports and other information which is of vital importance to them in the conduct of their affairs. From this viewpoint it would not make much difference to them if no magazines were published. And yet magazines are generally regarded as indispensable to modern civilization. They are the medium through which its highest culture finds expression. In them may be found much of the choicest literature of our time, the results of scientific research, articles on art, music, the drama, travel, health and other topics that appeal to men and women of education and refinement. The magazines discuss many subjects with a thoroughness that is not possible in the newspapers because of space limitations and the speed with which they must be produced. They furnish thousands of people with the only means they have of intellectual improvement. Some are devoted to the home, some to women and some to the children. Others to health, religion, education, out-door sports and agriculture. They are read during leisure hours when the mind is not absorbed with business affairs or by social or household duties. Their monthly or weekly arrival is looked forward to with pleasurable anticipation by all members of the family. For thirty days they continue a live attraction of the center table, and when the new issues come they are put aside for future reference, and at the end of the year are bound in volume form and placed on the shelves of the library. Advantages of Magazine Advertising. We are now hi a posi- tion to understand wherein the value of the magazine as an advertising medium lies. Among its advantages are the following : 1. It Is Read in the Home and Forms a Part of Its IntettectualLife. It has the confidence of the members of the family a confi- dence that has been born of long familiarity with its ideals and purposes as reflected in its pages. The publisher regards himself as a trustee for the home into which his magazine enters and there- fore keeps out of it all advertisements that might deceive or harm the members of the family. That is the reason why for many years before the prohibition law went into effect the pages of the 10 146 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING standard magazines were free from beer, whiskey, patent medicine and other objectionable advertisements. In one year Everybody's rejected $200,000 worth of this kind of advertising. 2. Every Advertisement Appearing in Its Columns Has Behind It the Implied, if Not Expressed, Personal Endorsement of the Publisher. The reader does not question for a moment the truth of the statements. He believes them because of his faith in the responsibility and integrity of the sponsors of the magazine. The advantage which this reader confidence gives the national distributor of merchandise, whose advertising is admitted to its columns, is incalculable. He can bank upon the results that will follow with a greater degree of certainty than is possible when some of the other mediums are employed. Magazine publishers have claimed, and apparently not without reason, that reader response is far greater in proportion to circulation than in the case of the newspapers. 3. It Furnishes a Stable Market. Herbert S. Houston, of Doubleday, Page & Company, publishers of the World's Work, maintains that the magazine is most effective in creating a broad and enduring market for staple articles having wide distribution, for example, like Walter Baker's Chocolate, Royal Baking Powder or Regal Shoes. Such a market depends upon the home for its support and the way to reach the home, he asserts, is through the literary and other magazines that cover the country thoroughly many times a year. 4. It Protects Readers Against Loss Through Fraudulent Ad- vertising. The readers of a magazine take it for granted that the publisher guarantees the responsibility of his advertisers, and hence, when they find they have been deceived, do not hesitate to call upon him to make good any loss they have sustained. A man in Florida who purchased some fancy pigeons that had been advertised in a prominent monthly wrote the publisher that they were not as represented. The latter requested him to forward the birds to New York by express where he would have a pigeon fancier decide whether they came up to the description given by the seller in his advertisement. The expert reported that the pigeons were of the ordinary barn-yard variety and not Belgian MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 147 Some national advertisers depend upon illustrations to put their message across. In this William Rogers ad the picture conveys the idea of quality, the few lines of type underneath being supplementary. 148 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING JW, .*> *-x SHRE'DDl'MBlH Vjfi SHREDDED Bumbles K rumbles the real vim an "DVERY bit of the perfect nutrition nature -L-' puts in the whol,e wheat grain is in Krumbles. That is why eminent food author- ities say one could live indefinitely on Krum- bles and milk. Krumbles gives you the valuable mineral salts and other elements that benefit muscles and nerves build up vitality and provide pep. Krumbles is made in the same big, modern kitchens as Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes, Kellogg's Krumbled Bran, Kellogg's Drinket, etc, and comes to you from your grocer in our flavor-hokUng"waxtite"pack- age, with this signature- " Here, again, we see in this Kellogg ad a happy combination of illustration and text. The picture of the jolly-faced, wholesome-looking Boy Scout at the top, and the package and prepared dish of berries at the right, are full of sugges- tions to parents. MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 149 Homers, as claimed. Thereupon the publisher forwarded to the Florida buyer a check covering the price he had paid for them and sent the birds back to the advertiser whom he compelled to repay the money. There are few representative magazines in America that do not protect their readers from loss in a similar manner. It is a tribute to the watchfulness of the publishers that so few mis- leading or deceptive advertisements find their way into their periodicals. 5. Advertisements Appear in Good Company. A magazine advertiser is morally certain that his advertisement will be in good company when it appears. If he is selling the bonds of an industrial corporation of established reputation he knows that it will not be elbowed by the alluring announcements of wild-cat oil or mining companies. In business, as well as in society, we like to be associated with honest and respectable people. We know that if we are frequently seen in the company of men and women who have an unsavory reputation, we will soon be classed with them. In the same way we want our advertisements to have the right kind of neighbors when they appear in print in order that they may share in the advantages which such association brings. Physical Advantages of Magazine Advertising. Because magazines are printed on a fine quality of paper, on slow-running presses, and under conditions that allow more time for make- ready and greater care in printing, they offer advertisers better typographical effects and art values than the newspapers. Finer screens can be used in making the halftone plates for the illustrations, thus insuring clearer and more attractive pictures. Within reasonable limitations the better the typographical and artistic appearance of an advertisement the more likely its chances are of being seen and read. The shape and size of a magazine page contributes to the effect- iveness of the advertisement printed upon it. The fact that full pages are used by a majority of national advertisers gives to each one an equal chance to interest the reader. There is no division of attention. When you riffle over the pages every advertisement has an opportunity, however slight it may be, of catching and 150 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING holding your eye long enough to awaken a desire to read it. It is the absence of counter-attractions that gives an added strength to magazine advertisements. Magazines Maintain Service Departments. Many of the more important magazines have established service departments for the assistance of advertisers in the preparation of their copy and to supply valuable merchandising and marketing information. While most of the national advertising is prepared and placed by advertising agents, many new advertisers who have not reached the point where they consider it advisable to turn over their publicity campaigns to agents, are glad to avail themselves of the advice and assistance given by the service departments of the magazines. Sometimes a charge is made, but usually the service is furnished free to those who have contracted for space. But whether or not a charge is made for writing the copy, the expense of all art work, halftones or other cuts, is borne by the advertiser. How Magazines Help the Dealer. The national distributor who wants to get the most out of his advertising should not be content to sit back and wait for results. He should see that the retailers who handle his goods know about his campaign and the names of the magazines he is using. This information can be supplied to them through the manufacturer's salesmen who call upon the merchants. They should carry with them copies of the advertisements that are to appear during the campaign and explain how they will increase sales. It is a good plan to furnish copies of one or more of the magazines containing the advertise- ments to the dealers so they can place them in the show windows in which the goods are displayed. People passing by will see them and be duly impressed by the fact that the articles thus advertised in publications having a national reputation, are on sale in the store. They will conclude, and rightly too, that the goods must possess merit or the manufacturer would not spend a large amount of money in advertising them. Moreover they take pride in the possession and use of articles that have been made popular through advertising. The merchant also takes pride in selling them. To have on his shelves trade-marked products that are being exploited in MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 151 high-class magazines that circulate among his best customers gives to his store a prominence in the community it would not have if he dealt only in commonplace brands. The Life of a Magazine Advertisement. Thirty days is the limit of the active life of a magazine just as a day is the limit of a daily newspaper. The magazine advertisement, however, continues to pull long after the month of publication has gone by. The Michigan Stove Company inserted a 224-line advertise- ment three times in a select list of magazines and weeklies having a national circulation. One of its features was a coupon offering advice about stoves to any person returning it to the company's office. Six years after the advertisement had appeared the offer had not been repeated in the meantime the coupons were still coming in, some from remote districts of Europe and other foreign countries The explanation, of course, is that magazines are not thrown away, like newspapers, but in many instances are kept for a long time in bound or unbound form. Some- times old copies are sent to institutions where they are read and re-read until worn out. A magazine frequently has half a dozen sets of readers, the copies being sent from one home to another among the relatives and friends of the original owner. While formerly it was the custom in binding copies into volumes to discard the advertising sections, in these days, owing to the increased size of the magazine page and the custom of running reading matter and small advertisements together, it is impossible to do so. It follows, therefore, under this arrangement, that the advertisements are preserved indefinitely, and, as often as the volume is opened are ready to deliver their message to the reader. Things to Be Considered in Magazine Circulations. While quantity of circulation is regarded as a most important factor in newspaper advertising, in magazine advertising it is geo- graphical distribution. The national advertiser wants to know whether it covers the entire country or only a section of it. When he buys magazine space he prefers that it shall be in a periodical that covers the territory where he has the best dis- tribution of his product. Some mail campaigns will undoubtedly pay best in the far West and in the Southwest where facilities for buying the article 152 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING of local dealers are limited. Several of the magazines having large circulations now furnish the advertiser statements showing their geographical distribution by States. From them he can tell whether the publications reach the people in the territory in which he seeks to build up sales. Half the population of the United States and Canada lies east of the Mississippi and north of Ohio, but the purchasing power of the West undoubtedly warrants a larger advertising investment, according to population, than the East. There is also less competition to be encountered. Another important point to be considered about a magazine's circulation is the manner in which it was secured. Was it the result of premium or clubbing offers, of prize contests, or of sub- scription drives? or was it the result of volunteer subscriptions? Forced circulations are not as highly regarded by advertisers as those that have had a natural growth. People who take a magazine to get a premium or to help someone win a prize usually care little about the publication itself. The most profitable reader for the advertiser is the one who buys or subscribes for a publication because it appeals to him and he wants it. He not only desires to read it, but feels under an obligation to do so. The man to whom a magazine is sent free is influenced by neither of these sentiments. Magazine circulations do not fluctuate like those of newspapers. Severe rain or snow storms do not lessen the demand for them. In the big cities where newspaper circulations depend largely upon street sales it is not uncommon for the sales to fall off from 25 to 40 per cent, because of a spell of bad weather. The mag- azines, with possibly one or two exceptions, are not sold by newsboys. Stand sales keep up in spite of weather conditions because the stands having the largest sales are located at rail- way stations, near post offices, or other places where traffic is heaviest. Reliable figures regarding magazine circulations may be obtained from the Publishers' Periodical Association, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and from N. W. Ayer & Son's News- paper Directory. MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 153 ^| Increasingly Appreciated The exquisite beauty of tone and craftsmanhke finish of The Cheney is becoming known to an ever enlarging group of dis- criminating purchasers. There is romantic interest as well as unique acoustic superiority m the fact that The Cheney embodies the principles of the pipe organ and the violin. "THE LONGER You PLAY IT, THE SWEETER IT GROWS." The increasing appreciation of The Cheney manifests itself in an enlarg- ing volume of sales, most gratityuig to dealers. O/ie In the Cheney Talking Machine ad the sole purpose of the illustration is to create atmosphere. It gives the impression that the Cheney appeals to people of refinement. This impression is further strengthened by the reading matter. 154 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING GrinneU Gloves "Best for every purpose" GrinneU "Limp-Kuff" 'Driving gloves An ideal motoring glove; with the snap of real style; light-weight; smooth- fitting; soft, easy, comfortable; the flexible, limp-cuff keeps out wind, dust, rain or snow, and crumples down naturally on wrist. Snug strap fastener at wrist completes its handsomeness. Ask your dealer for the GrinneU Limp-Kuffand other GrinneU gloves. Whatever kind of glove you want, for driving, work, dress or play for men, women or children, you'll find it among GrinneU styles. The GrinneU trade-mark is a sixty- four-years-old guarantee of quality. Write us for the 1920 GrinneU Giove Book. &5*KA^Si MORRISON RICKER MFG. COMPANY "TrS-Jfc"- A capital specimen of effective glove advertising. Prominence is given, and very properly, too, to the maker's name; the character of the glove is shown with photographic accuracy and its use is indicated by the automobile in the picture above it. MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 155 Questions 1. Under what three heads are magazines grouped? 2. What kind of advertisers employ them in their campaigns? 3. What special services do magazines render the public? 4. Give the arguments hi behalf of the use of magazines in advertising campaigns. 5. How do the magazine publishers protect their readers against loss from fraudulent advertisers? Give an illustration. 6. Why are most magazine advertisements believable? 7. What can you say of the typographical and art value of magazine advertisements ? 8. In what practical way do magazine publishers help their advertisers? 9. How do magazine advertisements help the retailer? 10. What is the length of life of a magazine advertisement? 11. What things are to be considered in magazine circulations? Are magazine circulations more stable than those of newspapers? Why? CHAPTER XIII THE ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS "The trade paper binds everybody in the business into a fraternity which spells length of days because it serves, and its service is based upon specific knowledge." ELBERT HUBBARD. Newspapers fill so large a place in the stirring, aggressive life of to-day that we may overlook the existence of an exceedingly important though not generally circulated group of publications known as technical trade and class journals. The great public knows little of them because they are seldom found on the news- stands, are not sold on passenger trains, and are only occasionally encountered in libraries except in the larger cities. And yet these same journals occupy an exceedingly important place in the social, religious, professional and business life of the age in which we live. Millions of dollars of capital are employed in their production. Their annual revenue from advertising is estimated at from $46,000,000 to $50,000,000. The list of these publications which cover many activities is a long one and includes periodicals devoted to the iron, steel and coal industries; to the manufacture of textiles, shoes and clothing; to education, religion and sociology; to science, commerce and banking. There are few, if any, businesses that are not rep- resented by one or more of them. Selective Character of Circulations. The chief argument in behalf of business papers as advertising mediums is based upon the selective character of their circulations. They assemble in groups those who are engaged in specific occupations. "The trade and technical journals of the country are like magnets picking iron filings out of the dust," says II . R. Shuman, of Chicago. The public to which the national advertiser desires to appeal is selected for him automatically from the millions who 156 ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS 157 have no interest in his product. Their readers are brought to- gether at stated intervals to consider important problems relating to the business they represent. They are told how to do things quicker, better and cheaper. They are supplied with informa- tion of vital value concerning new and improved manufacturing methods and processes; concerning markets and the best way to reach them ; concerning new products, new businesses and new opportunities for increasing sales. These publications give you an opportunity to present your business story to the selected groups of readers they have as- sembled. You can talk to them under ideal conditions just as you would if they were gathered together in a big field or audi- torium. The advantage which such a privilege gives is incalculable as most of their readers are either themselves buyers of merchandise or are in close contact with those who buy. Horace M. S wetland, of New York, one of the largest trade paper publishers in the world, says : "It may be stated as a cardinal principle that wherever an industry is served by a thoroughly competent industrial publica- tion its pages offer the cheapest advertising that that industry can buy." H. E. Cleland, long regarded as an expert in the technical advertising field, in an address before the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World that won the Higham Prize as the most con- structive delivered at the St. Louis Convention, gave these reasons for the economy and resultfulness of trade paper advertising : "First The editorial character of each paper limits its circulation to those men in an industry or trade who are responsible for results. They are the men who actually buy or recommend the buying of the machinery or merchandise advertised in the paper. "Second The buying power of the subscriber represents an in- finitely greater sum than the buying power per subscriber of any other class of publications because each buyer purchases for business and not for private consumption. "Third The editorial contents of the paper are in harmony with the advertising pages. The former tells a man 'how' and the second shows 'what with.' 158 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING "These three fundamental reasons form the backbone of effective economy in advertising. Business paper advertising is economical because it reaches and the advertiser only pays for a circulation of tremendous buying power, which is continually being taught by the publication itself to want the products advertised." In an article in the Dry Goods Reporter, of Chicago, on the ad- vertising value of trade papers, the writer says : "The buying power of 5,000 readers of the average trade paper is greater than that of 500,000 readers of the average popular medium, and the advertiser who will avail himself of the privilege of winning the acquaintance and confidence of those men through their own business journals will find a new and signal solution to the increasingly difficult problem of getting efficiency out of his advertising outlay." Proof of the statements made above is readily available. Trade-paper advertising in 15 years brought a soda fountain house from a position of obscurity to a point where it is the largest in the world. Through the use of double-page spreads in five trade papers, at an expense of $4,000, a contractor secured $8,000,000 worth of new business in a year's time. The Royal Waste Company, of Rahway, N. J., by the investment of 2^ per cent, of its sales in trade paper publicity was able to win, in a few months, a commanding position in the trade. Its slogan "Our Waste Your Gain" is known wherever cotton waste is used. Industrial Publications. A group of publications that wield a tremendous influence is made up of trade and technical publica- tions representing the leading industries of the country. In the amount of capital invested, in the cost of maintenance, and in the volume of advertising carried they easily lead all other business papers. Formerly trade papers had little excuse for their existence. The most of them were poorly edited, wretchedly printed, and had small circulations. They contained very little news and few articles that were of value to their subscribers. In fact, many were established for the sole purpose of " pulling the leg" of the more important manufacturers engaged in the industries represented. To-day business papers are conducted by experts who receive large salaries. In fact their publishers are obliged to compete ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS 159 with great manufacturing, industrial and commercial houses that are always on the lookout for brainy men, in securing the services of expert writers. These journals are now regarded as indispensable to the trades to which they are devoted. They print the news of the week in each particular field; they give market quotations and publish articles upon the business topics in which their readers are most interested. The engineering paper, for instance, contains a list of new plants that are being installed, or are contemplated; presents discussions of intricate problems encountered by engineers in their work and tells how they were solved; gives descriptions of new inventions that promise to be of value to the trade, etc. Such a periodical enables the engineer in the wilderness of the Northwest to keep in pro- fessional touch with his fellows in the big cities. These industrial and technical journals reach special groups of readers who are buyers of raw or manufactured materials, and who are dependent upon them for information as to prices' and markets. Every manufacturer of machinery, every electrical engineer, every factory owner is always on the lookout for new devices that will reduce the cost of production or lessen the hours of labor. What better medium can there be for presenting an article employed in a trade or industry than the publication representing it? That there is none, in the opinion of thousands of advertisers, is indicated by the volume of advertising carried by such periodicals. A single issue of the Iron Age has contained 450 pages of advertising. Special editions of the Textile World the Dry Goods Economist, the Automobile Journal, and a dozen other trade publications, have printed as much advertising. Farm Publications. Of the several groups of periodicals one of the most important, in point of circulation and influence, is composed of agricultural publications, of which 512 are issued. Of these only a comparatively small number have attained na- tional distribution, the circulations of the majority being restricted to certain states or sections of the country. Some are devoted to the general subject of farming the cultivation of the soil, the use of fertilizers, rotation of crops, and the discussion of every-day farm problems. Others specialize on stock and poultry raising, on bee culture, dairy production, etc. . 160 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING The field covered by agricultural papers is much more extensive and important than most people suppose. It is a fact, however, that it is the country and not the city that furnishes the bulk of ordinary trade. Sixty out of the ninety millions of our popula- tion live in rural districts and in towns of less than 10,000 popula- tion of these 30,000,000 actually reside on farms. In other words, in order to reach two-thirds of our population an advertiser must use mediums that go to people living in towns of 10,000 and under. Buying Power of Farmers. While the farmers have always been the largest wealth producers there was a time when they received only a small share of the value of their products. Some of us can remember when the financial market was flooded with West- ern farm mortgages paying from 6 to 12 per cent, interest; when the small cotton planters of the South were so enmeshed in the usurers' nets that their crops were mortgaged for nearly their full value and the money spent, before they were grown. During the decade immediately preceding the great war the farmer began to come into his own. The introduction of the telephone and automobile brought him into closer contact with his markets and enabled him to get better prices for his products. Improved agricultural machinery and the adoption of business methods in farm management were instrumental in increasing his crops and in reducing the cost of raising them. Then came the world war that sent the prices of all food stuffs to unpreced- ented high levels. Wheat that only a short time before had sold at 60 cents, and a little later at $1 a bushel, went up to $2.50 and $2.75 a bushel. Beef, pork and lamb were sold at an advance of 300 per cent. The demand, even at these figures, was greater than the supply. Hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of grain and food supplies of various kinds were sent abroad, not only to feed our own soldiers and those of the Allies, but to keep the inhabitants of nearly every country of Europe from starvation. No authentic figures are available showing to what extent the wealth of the farmers was increased by the extraordinary condi- tions prevailing during and immediately following the great war, but the present average income is $3,500 a year. No other ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS 161 class of our population possesses such aggregate buying power. The home of the farmer of to-day is equipped with practically the same conveniences as that of the city dweller. He sends his children to the best schools and colleges. A $300 or $400 piano occupies the place in the parlor once held by the $25 or $50 parlor organ. A victrola or graphophone, with an assortment of the latest operatic, instrumental or song records, stands in the corner of the room. Gas or electric light has superseded the kerosene lamps of yesterday. The kitchen is equipped with a washing machine and the dairy with a cream separator and a power churn. The farmer's wife and daughter wear hats, wraps and gowns of the latest mode, ordered from New York or Chicago shops. The telephone keeps him in touch with his neighbors, no matter how far away, and when he goes to town he rides in an automobile. In order to reach the farmer the standard agricultural paper is employed. He subscribes for it, not to be amused or entertained, but to get information that will help him in his business, that will tell him how to get rid of insect pests that destroy his crops or show him how to secure better prices for his products through the exercise of greater care in packing. Because of the very close relationship that exists between the farmer and the agricultural paper he reads weekly or monthly, advertisements appearing in its pages carry greater weight with him than those appearing in other publications. A Missouri farmer, without making a single inquiry, sent his check for a $2,000 order of merchandise to an advertiser whose announcement appeared in his favorite agricultural journal. He knew nothing about the reliability of the manufacturer, but the fact that the latter's advertisement was admitted to its columns was to him sufficient proof of his honesty. In other words, the farm paper had, through its straightforward policy and helpful attitude toward its readers, gained his confidence and good will. It is because of this confidence that advertisements appearing in the farm journals bring such a hearty response from their subscribers. Through them manufacturers in one month sold $60,000 worth of automobiles and $25,000 worth of pianos hi one county in Iowa alone. 11 162 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Class Publications.-^-Under the head of class publications may be listed a number of groups of papers. One group is composed of those devoted to the professions law and medicine. Another, of journals representing religious denominations. A third, of periodicals dealing with education. A fourth is made up of fraternal or insurance papers. In fact, there is hardly a subject or a form of human activity in which people are interested that is not represented by one or more periodicals. The religious field is thoroughly covered. Every denomination or religious organization has its own papers. Those devoted to Catholicism and Methodism are the most numerous because these churches have the largest memberships. The religious papers have always been regarded as good advertising mediums because of their authority and standing. Business announce- ments in their columns carry weight with their readers who assume that the advertiser has the endorsement of the church authorities. Unfortunately there was a time when the publishers in their eagerness to fill their papers with profitable advertisements did not exercise sufficient care in excluding misleading and decep- tive announcements, the result being that swindlers took advantage of their laxity and obtained large sums of money from the trusting readers through the promotion of fake oil, mining and other companies. In recent years the religious press has not been open to this charge. It would now be almost impossible to secure the insertion of a misleading or deceptive advertisement in any one of the standard publications. Religious papers are highly re- garded as advertising mediums by many of the foremost business concerns, including Huyler's, Scott & Bowne, Royal Baking Powder Co., Heinz, and the Procter & Gamble Co. Their influ- ence in the home is such that advertisements appearing in them have a strong pulling power. In making your selection of the business or class papers you are to use in your advertising campaign you should, in case you are unfamiliar with their relative value, seek advice from business men engaged in the trades they represent. There are always one or two publications that are regarded as leaders in the field and because of their standing are the best mediums in which to ADVERTISING VALUE OF TRADE AND CLASS PAPERS 163 advertise. Don't waste your money on journals that are trying to get a foothold in a field that is already adequately represented by well-established periodicals. Don't worry about position. If you can secure one of the cover pages, the first page opposite the second page of the cover, or a page facing reading matter, well and good. You will have to pay a premium for such space and sometimes it is worth it. But in the event you cannot get one of these preferred positions be content with any position as your advertisement is certain to be seen wherever it is placed. The pages of business papers are more carefully examined than those of literary or society publications. They are read not for entertainment but for help. Hence if you have something worth while to sell and advertise it in one of these journals you are measurably sure of finding among their readers many who will buy it. When once you have started advertising in one or more of these business papers don't stop, unless for financial reasons you are compelled to do so. Start in with the maximum amount of space you can afford to use throughout the year. If it is a monthly don't advertise one month and drop out the next with a view of saving money. Trade papers are kept on file a long time after their date of issue. If a man who saw your ad in one issue, happens, in trying to find it a few weeks later, to pick up an issue in which it did not appear, he may conclude you have gone out of business or that you have discontinued the manu- facture of the article you were advertising. When you take your place hi the ring stay there until you are either licked or you win out. Plunges are wholly speculative. It is better to use a quarter page in every issue of a weekly or monthly trade paper than a page every fourth issue. Keep your flag flying at the top of the mast all of the time when once you have put it up, in order that the world may know you are still alive and doing business. Questions 1. In what ways do business publications differ from general magazines? 2. What is the difference between trade and class papers? 3. What is the chief argument in behalf of these publications as advertis- ing mediums? 164 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 4. Give H. E. Cleland's three reasons for the economy and resultfulness of trade paper advertising. 5. Give an instance of the successful use of this medium. 6. How many farm publications are there? Name some of them. 7. What can be said regarding the buying power of farmers? 8. Why are trade and technical publications of special value to the manufacturer? Give the names of several with which you are acquainted. 9. What are class publications? 10. What are the arguments in behalf of religious papers? 11. Give several suggestions concerning the use of advertising space in business periodicals. CHAPTER XIV ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING Outdoor advertising is the oldest form of written advertising we know anything about. In the Louvre, in Paris, may be seen a poster, made of papyrus, dated 146 B.C., offering a reward for the recovery of two slaves who had escaped from Alexandria, in Egypt. Another found in a temple in Jerusalem and issued in the reign of Herod the Great, forbade the entrance of foreigners to certain parts of the temple upon pain of death. In the British Museum in London there are exhibited well-preserved posters, also of papyrus, taken from the walls of buildings in Pompeii and Jerusalem. From the early days of civilization until now the poster has been a popular medium for placing before the public commercial, religious, or political information. Wherever men congregate posters have been found effective. When placed upon walls or billboards on public thoroughfares where they can be easily seen they usually arrest the attention of passers-by long enough to put across the message they convey. To 85 per cent, of the population outdoor advertising offers a blackboard from which there is no turning away. It teaches people when they do not know they are being taught. Thou- sands of persons who are indifferent to newspaper or magazine advertising cannot escape the lure of the attractive posters, the printed bulletins, or the flashing electric light signs that greet them on every side. Outdoor Advertising Involves No Expense to the Reader. Newspapers and magazines must be bought before the ad- vertisements they contain secure an attentive audience. Outdoor publicity necessitates no turning of pages, no examination of endless columns of text and advertising matter. It greets the eye of the shopper on the way to the store, the merchant going to and from his place of business, the idler in search of 165 166 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING entertainment, and the worker returning to his home after a day's toil. The three most popular forms of outdoor advertising are the poster, the painted sign or bulletin, and electric light displays. Of these the one most frequently called into service by national advertisers is the poster, which takes the place of the bellman of Colonial days. As we have already noted it was in use long before the Christian Era began. Its earliest employment was by kings, emperors and other rulers to convey proclamations to their subjects. Then the merchants adopted it as a medium for advertising their goods. In the time of Christ they even hung posters about the necks of idols in the temples of Greece and Rome. In our day the circuses and the patent medicine manufacturers were the first to perceive the value and make full use of the poster for advertising purposes. P. T. Barnum, L. B. Lent, John Robinson, James A. Bailey and other circus owners in the seventies depended upon posters displayed on billboards, fences, barns and even houses to fill their tents in the cities and towns where they exhibited. The posters were crude in design and coloring. The showmen vied with each other in displaying pictures of weird-looking animals that never existed except in the imagination of the artists who drew them but which, the cir- cus owners asserted, were on exhibition in their menageries; and of acrobats and equestrians defying all the laws of gravita- tion. The more improbable they were the more eager people were to see the show. During the last few years there has been a great improvement in the character of circus poster advertising. It is still flamboyant but much more truthful. No less successful in the use of posters in those early days were the manufacturers of patent medicines, liniments and other external remedies such as Flagg's Instant Relief, Hostetter's Bitters, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Hood's Sarsaparilla, and Beecham's Pills. Present-day posters are in many instances veritable works of art. A number of our foremost painters and illustrators design them for the largest national advertisers. Some of their crea- tions are so well executed that if reduced in size and reproduced ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 167 LIGHT UNION MADE ve rails outwear two ordinary pair Posters. In most of the commercial posters, of which the above are examples, illustrations have been found to add so much to their appeal value that they are generally employed. Care is taken to have them properly displayed in appro- priate surroundings. Some posters are veritable works of art. 168 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Painted Bulletins. The United States Tire advertisement shown in the lower panel is one of several thousand painted bulletins erected along the highways of the country. They are popular with automobilists because they present interest- ing historical data about places neur which they are erected. ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 169 in oils on canvas they would bring good prices from art connois- seurs. Maxfield Parish's designs for the posters of the Fisk Tire & Rubber Company, James Montgomery Flagg's pictures on the United States Rubber Company's posters, and Charles Dana Gibson's Liberty Loan poster creations show that the best that art can give to advertising is none too good. Art does not demean itself in lending its aid to the adornment of business messages that will be seen by millions. If the mission of art is to uplift and appeal to the higher emotions, where can it find a greater or more worthy audience than is reached by the ad- vertisements seen on the billboards or in the magazines and newspapers? Posters are used by the United States Department of Agricul- ture for various purposes. Railroads find them effective in attracting homesteaders to their farm lands. Government offi- cials have declared that without posters the task of raising billions of dollars through bond sales during the great war would have been much more difficult. Cities and states have em- ployed them to secure manufacturing plants. Political parties regard them as indispensable in national campaigns. Manu- facturers of automobiles, paints, articles of food, soap, tobacco products, clothing, shoes, furniture and the hundred and one articles entering into home consumption, who seek national distribution for their goods, make large appropriations for this form of publicity. The Michigan Agricultural College and the United States Department of Agricultural put on a campaign to increase the consumption of milk in that State. Three posters were shown, one to interest the children, one the women, and one the men. At the end of two weeks the consumption of milk had increased 10 per cent.; cottage cheese, 3 per cent., and butter, 15 per cent. Tile advantages of poster advertising, as enumerated by its advocates, are these: First, the poster is of heroic size the 24-sheet stand, in com- mon use, being 9^ ft. deep by 21 ft. in length. It is mounted in a frame 11 X 25 ft., leaving a margin of white space all the way around it, thus giving it greater prominence. 170 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Second, it has the attraction of color, the value of which in catch- ing the eye cannot be measured. Moreover, the actual appearance of the goods exploited can be faithfully and realistically repro- duced and their attractive qualities set forth. Third, the poster, because of its bigness, allows the display of the name or trade-mark of the article, or the name of the manu- facturer in letters of such large size that they can be easily read at a considerable distance. Moreover, it affords the artist an opportunity to employ designs of a most appealing character in the adornment of the text. Pictorial posters will sell goods to the illiterate and to the foreigner who cannot read English. A poster to be effective from a selling standpoint should com- bine beauty and strength oj design and coloring. In order to accomplish the purpose for which it is intended it must put its message across in a flash, say, two seconds. Therefore, the text should be brief and contain at least one well-defined selling idea. Pictures that are irrelevant or that must be studied to reveal their meaning have no place on a poster. People are usually in motion, riding or walking, when they pass by the billboards; Hence they must take in both the text and illustra- tion of the poster at a glance. If the former is printed in small display type or if the picture must be studied to reveal its mean- ing, then the poster misses the mark. Sometimes a poster carries a picture and only one line of text. The fact that most of the posters seen on the billboards to-day are the work of skilled artists is proof that illustrated posters have been found more resultful than those in which type alone is employed. In any event there should be only one predominating feature in a poster. When more are employed the impression made upon the reader is confusing because of the exceedingly brief time the observer has to analyze the message. Some Mechanical Details. In bill-posting the one sheet poster, 28 X 42 in., is the unit of measurement. The 24-sheet poster which covers an area of 9^ X 21 ft. is the size most popular with advertisers. Billboards are now made of sheet iron rather than wood because they retain their shape in all kinds of weather and require little attention from year to year. The bill-posting of the country is controlled by the Poster ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 171 Advertising Association, representing 8,000 plants, which has done more to standardize the business and put it on a sound footing than any other association. It has established rules to protect advertisers from irresponsible and dishonest bill-posters. Through a Censorship Committee it keeps a sharp lookout for deceptive or objectionable advertisements and will not allow them to appear on the billboards of the organization. For some time before the prohibition law went into effect no liquor ad- vertisements were accepted for posting. What Posting Costs. Rates for posting are fixed by each individual plant owner. They are based upon the class of serv- ice rendered at so much a sheet per month whether one or a million are used, a bill-poster's month being four weeks and not a calendar month. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston the rate is 30 cents for regular locations. In towns of from 2,000 to 5,000 in New York State it is 9 cents. In towns of from 5,000 to 12,000, it is 12 cents. In the average run of towns it is 7 cents a sheet. Displays on the billboards are called "showings." A full showing on all the billboards of the United States costs $197,000 a month and requires 26,138 posters. Very few full showings are used. An advertiser can make a contract for a three-quarter, a half, or a quarter showing. In the Manhattan and Bronx Boroughs of New York City there are 228 regular and 124 special locations or stands. These cost from $7.20 a month for regular and from $20 to $30 for locations at dominating points. An ade- quate showing can be had in these three boroughs for $3,000. The advertiser supplies the posters at his own expense, which varies widely according to the cost of the design, the number of colors used, and the character of the lithographing or printing. In lots of 5,000, when printed in from four to six colors, the cost, excluding the design, is from $1.50 to $1.75 per 24-sheet poster. The advertiser must furnish enough paper (the sheets compos- ing the poster) not only to cover the boards once, but also to re- place any posters that may subsequently be defaced by boys or spoiled by storms. He is given a list of the stands upon which they are placed and their locations in order that he may check 172 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING up the posting, through his salesmen or inspectors, to see if it has been properly done. The Poster Advertising Association has its own system for checking the work of local bill-posters and if they find one who does not live up to his contract he is com- pelled to make a rebate to the advertiser. Poster advertising is specially helpful in supporting newspaper and magazine campaigns. The impression made by advertise- ments in these mediums is continued and intensified by the posters. They familiarize the public with the name and charac- ter of the product through repetition. In a city in which 100 stands are located the posters are telling their story all day long from each of these places. They are more effective than 100 men would be calling out their messages like the town criers of the Colonial days, because they have the added attraction of color, of variety of design and of large display. They are always ready to tell their story to whoever passes by. Poster advertising is effective at all seasons of the year but renders its greatest service in the Spring, Summer and Fall when people spend more time out-of-doors, and it therefore has a larger "circulation." Moreover, the days are longer and the posters are seen to better advantage. Valuable in Special Drives. The advertiser finds posters of great assistance in special drives and intensive campaigns. A full showing in a town attracts wide attention. The new advertiser should beware of trying to cover too much territory at the start. Better try out your product in a few cities and add others as the increase in business warrants. The advertising highway is lined with corpses of advertisers who tried to blanket the country with their advertising and salesman- ship efforts. Insufficient capital, an untried article and an inordinate ambition to get rich quick were some of the causes of their failure. Painted Signs and Bulletins. In addition to the hundreds of miles of billboards, having a total area of 26,000,000 sq. ft. of surface, and used exclusively for poster advertising in 2,726 cities and towns, there are about 1,000 solid miles of fence 10 to 12 ft. high devoted to painted signs and bulletins. While a large proportion of the display space is located along railroads ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 173 and highways, a considerable amount is found in the populous cities. The railroad bulletins, averaging in size 10 X 48 ft., cost $10 to $12 each, under a year's contract. A reduction is made on a two or three years' contract. City bulletins, aver- aging 10 X 20 ft., or a total of 200 sq. ft., are sold at a general average of 30 cents per lineal foot or $6 each, on a six months' contract. There is practically no limit to the size of painted bulletins. The bare walls of high buildings that are exposed to view when adjoining buildings are torn down to make way for new and larger structures are frequently used for advertising purposes. A few years ago the wall of a skyscraper on lower Broadway was employed to advertise Wilson Whiskey. Upon its surface was painted in colors the picture of a typical Southerner, 100 feet tall, in the act of making a highball by the aid of real water running from a 30-ft. syphon into a 9-ft. glass, with whiskey taken from a 48-ft. bottle. The picture was so well painted that for weeks it was the talk of the city and thousands of people journeyed downtown to see it. One of the special advantages of painted signs is that they are not affected by heavy rain storms and retain their freshness of coloring for months. Changes of copy are not made more fre- quently than three or four times a year. The Appeal of Electric Signs. Of all forms of outdoor adver- tising the latest, and by many considered the most impressive because of its novelty of appeal, is the electric light display. People may not read the advertisement in the newspapers and magazines but the message of fire blazing from the roofs or fronts of buildings at night compels their attention. There is probably no better way of impressing upon the mind of the passer-by a trademark, the name of a product or firm, or a short message of any kind. The most brilliant and beautiful display of electric sign ad- vertising in the world is on view nightly on Broadway from 34th to 59th Streets, New York. Standing in Longacre Square the spectator sees a bewildering series of electric light advertising displays some glowing steadily like constellations in the heavens; some flashing out their message for a few seconds and then 174 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING going out; some representing objects in motion; some that appear to develop under the hand of a hidden artist. Along this thoroughfare from six o'clock until midnight flows the human tide of the great city to and from a hundred theaters and places of amusement, restaurants, hotels and railway ter- minals. It is composed of from three hundred and fifty to five hundred thousand people representing not only New York but practically every city in the United States and every quarter of the globe. Not one of them, unless he is blind, fails to see the advertising messages that greet the eye from every roof and building front along the Great White Way. Results of Electric Light Advertising. A few years ago a cleanser of men's and women's garments who had just established himself in New York used a novel electric sign on Broadway to advertise his business. Up to that time the public had never heard of him. Thirty days later he was doing business in eleven states as the result of his electric light display. Heinz, of the "57 Varieties" fame, whose products were ad- vertised by means of a huge electric sign on the north wall of the Cambridge Building, which occupied the lower end of the triangle at the junction of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, where the Flat- iron Building now stands, once stated that the advertisement brought him orders for goods from Africa, South America and Russia. Manufacturers of various kinds of merchandise have asserted that one of the most valuable features of these electric displays lies in the fact that through them they are able to luence the hundreds of thousands of buyers of mercantile lishments who flock to New York yearly for supplies of good :>r several years the Nonotuck Silk Company displayed d Street and Broadway an electric sign showing a kitten ^ mg with a spool of Corticelli Silk, in order to reach dressmakers and dry- goods dealers who purchase spool silk in large quantities. Perrier, the natural sparkling table water, was for some time advertised by an electric sign, 55 X 108 ft., reproducing the fountain at Versailles. Through a mechanical device ten streams of water apparently rose from the ground to a height of 25 ft. and fell back into the great basin below, live steam being ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 175 Electric Light Displays. These reproductions of notable night advertise- ments give little idea of their real beauty and effectiveness. The Wrigley display, in the second panel, is the costliest yet erected. 176 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING utilized to produce the. effect of spray. Twenty-two hundred and thirty electric lamps were employed in the design. Another notable sign erected on the roof of the Hotel Nor- mandie showed a realistic Roman chariot race with the horses running at full speed and the driver's tunic streaming behind him in the wind. The appearance of motion was produced by the opening and closing of 2,750 switches. The sign, which was 40 ft. long and 20 ft. high, was composed of 20,000 electric light bulbs and required a 600 h.p. engine to operate it. The ad- vertisements of various products were flashed out on a screen just below the chariot design. The largest of all electric light signs on view in New York is that of Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, which occupies a space 200 ft. long and 50 ft. high on the roof of a building a block long be- tween 43d and 44th Streets on Broadway. By the use of white and colored bulbs the artist who designed it shows two great peacocks with tails 60 ft. long, in their natural colors, with fountains playing on either side, while whimsical figures go through a gymnastic drill. Over 17,000 electric lights are employed. Cost of Electric Light Displays. The expense of electric advertising displays depends upon their size and location. The Wrigley sign above referred to costs $7,500 a month or $90,000 a year. The cost of the average display ranges from $2,000 to $1,500 a month according to locations. Small signs such as appear in front of stores, composed of 24-8 candle power lamps, are furnished free by some of the electric light companies, provided a minimum of $3 is paid each month for the electric current supplied. The larger signs cost from $5 to $15. Slogan Signs. Slogan signs are used by many cities for advertising purposes. They are usually erected near railroad stations where they can be seen by passengers on the trains. The cost of operation is small $3 to $5 a night. Here are a few of the slogans now employed: Atlantic City, "America's Playground;" Galveston, "The Treasure Island of America;" New Orleans, "Welcome to the Winter Capital of America;" Schenectady, "Lights and Heats the World;" Chattanooga, "The Dynamo of Dixie." ADVANTAGES OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 177 In all electric light advertising the advertising message must be brief and expressive of a strong selling point unless its purpose is simply to present the name of a product, firm or business. The importance of using a picture or design having pronounced attention value should not be overlooked. People will remember a striking illustration long after they have forgotten the inscrip- tion that accompanied it. In selecting locations choose those on the busiest thorough- fares where they will be seen by the largest number of people. Some of the best are found near theatres, department stores, popular places of assembly, public squares, and railway terminals when close to the business center of a town. Questions 1. What is the oldest poster of which we have knowledge? 2. In what one way does outdoor advertising differ from all other kinds? 3. What are its three most popular forms? 4. Who were first to make an extensive use of posters? 5. For what other purposes are posters employed besides selling goods? Give examples. 6. Name three specific advantages of poster advertising. 7. What are the characteristics of an effective poster? 8. What is the unit of measurement? 9. How many bill-posting plants are there in the U. S. and how are they controlled? 10. Give some idea as to the cost of posting. 11. How can this form of advertising be helpful in supporting news- paper and magazine campaigns? 12. What is the cost of painted bulletins? 13. What are the advantages of electric light advertising? 14. Give examples of its successful employment by national advertisers. 15. Describe any one of the electric light displays given in this chapter. 16. Give some idea as to the cost of this kind of advertising. 17. Give an example of a slogan sign. 18. What are the best locations for electric light displays? CHAPTER XV THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING One of the mediums that, figuratively speaking, compels you to read its advertisements whether you want to or not, is the street car. When seated in one of these vehicles you see dis- played before you in tempting array a row of fourteen or more attractive cards, the most of them printed in colors and appro- priately illustrated, each carrying an advertising message. Above your head is a similar arrangement of cards. As long as you continue to read a newspaper or look out of the window none of the cards will get your attention, but the moment you lay aside your paper and allow your eyes to wander about, the strong appeal of the cards makes itself felt, and before you know it you are taking in their advertising message. During the fifteen minutes or more that your trip takes you cannot, unless you deliberately exercise your will-power, keep your eyes away from them. In order that we may better understand the value of the street car as an advertising medium let us look at a few facts concerning the street railway industry. The increase in street railway mileage in recent years has been amazing. There are now few cities in the United States with 5,000 inhabitants, unless they are located on the sides of hills or mountains where the grades are too steep to allow of their opera- tion, that do not have street railroads. In New York City alone there are 108 lines, including the elevated and subway systems. During the last twenty-five years the greatest development has been in the contruction of interurban roads that link together half a dozen or more towns or cities. The building of these transportation lines has done more than anything else to stimulate the movement of people from the densely populated cities to the suburbs and the open country beyond, where living conditions are more favorable to health 178 THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING 179 and the rearing of children. They also bring the farmer into closer touch with marketing centers where he can sell his products and furnish the members of his family educational and social advantages that may be derived from high-class schools, theaters, concerts and other forms of entertainment. In the larger cities the street cars are indispensable for carrying the armies of workmen, clerks and other business men and women to and from their places of employment. It is when a strike occurs among street railway operators and the cars cease to run that people find out how dependent they are upon them. On the occasion of a big street railway strike in New York a few years ago the retail merchants lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because customers from distant parts of the city and from the suburban towns could not get to their stores; manufacturers could not operate their plants effectively because of the inability of their employees to reach them, and the theaters played to empty seats. According to the reports of the Public Service Commission the number of passengers carried by the rapid transit and surface railway lines of New York City in 1919 was 2,079,942,604, an increase of 104,430,015 over 1918. . The average traffic each day during the fiscal year was 5,700,000 which about equals the popu- lation of the city. Each of the 10,000 cars in constant use on the 108 lines carried an average of 570 people daily. The records of street railway traffic in other cities show that a proportionate number of passengers travel on their several lines. We are now in a position to understand why national and local advertisers invest approximately $14,000,000 a year in street car publicity. A medium that reaches such a large proportion of the community is worth your careful consideration. Advantages of Street Car Advertising. Among the advantages claimed for street car advertising are the following: 1. All Advertisers Occupy the Same Space. Therefore every advertiser has an equal chance to put his message across. This prevents the merchant or manufacturer who has a lot of money to spend from blanketing the advertising of a struggling competitor. Every advertiser is placed on the same footing. This is real democracy in advertising. 180 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 2. Street Car Advertising Reaches the Masses. Fifty-eight per cent, of the inhabitants of a city ride on the street cars twice daily. They include all classes and represent a majority of the buying public the people whose patronage business men are anxious to secure. 3. When People Ride on Street Cars They Are in a Receptive Mood. Unless they read newspapers or talk to acquaintances there is nothing to engage their attention. Those who travel over the same road every day are not interested in the buildings or scenery along the route, and therefore do not spend much time looking out of the windows. In glancing about the car their eyes naturally fall upon the artistic advertising cards displayed directly in front of them. Their attractive features arouse their interest and they read them. 4. The Last Advertisements a Woman Sees When She Goes Shopping Are the Street Car Cards. She may have made up her mind as to what she is going to buy before leaving home, and perhaps not one of the articles thus advertised is upon her list, and yet as she sits there, pocket-book in hand, looking at the attractive announcements she may become so favorably impressed by them that on arriving at her destination she will purchase one or more of the articles she had seen exploited. 5. Street Car Advertising Sustains and Strengthens the Impres- sion Previously Made by Advertisements Appearing in the News- papers, Magazines, and Other Mediums. The brief messages, usually artistically illustrated, reiterate the sales arguments with which the public has already become familiar. The person who sees these advertisements twice a day for weeks at a time is, consciously or unconsciously, influenced by them. The standard card used in street car advertising is 11 X 21 in. The advertiser therefore knows that his cards will fit the display racks of every street car in every city in the country. The adop- tion of a uniform size simplifies the work of both the printer and the agency that handles the campaign, and lessens the expense. Brevity a Necessity in Car Card Copy. Owing to space limi- tations the number of words used on a card should not exceed 40 or 50 if the text is to be set in type that can be read at a distance of from 6 to 12 ft. The fewer the number, the THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING 181 182 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING greater the opportunity for display. Some of the most effective cards we have seen contained less than 10 words. In advertise- ments of this kind it is imperative that the type should be plain in outline and easy to read. The text should present one and usually not more than two selling points about the article advertised on each card of a series. The sentences should be brief and so constructed that persons having a limited education will have no trouble in under- standing them. Avoid the use of foreign, technical, or unfamiliar words. The usual aim of the car card is to reach all classes of people. Many of the patrons of street railway lines, and especi- ally those born in countries where languages other than English are spoken, cannot grasp the meaning of many of the long words that are in common use here. There are enough short, simple words in our own language to express any selling ideas you may have. Fully 90 per cent, of ail car advertisements are illustrated for the very good reason that there is nothing that so quickly catches and holds the eye in advertising as an attractive picture printed in colors. Commercial art has been so greatly improved in recent years that it is now possible to reproduce in natural colors fruit, flowers, food products and other articles so accurately that at first it is difficult to tell the artificial from the real. Moreover, some of the best artists of our time are devoting their skill to the preparation of illustrations and other designs for car card advertisements. It is not unusual for an advertiser to pay from $300 to $500 for a single picture. Be Careful in the Use of Colors. When a card is put through seven or eight lithographic printings its character is apt to be impaired. A few well-selected colors will give the best results. The jemployment of a wide variety of colors in the text matter should be avoided. Multi-colored letters are confusing and give the impression of patchwork. Don't display the name of your product in such large type that little room is left for text and illustration. While prominence should be given to the name it is also desirable to tell why the article is a good purchase. In a recent successful campaign the name of the article was not displayed, but was set in the same THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING 183 size type as the body matter. Although the advertisements contained not more than fifty words of text and carried no illustrations, the argument was so skillfully presented that the resulting sales were surprisingly large. The stock used in car cards is usually six-ply, enameled surface cardboard, which permits the use of halftones, wood-cuts, line- cuts and lithography. Only high-grade stock should be employed as the cheaper grades will not take colors well or stand up under the handling they will receive. The cost of producing car cards depends upon the charge for the design, the number of colors employed and their reproduc- tion by lithography or ordinary printing. For 1,000 cards the cost of stock and press work is about as follows: 1 color, $25.15; 2 colors, $32.35 ; 3 colors, $41.30 ; and 4 colors, $48.65. The work should be done by a concern that specializes in the designing and printing of car cards rather than by the average job printer who turns out only a few jobs of this kind in a year. In the former case the printer, by concentrating his attention on such work, is able to furnish a superior product. He employs men who are experts in designing and printing this form of adver- tising, and although he charges more than the ordinary printer the superior character of his work warrants the additional ex- pense. Some of the car advertising companies have service departments that prepare and furnish the cards at cost. Car cards are changed weekly or monthly according to the terms of the contract made with the advertising agent who handles the business. John Wanamaker once carried on a campaign in New York in which the cards were changed every day. The expense involved in designing, printing and placing them in 10,000 cars was, however, so heavy and the results so out of proportion to the expense, that, at the expiration of the contract, he did not renew it. Changing the cards once a week or every other week is sufficient. Cost of Street Car Advertising. Advocates of street car advertising affirm that dollar for dollar it offers the advertiser more circulation and more space in which to tell and illustrate his story than any other medium of national circulation. One of the largest street car advertising companies that claims to 184 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING control 67 per cent, of the street railway advertising of the coun- try, during the war quoted the following rates : "For a three months' run in all the cars it controls, 50 cents a month per car; for six months, from 45 to 62^ cents and for a year, 40 cents. When less than a full run is taken, but not less than half the cars in any town or group, 5 cents extra." These rates do not include the cost of the cards. The present rates are higher and in a country-wide campaign the cost would aver- age about 65 cents per car per month. The total number of street cars in the country that are avail- able for advertising purposes is 75,000. One-tenth of all the money invested in street railway advertising is spent on the passenger transportation lines of New York City. New York is such a large city and has so many different busi- ness and residential centers that it is possible for the advertiser to cover any one of them by using the street cars of a comparatively few lines. As some sections are regarded by advertisers with greater favor than others the prices charged for space in the cars vary. The Broadway and Madison Avenue lines, for in- stance, command a higher rate than those running through the East Side. The advertiser can make his own selection of street railway lines and spend much or little as he may deem best. The national advertiser can make a contract with the com- panies handling street railway advertising for a campaign cover- ing the states or sections of the country in which he has his largest distribution. The length of the campaign depends upon the results to be accomplished. As rule it is not advisable to make a contract for less than six months or a year. Three- or five-year contracts are numerous. It frequently happens in the large cities that all the space in the street cars is sold, in which event, prospective advertisers are sometimes obliged to wait several months for a chance to get in. Results Achieved Through Street Car Advertising. Some of the biggest businesses in the country owe much of their success to street car advertising. William Wrigley began advertising his chewing gum in this medium in 1905. He invested $40,000 the first year, but the results were so unsatisfactory that he was about to abandon this form of advertising when he was per- THE APPEAL OF STREET CAR ADVERTISING 185 suaded to continue, on the ground that he had been using the wrong kind of copy. The second year's campaign, in which a more attractive and convincing line of copy was used, was so satisfactory that the Wrigley advertising has been running in the street cars ever since. The amount now annually invested by the company in this medium is about $1,000,000. The Coca-Cola Company began its career with an initial ex- penditure of $300 in street car advertising. This amount was gradually increased until its announcements were appearing in the street cars of every state in the Union. This company is now doing the largest soft drink business in the world and not a little of its success is attributed by S. C. Dobbs, the president, to street car advertising. When the Joseph Campbell Company, manufacturers of Campbell's Soups, started its first advertising campaign in the street cars in New York City in 1899, its total sales per month in the metropolis did not exceed 16 cases. The appropriation was a small one, $350 a month, and for this amount only a few cars could be used. The advertising, however, was so productive that the number was gradually increased until the company was using every car in the city. Then it extended its campaign to other cities until, in 1910, it was advertising in practically every street car in the United States. During this period the annual sales went up to 20,000,000 cans. In 1911 the company dropped street car advertising and went into the newspapers and magazines. At the end of three years, after spending annually four times as much money in these mediums as in street cars, with no better results, the company resumed its street car advertising on the same scale as before. It is now the largest manufacturer of condensed soups in the world. President Frailey recently made this statement concerning the company's experience: "This business, aggregating $2,000,000 a year at retail prices, has been built up almost wholly through street car advertising." Questions 1. What is the annual expenditure for street car advertising? 2. What are some of the advantages claimed for this medium? 186 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 3. What are the limitations as to the number of words that should be used on a car card? 4. How many selling points should be presented? 6. What precaution should be taken regarding the use of colors? 6. What are the elements entering into the cost of the printed cards? 7. How often should car cards be changed? 8. How many street cars are there in New York? 9. In the United States? 10. What is the average monthly charge per car card? 11. For what period should a campaign be run? 12. Give the experience of the Joseph Campbell Company in advertising its soups. 13. What would be the cost of a half-run of cars on New York City's transportation lines? 14. If a national advertiser wanted to use all the cars in the United States for one month what would be the cost? 15. Prepare a car card advertising Ivory Soap. CHAPTER XVI DIRECT AND MAIL ORDER ADVERTISING Direct advertising is the term applied to printed matter that is sent by the advertiser direct to the prospect, usually by mail. Next to the personal solicitation of a salesman it is the most intimate method of selling employed in marketing. All businesses can use this kind of advertising. Many of the great industries depend upon it for the bulk of their sales. Small manufacturers, wholesale and retail merchants employ one or more of its principal mediums. An examination of the advertis- ing costs of a well-known steel furniture manufacturer showed that of every dollar invested 16.4 cents went for overhead charges, 21.8 cents for magazine advertising, and 61.8 cents for direct advertising, of which nearly one-half was spent for booklets and folders. The appropriations of seventeen national advertisers indicate that an average of 38 per cent, went for direct advertis- ing. Tt is estimated that in 1919 the total amount expended was nearly $110,000,000. Advantages of Direct Advertising. Some of the advantages claimed for direct advertising are the following: 1. It is Selective and Individual. The advertiser can pick the buyers with whom he wants to do business and hammer away at them so persistently with his battery of argument that their indifference is overcome and their interest aroused. He can confine his campaign to one class of people in a single state or he can extend it to several classes in all the states. 2. It is Confidential. Through direct advertising it is possible to get closer to the prospect and talk to him in a more intimate manner. The latter is made to feel that the message is for him alone or for a selected group to which he belongs. He therefore takes a greater interest in it, so its advocates claim, than he does in general advertising. You can talk to him in a letter, for in- stance, with less restraint and less formality. 187 188 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 3. It is Forcible. Through its aid you can marshal an army of facts in such a way as to carry conviction. You are able to anticipate the objections that may be raised and answer them beforehand, thus saving time, and increasing the chances of making a sale. You can go into details and explanations that would be impossible in other forms of advertising. 4. It is Flexible. Direct advertising may be employed for many different purposes. It introduces the salesman to pro- spective customers or supplements his call. It arouses interest, creates good will, and establishes confidence. It directs trade to the manufacturer, to the jobber or to the retailer, as desired. 5. It is Timely. It can be used to meet an emergency. For example, a manufacturer or wholesaler finds at the end of the season that he has on hand a large stock of a certain article which, although of excellent value, has not moved as rapidly as it should. By sending to his customers a letter announcing a heavy cut in the price he can often dispose of the goods in a few days, thus releasing the invested capital and preventing a heavy loss that would have been incurred had he not brought advertising to bear upon his market. 6. It is Economical. There is no waste circulation every piece of copy that goes out can be placed in the hands of a definite person who may become a buyer. You can limit or expand your field of operations in accordance with the amount of money you wish to invest in advertising. Mediums Employed. The mediums employed in direct ad- vertising are letters, circulars, folders, mailing cards, broadsides, house-organs, booklets, catalogs, blotters, fillers and specialties. Because advertising matter coming under this head is usually distributed through the postoffice it is frequently spoken of as mail order advertising. This, however, is incorrect. Mail Order Advertising is the term applied to advertising employed to sell articles by mail regardless of the mediums used. Millions of dollars worth of mail order advertising ap- pears in national publications. There is practically no limit to the number of articles that can be sold by mail. This is shown by the success of such concerns as Sears, Roebuck & Company and Montgomery Ward & Com- DIRECT AND MAIL ORDER ADVERTISING 189 pany, of Chicago, that handle hundreds of thousands of different kinds of merchandise, ranging from pins to automobiles, and from spice boxes to houses. The immensity of the business carried on by these great mail order concerns is indicated by the fact that in 1918 Sears, Roebuck & Company sold $181,000,000 worth of goods. It has a $6,000,000 plant, carries a stock of $6,000,000, owns 40 factories, makes 7,500 vehicles a year and has 8,000 employees. Some of the large mail order houses confine their sales to a few lines of merchandise, often to a single one. The National Cloak & Suit Company, of New York, which occupies an eleven- story building covering one end of a city block, does a very large business in women's wearing apparel. The Chicago House Wrecking Company began its career by selling the building material left after dismantling the Chicago Exposition, and later, that of the St. Louis World's Fair. Gradually it enlarged its scope until it now handles all kinds of merchandise obtained from receivers' and sheriffs' sales. Through advertising it has devel- oped a remarkable business. It receives 50,000 letters a day and employs 110 stenographers to take care of its correspondence. Its daily shipments amount to from 20 to 25 carloads. The mail order experts assert that outside of the half dozen or more big concerns that handle all lands of merchandise the greatest successes have been achieved by those dealing in goods listed under the following classifications: medical preparations, patented articles, specialties, trust schemes, things sold on the instalment plan, stock corporations and correspondence schools. The best advice that can be given to persons who wish to estab- lish a profitable, direct mail business is this Get hold of some- thing new, a household novelty preferred. The more practically useful the article is the better its chances for success in the market. Compiling the Mailing List. Having selected an article for which it is believed a strong demand can be created through direct advertising the next important step is the compilation of a mailing list. This requires careful consideration for upon it depends to a large degree the success or failure of the enterprise. It is easy enough to get a list of names from a dozen different 190 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING sources but unless they are the names of persons who may become interested in, and possible purchasers of the article you are selling it is worthless. The important thing to do at the very start, therefore, is to decide upon the class of people with whom you hope to do busi- ness. Are they of the wealthy class, are they persons of moderate means or are they wage earners ? Are they householders, grocers or drygoods dealers? Are they young men, widowers or bach- elors? Are they yachtsmen, golfers or lovers of the races? Assuming that the article to be marketed appeals to farmers there are several ways of compiling the mailing list. Upon application to the United States Bureau of Agriculture or the Agricultural Boards of the several states lists of the Granges, agricultural associations or other farmers' organizations may be obtained. By writing to the secretaries and offering to pay a small fee for copying, if they are not printed, lists of members may be secured. States and country directories and voting lists are also helpful. The telephone directories are especially valua- ble in selecting the better class of farmers. In Canada postmas- ters are required to post lists of mail delivery box holders. If you want to reach city dwellers you can buy lists of names from directory publishers. These are so classified that you can get complete lists of different kinds of people, such as advertising agents, real estate owners, persons who live in apartments, etc. Manufacturers of goods in any line of business that are sold to retailers can usually obtain the names of dealers in these several lines of goods by consulting the trade papers and the trade directories. Desirable lists of names are sometimes obtained through news- paper or magazine advertisements in which a booklet or other article is offered to anyone sending in a list of people who might become interested in the goods. Importance of Keeping the Mailing List Up-to-date. After having assembled the best list of names you can procure it must be kept up-to-date or its value is soon impaired. It has been found that mailing lists deteriorate at the rate of from 15 to 35 per cent, annually unless measures are taken to prevent it. This is due to deaths, changes in address, and other causes. If, DIRECT AND MAIL ORDER ADVERTISING 191 therefore, the mailing list is not corrected at least once a month the letters or catalogs sent to some of the names will not be delivered and therefore become a dead loss. It costs much time and considerable money to keep the list up-to-date but it is well worth the price. Many campaigns have failed through the use of poor mailing lists. Hence the need of being continually on the alert to make them 100 per cent, efficient. The number of names carried by mail order houses often reaches into millions. Sears, Roebuck & Company's list con- tains 7,000,000. Some of the insurance companies carry from 2,500,000 to 5,000,000. The Larkin Company's mailing list contains 1,000,000 names and that of the National Cash Register 1,110,000. Butler Brothers not only keep a large clerical force busy on their big mailing list the year round, but also employ investigators who travel over the country checking up the names and seeing that their catalogs do not fall into improper hands. Because of the wide variety of mediums that may be employed in direct-by-mail advertising it is possible to select one or more that are especially adapted to the class of people you want to reach. In some cases letters will be found the most effective; in others, booklets or folders. When a number of different things are to be marketed catalogs often produce the best results. Broadsides and bulletins are used to arouse dealer interest. Booklets are valuable in introducing a new article or line of goods requiring more extended description than can be given in a catalog. Envelope stuffers are advertisements printed on thin colored paper which may be slipped into an envelope containing a letter without appreciably adding to its weight. Book publish- ers use them extensively. Mailing cards, which have been called "silent salesmen," have been found especially effective in paving the way for sales- men in new territory. The outside of the folded cards carries a single line of type so worded as to excite the curiosity of the recipient as to what is inside. Sometimes it is accompanied by an illustration that serves to heighten his interest. A par- ticularly good example of this type was a card so folded that the two ends met in the center of the side containing the address. Upon it was printed pictures of two fierce-looking pirates standing 192 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING on guard on either side of a brass-bound treasure chest. Across the top was the inscription "There's Treasure Within." In opening up the card the lid of the chest was lifted, revealing the advertiser's message attractively set forth within. In using mailing cards it is well to confine their shapes to conventional forms, except in rare instances. Odd-shaped cards, and particularly those that are intricately folded, often fail of their purpose for the reason that the reader's attention is so taken up with their novelty of form that he overlooks or fails to be impressed by the message they carry. The backbone of the advertising of the great mail order houses is the catalog. Sears, Roebuck & Company issue two catalogs a year, each containing from 1,500 to 1,700 pages and weighing from 33^ to 5 Ib. a piece, and 60 to 75 special catalogs. Six thousand of the large catalogs will fill an ordinary freight car. As 4,000,000 catalogs are printed and shipped twice a year to the 72 catalog warehouses from which they are distributed, some idea of the enormous cost entailed can be obtained. Elsewhere in this volume, (see p. 208), will be found a chapter devoted to catalog building. Object of Direct Mail Advertising. Nearly all direct-by- mail advertising is designed to produce immediate action. If the prospect is not urged to respond with a cash order he is encouraged to send for a booklet with an attractive title giving additional information, or to ask questions direct about the goods advertised. The richest crop of business is often developed from these requests and inquiries, much depending upon the skill of the correspondence clerks in handling them. Advertisers have learned the value of the follow-up and es- pecially those who are engaged in the mail order business. Homer J. Buckley, of Chicago, once said that he used to pay little attention to inquiries written on cheap paper or postal cards on the assumption that the persons who sent them couldn't amount to much and that their patronage was not worth seeking. One day, however, he wrote a three-page reply to an inquiry of this kind and found that the writer was a manufacturer whose early education had been neglected. The correspondence that followed resulted during the next two years in business amounting DIRECT AND MAIL ORDER ADVERTISING 193 to $27,000, not a penny of which would ever have gone to Mr. Buckley had he not answered that misspelled, cheap-looking letter. Promptness in answering inquiries and fitting orders that are accompanied by cash is essential in direct-by-mail advertising. Delays from whatever cause result in disappointment and are often destructive of confidence. It is a standing rule with the mail order houses to answer all letters and fill all orders the day they are received. The wisdom of such a rule is apparent. The goods are promptly received by the customer who is made to feel that the firm values his patronage, however small it may be. Moreover, it acts as a stimulant to further orders. If he wants something else he knows he can get it without delay. While prompt service benefits the consumer it also directly benefits the dealer or manufacturer as he can turn over his capital more rapidly. The customer has no time to change his mind and cancel his order. Some Useful Suggestions. An offer to send small samples inspires confidence. It is a good plan to make a nominal charge for them as it serves to discourage children and curiosity seekers from writing for samples. Several tests that have been made show that while an advertisement offering something free will pull 1,000 replies, it will not pull 200 when a 2-cent stamp is required for the postage. If a person's desire for a sample is not strong enough to induce him to send 2 cents or any other small amount for it his patronage is not worth cultivating. Price is often a determining factor in direct advertising, es- pecially when the privilege of returning the goods is not allowed. People want to know what an article costs without being obliged to write to the advertiser to find out. Sending goods on approval is not usually satisfactory. In the mail order business you are dealing with people concerning whose character or financial responsibility you know nothing. It is just as easy for a thief to send in a request for the privilege of inspecting your goods as for the honest man. The one never intends either to buy or to return them; the other will. Not all who fail to pay for them or send them back are intentionally dishonest. Some are careless or forgetful; some change their 13 194 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING addresses and do not receive the letters you send them about the matter; some delay the returning of the articles so long that they are ashamed to do so, seemingly overlooking the fact that by this act they lay themselves open to prosecution. The expense involved in following up those who neither return the goods nor pay for them not only eats up the profits on those actually sold, but in many cases drives the advertiser who has only a limited capital into bankruptcy. Unless the article that is being marketed is a novelty that can be sold for only a short time while it is popular, the constant aim of the direct-by-mail advertiser should be to obtain re-orders. Except in the case of articles that bring a comparatively large price there is little net profit on single sales. It is only when customers repeat follow up their first by other orders that a remunerative business can be established. Questions 1. Define direct advertising. 2. In the case of seventeen manufacturers cited what was the average per cent, of the annual appropriation spent for direct or mail advertising? 3. Name six advantages to be derived from it. 4. What are the principal mediums employed? 5. Give the names of three of the largest mail order houses. 6. What kinds of goods have been most successfully sold by mail? 7. How would you go about securing a mailing list? 8. What is the annual depreciation in the value of a mailing list? 9. In what way are mailing cards helpful to salesmen? 10. What is the chief object of direct advertising? 11. Why should a small charge be made for samples? 12. Should goods be sent on approval? Why is it desirable to name prices in direct advertising? CHAPTER XVII BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS Letters are used to solicit business, to promote friendship, to ask favors and to insist upon our rights. Of all the advertising mediums they are the most available and the most easily em- ployed. A sheet of paper, and a pencil or pen are the only things necessary for the production of a letter. No business is so small or so unimportant that it cannot afford to make use of this form of advertising. Letters may be written by hand in the old-fashioned way, or on a typewriter; or they can be set up in type and printed or lithographed. Copies can be reproduced by the mimeograph, multigraph, Hooven, Underwood and other mechanical processes. The following suggestions will be found helpful in writing business getting letters: First. Have something that is attractive to offer to your pros- pective customer. No one will buy an article for which he has no use, no matter how good it may be or how reasonable its price. Second. Make your letter personal in its appeal. Write in much the same way you would talk if you were in the presence of the prospect. Make him feel that you recognize his standing in the community and want his cooperation and support. The following letter, which was addressed to printers, is a good example of the personal appeal style of letter writing. DEAR SIR: "Ting-ailing," goes your telephone. You take the receiver off its hook, put it to your ear, and presto! there's an angry customer sputtering on the wire wanting to know why the printer's devil you haven't delivered his job at the hour promised. That's incident number one. Five minutes later, in walks your outside man with an animated countenance. He slaps a big contract, apparently profitable, on your desk. You congratulate him, and put it in work. But your 195 196 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING press-room is only equipped for your usual quota of job work. The large order is a bomb scattering confusion. To turn it out other patrons must be neglected; the bigger the contract, the longer they must wait. That's incident number two. The next morning two of your feeders are among the missing. Perhaps the wanderlust had seized one, a strong thirst the other. Two presses remain idle that day and the rest of the boys work overtime that night. The crippled force crawls through the week. In the meantime, your outside man is in despair and the dawn editions of the newspapers carry your frantic appeal in the classified advertisement columns captioned HELP WANTED MALE. That's incident number three. It never rains but it pours! You return to your office dis- couraged, and learn that a dissatisfied customer has dumped a 5,000 lot of 12-page booklets back on you: "Solids on the cover poorly laid; halftones do not show up well; rotten impression; poor inks; badly soiled by finger prints; the stuff was promised days ago and it is too late to use now." Well, it was really a cylinder proposition but you had figured low because you could not afford the expense of extra plates. You solemnly mark the transaction down on the "We mourn our loss" side of the ledger. That's incident number four. And then comes the postman with this letter. It deals with your troubles one by one. Now it tells you that the AUTOPRESS van- quishes them all. This is what the AUTOPRESS does: Insures quick deliveries and pleased customers; Turns big contract emergencies into a mere incident in the day's work; Rises above feeder frailties; always stays on the job; Splits hairs in register; lays solids of intense density; reproduces the artist's proof in halftone work; runs at a guaranteed speed of 5,000 impressions an hour; gives the quietus to three or four platens and their attendants. SUMMARY: The AUTOPRESS produces more and better out- put in quicker time, at lesser cost. Of course, The Autopress Company want to sell you an AUTO- PRESS. It is not what they want but what you must have. Your business problems combine in a Gordian knot, hard to undo. Don't try. Cut it with a bold stroke a keen investment the purchase of an AUTOPRESS. Third. Adapt the length of the letter to the nature of the appeal and the character of the audience. While there can be no hard and fast rule in regard to the length of letters, in the majority BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 197 of cases single-page letters will best serve the advertiser. The head of one of Chicago's largest letter-writing agencies says that out of 5,000 letters he has written only five were two pages long. And yet there are tunes when short letters are inadequate. If you were trying to interest a man in an important business enter- prise, or you wanted to sell him an automobile or a country estate, a two- or three-page letter would be required to properly present the information he would need in order to decide upon the merits of the proposition. When a person is deeply interested in a subject he will read every line of a long letter providing the facts are attractively set forth. Some of the occasions when long letters can be employed to advantage are these: 1. When writing to a woman, and especially a housewife about an article that will make her family happier, her home more cheerful, her children prettier and herself more beautiful, the paper used should be a delicately tinted bond, of good quality, and the envelope of baronial size, the aim being to give the letter an air of refinement. Women do not receive as many business communications as men and therefore attach much importance to those addressed to them. 2. When answering letters requesting information regarding your proposition. If a person is sufficiently interested to ask for further data he will read all you write in reply. Go into details. Tell him exactly what you would want to know if you were in his place. If you have any printed matter that is pertinent to the subject send that along too. The mistake of mailing advertising matter under separate cover when sending a letter of this kind has resulted in the loss of much business. Although mailed at the same tune, the letter, because it travels under first-class postage usually reaches its destination first. Any interest it may create in the reader's mind is apt to die out because of the delay in receiv- ing the supplementary literature to which the letter refers. This situation can be prevented by the employment of a new envelope device which permits the letter and advertising matter to travel together but each under its own mail classi- fication. 198 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING 3. When writing to a customer who has purchased your product to tell him how he can get the most out of it. People are usually grateful for any suggestions that will help them to secure better results from an article they already possess or adapt it to new uses. 4. When you have important facts to tell a man about his own business. Distributors of merchandise have found that one of the best ways to hold customers is to show them how to sell their products, how to increase their revenues by the adoption of new methods of salesmanship or a different arrangement of the goods displayed in the store, or to call their attention to a new and more economical plan of store management. The merchant is made to feel that the manufacturer or wholesaler is interested in his success apart from the quantity of goods he purchases. Letters bearing upon these and other subjects will always be read no matter how long they may be. Short letters may be used to advantage under these circum- stances: 1. When you have a real bargain to offer and you do not need to go into details regarding it. If you say too much the prospect may think you are trying to bamboozle him or cover up a defect in the merchandise. 2. When asking for an appointment to show your goods. Arguments and explanations in behalf of your line are unneces- sary. If you state them in your letters the buyer may say, " What's the use of telling me all this stuff in a letter and then asking for an interview to go over the same ground again?" Therefore, your letter should be confined to a bare statement of what you have to offer and the request for an interview. If he is not interested in your line of merchandise he will turn you down anyway. 3. When sending a catalog, or acknowledging a remittance or the receipt of an order. 4. When answering an inquiry for confidential information about a man's credit, regarding which you have little or no positive knowledge. Much care should be taken in the preparation of follow-up letters, which are an important part of every advertising cam- BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 199 paign, no matter what mediums are used. They may be insistent without giving offense. In any case they should be diplomatic. Don't "demand" an answer to sales letters. Because you have written several to a merchant, especially when he is not a customer, is no reason why he should acknowledge their receipt unless he has previously asked for information. Merchants in the smaller cities are not given to much letter writing and object to any attempt to force replies from them. Fourth. Make your business letters cumulative in interest and in sales pulling power. The first blow of a sledge hammer upon a big rock seems to make little impression upon it, but if the blows are continued for any length of time the rock is finally split open. It is the accumulative force of all the blows that accomplishes the result. Similarly under the constantly applied influence of a series of well-constructed, forceful letters the indifference of the prospect is gradually overcome, his interest is aroused and he is won over to the proposition. (a) Endeavor to form a picture in your mind's eye of the man you are addressing. (6) Try to appreciate the local conditions under which he works or conducts his business, (c) Try to get a fairly accurate idea of his likes and dislikes which, in many instances, may be determined from his environment, (d) Re- member that there is no man, no matter who he is or where he lives, who is not susceptible to the right appeal, (e) When you have finished your study of the prospect and his local surround- ings talk to him sensibly, as man to man. Be sincere, friendly, but not too familiar. There is no hard and fast rule for building a sales letter. Different men have different ideas as to how it should be done. Nevertheless a careful study of a number of successful letters shows that a certain plan is consciously or unconsciously followed. Edward H. Schulze, a New York authority on business letter writing, after examining many letters of this kind deduced the following paragraph arrangement for a winning letter. First Paragraph. Attention getting opening. Creating the right atmosphere. Second Paragraph. Continuation of first paragraph. Show prospect what your product will do for him rather than what it is. 200 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Third Paragraph. Description of your product as the buyer or user would describe it. Fourth Paragraph. Argument in favor of the product to be sold, not a description. Fifth Paragraph. Proposition. Attractively worded answer to the question, "Why should the prospect buy of you now?" Closing Paragraph. There is a wide difference between a newspaper or a mag- azine advertisement and a personal letter. In the former the message is addressed to the general public, in the latter to an individual member of that public. In the one case we talk to a few hundred or many thousands or millions of people the country over; in the second we take each man or woman aside and tell our story in the direct, personal way we speak to our friends. Therefore, a good letter writer must be a student of and under- stand human nature. He must know how to appeal to the differ- ent types and classes of people. He must have an easy flow of correct English. This implies, of course, a thorough knowledge of grammar and punctuation. He should so master the details of letter writing that each letter of a series he prepares will per- form its own office and add strength to the entire campaign. He should keep track of the letters sent out and the results that follow by means of a card index. Such a record if carefully filed and studied will save thousands of dollars annually to the direct mail advertiser. Fifth. Business selling letters should be correct in form and printed on good quality of bond paper if they are to impress the prospect with the dignity and responsibility of the company or firm that sends them out. People are apt to judge of the charac- ter of a concern by its stationery, just as we are inclined to judge of a man's character by his dress. Swindlers take advantage of this fact and invariably employ expensive stationery in all their correspondence with persons whom they are trying to induce to invest in their schemes. Sixth. Letters should be properly folded, sealed and stamped. A carelessly folded letter with the stamp stuck on any old way and the address poorly written or misspelled creates an unfavorable impression no matter how fine the quality of the stationery, or BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 201 how excellent the typography, or how important its contents. The man who receives such a letter feels affronted that the sender did not regard him of sufficient importance to see that the mailing was properly done. The most glaring evils of the usual type of circular letters are the use of cheap stationery, the absence of the names of the per- sons who are supposed to receive them, the misspelling of names, the omission of a hand-written signature, failure to fold letters neatly and to affix stamps properly, and, finally, neglect to affix sufficient postage. If you want to get a merchant's attention talk about his business and show him how you can help him make or save money. Make it a "you" letter instead of an "I" letter. He is not going to buy your goods to benefit you, but himself. What you have got to do is to convince him that he can increase his income and add to his prestige in the community by selling your product. The primary object of most sales letters addressed to the trade is not so much to create immediate sales as to elicit replies for further information, or to pave the way for the sales- men when they make their calls. The narrative form of writing is popular with business men. They like a clear presentation of facts with as little fancy trim- ming in the shape of decorative language as is consistent with the subject. If you can arouse their curiosity at the start by a statement that is new or novel you have a good chance of holding their attention to the end of the letter. Don't tell everything about your product in one or two letters. Say enough to make the reader hungry for more information. Leave something to the imagination. Cultivate conciseness in your letter writing. Think out what you are going to say before you write it down. A rambling, pointless letter is an abomination to be shunned. Learn to use words that exactly express your meaning and that the average man or woman can readily understand. The merchant who receives a letter written in "highbrow" language, which may be Greek to him, is not going to expose his ignorance by ask- ing one of his office assistants to explain its meaning. Get away from stereotyped expressions such as " In reply to your 202 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING favor of the the contents of which have been carefully noted, " " We beg to inform you, " etc. You wouldn't use such phrases if you were writing to a friend because they would make your letter so deadly dull and formal. Why, then, use them in your correspondence with business men whose good will and favor you are trying to cultivate? Business letters are employed for other purposes than the selling of merchandise. The sales correspondent of a wholesale grocery house, in looking over some old ledgers, was surprised to see on their pages the names of so many firms who were no longer customers of the house. He made a list of them and after crossing off those that had gone out of business, and checking up the others through Dun's or Bradstreet's, he wrote them a diplomatic letter asking why they had dropped out. Eighty per cent, replied, and of these a majority were induced to resume their old relationship to the house. At the end of three years it was found that these merchants had purchased more than a million dollars worth of goods. Little things sometimes nullify the effect of carefully prepared letters. A strong letter sent to Catholics to arouse their interest in and secure their support for a Church publication brought back only one per cent, of returns. This was such a poor record that an investigation was made to see where the trouble lay. It was found that the letters had been posted at the Masonic Building branch office of the post office, and were so stamped. Most Catholics are strongly opposed to Masonic and all other secret societies and when those to whom the letters were sent saw that they were stamped "Masonic Building" their antipathy was at once aroused. When the publishers changed their mailing station the returns from their letters immediately increased. 'A manufacturer of toilet articles that are sold by mail, whose factory and office were located near the Chicago Stock Yards, wondered for a long time why his mail matter did not pull better. A shrewd advertiser told him to mail his letters and circulars from a postal sub-station in a more attractive neighborhood and see what would happen. He did so and was surprised to note how quickly his business began to improve. The business letter writer must be ever on the alert to take BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 203 advantage of changing events in the commercial world. Giving a news twist to correspondence helps to arouse the prospects interest. How many follow-up letters should be sent to the same person or firm? The number of follow-ups depends on the profit that lies in the sale if it is secured. This does not mean the profits on the first order, if there are chances for repeat busi- ness, but the profits the sender of the letter might ultimately expect from the account. Thus, in selling machinery running into the hundreds or thousands of dollars, it is obvious that if one sent a letter every week for a year (52 weeks at 2 cents postage per week is $1.04) the amount thus expended would be small when the profits on a possible sale are considered. On the other hand, in selling a $2 article, upon which there is no chance to get repeat orders, it would not pay to send more than two letters or perhaps three, as the amount of money allowed for selling is proportionally smaller. It is best to consider the number of follow-ups in relation to how much one can afford to spend to get a sale. Here is a follow-up letter that brought replies from a large proportion of the firms to which it was addressed : DEAR SIB: Twenty minutes past two. In half an hour, the afternoon mail will be in. I'm sitting here waiting for an envelope with your name in the upper left- hand corner. An answer to my letter of November 23d. That letter went to a great many Meat Packers. And a great many letters have come in return. Most all of them containing Keepdry Barrel Cover orders for trial. One arrived yesterday from the Morton-Gregson Co. Quite prominent in the meat industry. They think Keepdry Covers are worth a trial, so they're going to try them. And now there are 25. Let's name a few of them : Armour, Agar, Buckley, Ballard, Cudahy, Dunlevy, Hammond- Standish, Hormel, Kalbitzer, Kingan, Lima, Oscar F. Mayer, Swift and Underwood. Pretty soon Morton-Gregson will say to ship some more Keepdry Covers. At any rate that's what has happened with all the others after they have tested out a few. 204 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING I wonder if that mail will bring your trial order. If not I am going to shoot this little reminder along to-night just so that you will know that I sat here waiting. But it isn't too late yet. Concerning Form Letters. Every concern doing a fairly large national business receives every day many letters on the same subjects and which require the same replies. It is obviously a waste of time to dictate or write over and over again differently worded answers to the same questions, or replies to the same complaints. Hence the economy and convenience of form letters. These should not be dictated right off the reel as a part of the day's work, but should be the result of a close study of the firm's correspondence extending over several months. If you will look over fifty or a hundred letters that have been written on the same subject you will find some of them much better than others. In one you discover a paragraph in which the idea is set forth in an exceptionally strong and clear manner. In another you observe a phrase or a paragraph that strikes you as specially clever. One letter has an introduction that is out of the ordinary and rivets attention. You admire the wind-up of a fourth letter, or the convincing way in which a complaint is answered in a fifth. By combining these or other paragraphs you produce a letter that covers the subject in a thorough and satisfactory manner and can adopt it as one of your form letters. By listing a number of the paragraphs on a sheet and giving to each a number you can use one or several in dictating other letters by simply giving the numbers to the stenographer. Pursue this same course in preparing form letters on other subjects. With these letters in hand routine correspondence can be quickly disposed of by the office staff at minimum cost and maximum efficiency. In mailing circular letters should 1- or 2-cent stamps be used? Here again no categorical answer can be given. The A. W. Shaw Company, of Chicago, publishers of business books, state that they have secured as many responses when letters bore 1-cent stamps as when 2-cent stamps were used. Much depends upon the nature of the offering and the class of people to whom the letters are addressed. When letters are sent to BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 205 prospects in rural districts, or elsewhere, who are not accustomed to receive much mail matter, a 1-cent stamp can be used. But when, on the other hand, your letters are mailed to persons or firms who receive a large amount of advertising matter and many letters every day, your communications have a much better chance of being read if they bear a 2-cent stamp. Why? Because, in sorting the mail the clerks are usually instructed to separate the first-class from the second-class matter. The first- class mail has the right of way and receives the direct personal attention of the executives, while the second-class matter is referred to one of the office staff for examination, in which case it often happens that circular letters never reach the important heads of the business but are dumped into the waste basket unread. Of course, the 2-cent stamp will not insure the de- livery of your letter into the hands of the person for whom it is intended, but you may be reasonably certain that it will, in most instances, accomplish that purpose. On the Use of Window Envelopes. Considerable expense can be saved in mailing large editions of circular letters by the em- ployment of window envelopes. It costs from $2.75 to $3.00 a thousand to address envelopes on the typewriter. This expense can be eliminated if the letters are so folded that when enclosed in the window envelopes the filled-in address at the top of the first sheet shows through as the mailing address. If, however, you have a high-grade proposition to submit to a select list of out of the ordinary prospects, typewritten addressed envelopes would be more appropriate and make a better impression. Return Postage. When you enclose a post card for a reply it is not necessary to use a stamped card unless you are writing to a customer, or asking a favor as, for instance, for the names of friends or acquaintances who might be interested in your offering. A Wisconsin concern in order to determine the value of furnishing stamped return postal cards mailed 3,000 letters enclosing them. Six hundred came back. As 2,400 were not used those returned cost 5 cents apiece in addition to the other mailing cost. A second lot of 3,000 letters were mailed in which the cards enclosed were not stamped. Of the latter 526 were returned. As no postage was paid on these cards the firm saved $10 on each thou- 206 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING sand sent out. It is the opinion of most mail order houses that the man who is sufficiently interested to furnish a stamp for an enclosed card asking for particulars is a much better prospect than the one who replies only when a stamped card is furnished by the advertiser. On the Use of Enclosures. In sending out business getting letters, whatever their character may be, do not enclose several pieces of advertising matter for they have little chance of being read. It is a much better practice to use one piece at a time. When a business man receives an envelope stuffed to the limit with advertising leaflets, poorly printed, on cheap, thin paper, he is likely to throw the contents into the waste basket without reading, on the ground that no responsible concern doing a pros- perous business would send out such a mess of junk to a pros- pective customer. One concern that tested the value of various enclosures found that the fewer the enclosures the greater the attention given to the letter, the best results being obtained when a well-printed booklet, giving the history of the product was the only enclosure. Signatures. All circulars, form, or other letters should carry a personal signature. If sent out by a company, the name of the president or some other executive should appear below that of the company, the reason being that the person who receives such a letter will attach much more importance to it than he would if it only bore the company name. To many people a corporation is an intangible, soulless body with which it is impossible to establish an intimate relationship. If, however, these same persons are brought in contact, through correspond- ence or otherwise, with its president or someone else in authority, they will have an entirely different idea regarding it. To them the president or other official is the company and can be dealt with as a person. When they receive circular or other letters from an executive of such a corporation they are impressed by the fact and their interest is aroused. In the production of facsimile letters in quantities the signa- ture is printed with the letter, and, when the work is well done, it cannot be distinguished from the hand signature of the writer. In instances where the letters are of more than ordinary importance BUSINESS GETTING LETTERS 207 the letters should be signed by hand and the name typewritten underneath in case the signature is difficult to read. Questions 1. In writing business-getting letters what are some of the things to be kept in mind? 2. Under what circumstances can long letters be employed to advantage? 3. When is it advisable to use short letters? 4. Before writing a letter what should you do? 6. Give Mr. Schulze's plan for writing a business getting letter. 6. What are the qualifications of a good letter writer? 7. Why should special care be taken in the selection of stationery? 8. What are some of the glaring evils of circular letters? 9. How can you quickly get a merchant's attention? 10. What form of letter writing is popular with business men? 11. Give several stereotyped phrases that should be avoided. 12. When should follow-up letters be discontinued? 13. What suggestions can you make concerning the preparation of form letters? 14. In mailing circular letters should 1- or 2-cent stamps be used? 16. When are window envelopes to be preferred over the ordinary kind? 16. When should return postage be enclosed if replies are desired? CHAPTER XVIII SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING The most important mediums employed in direct advertising are letters, folders, booklets and catalogs. They are the back- bone of practically all mail order advertising campaigns and a vital necessity in the marketing campaigns of general and tech- nical advertisers. Of these catalogs are depended upon for the heavy work. They are used to back up newspaper and maga- zine advertising; to obtain new customers and to hold those who have already been lined up; to pave the way for the visits of salesmen, and to secure direct orders from places to which it is not feasible or possible to send salesmen. Through catalogs the manufacturer can present information that cannot be presented in newspaper or magazine advertising. Charles W. Beaver, in speaking of the characteristics of the catalog, says: "The catalog must be your personal representative, duly accredited, backed by your word, vested with the authority of knowledge, and lacking none of the polish essential to the most profound courtesy. Lacking the magnetism of the human voice its cold type must be in- fused with a message so true, and its every page so suggestive of uses and applications that the prospect is made to see each article as his own." The fact that a large amount of money is wasted annually upon catalogs and booklets that are thrown away unread because they are unattractive, or have no real selling value, shows how necessary it is that we should know how to prepare the kind that will market the goods at a profit to the advertiser. The contents of the waste- paper basket of the average busy executive ought to be a con- tinual warning to every advertisement writer if he would save his own work from a like fate. A Catalog in Physical Appearance and in Text Matter Should Reflect the Character of the Firm by Which It Is Issued. Much 208 SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING 209 depends upon the first impression it makes upon the prospect when he opens the envelope containing it. If it has an attractive cover, is printed on good paper, is appropriately illustrated and contains information of value to the recipient, it will receive the attention it merits and will be kept for future reference. No business house of standing would think of sending out on the road a salesman who is slovenly in dress, boorish in bearing, and cannot talk to a customer in an intelligent manner. The salesman, when he calls upon a merchant, is, for the time being, the house he represents. If the impression he makes is favorable the firm back home profits by it; if it is unfavorable the reputation of the house suffers. Catalogs Are Silent Salesmen, Deputy Ambassadors of Busi- ness, Sent Out to Promote Sales. Like salesmen they must have a certain personality to win attention and favor. They should have an inviting, prosperous look that will make the recipient want to study them carefully. They should present facts about the merchandise offered in such a clear, straightforward way that they will gain the reader's interest and confidence and induce him to send in his order. The three kinds of commercial catalogs : 1. The mail order catalog, designed to reach the consumer, is abundantly illustrated, contains full descriptions of the articles offered, numbering in some cases 150,000, quotes lowest prices, and gives full directions for ordering and paying for the goods. 2. The wholesaler or jobber catalog, which is sent out by the manufacturer, is confined to brief descriptions of the goods, a list of sizes and prices, and the terms under which they are sold. 3. The retailer catalog, also distributed by the manufacturer, and frequently by the wholesaler, contains, in addition to much of the information presented in the wholesaler's catalog, a list of selling points or arguments showing the superiority of his goods over those offered by competitors; statements regarding the profits to be derived from handling them; and a list of dealer helps furnished, such as advertising cuts, window trims, cut-outs, display cards, posters and other materials. Catalogs in many cases are issued monthly and in others only twice a year, in Fall and Spring. H 210 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Every Catalog or Booklet Should Have a Plan Behind It. Next to letters, catalogs and booklets are the most intimate form of advertising and therefore special care should be given to their appearance and contents. A catalog is not hastily pitchforked together, but is deliberately planned and executed. Before the details of mechanical construction are taken up, decision should be reached as to its character and purpose, the style or method of presentation, and the class of people to whom it is to be sent. Then comes the consideration of its physical features the size, cover, paper, illustrations, type, use of colors and the binding. If these things are determined beforehand there will be no confusion and no misunderstanding on the part of the printer as to what is required of him. It is just as neces- sary for the advertisement writer to have a plan for the production of a catalog as it is for the marine engineer to have a plan for the ship he is about to construct. Things to Be Considered. Most catalogs are not as volumi- nous as they were years ago owing to the present high cost of paper, engravings and printing, but what they have lost in bulk they have gained in attractiveness and in pulling power by the use of color. These are important factors in selling merchandise through the printed word. The fact that national distributors in their magazine and newspaper advertisements frequently request readers to send for a booklet or catalog indicates that they do not depend entirely upon periodical announcements to market their goods. Technical advertisers especially rely upon catalogs to make sales. In one respect a catalog is better than a flesh and blood salesman it can illustrate an entire line and keep it before the buyer indefinitely. In other words, it is a show room as well as a salesman, a combination that is of great advantage in selling merchandise in remote towns not covered by the regular salesmen. The Introduction. Every catalog should start off with a live message from the advertiser to his customers or the prospects who are to receive it. This should outline the policy of the house, tell of its business methods, and give a general idea of the char- acter of its products and its facilities of manufacture. Sometimes it is well to say something about the personnel of the firm and SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING 211 their experiences in developing the business in which they are engaged. The introduction should not be a dry recital of facts, but a statement that is full of human interest. It should make the customer feel that in trading with the firm he is dealing with real men and not with a thing that has neither soul nor feeling. If written in the right spirit it will give to the pages that follow added interest and pulling power. The Problem of Size. The first thing to be decided upon in considering the physical aspect of the catalog is its size. It should be large enough to comfortably accommodate all the text matter and illustrations you can use to advantage and yet be small enough to be easily handled. There are a few concerns that, because of the number of their products especially in hardware publish catalogs a foot thick and weighing 12 or 15 Ib. Recently, however, a tendency to issue several catalogs, each devoted to a different kind or line of mer- chandise, has been noticed. While the cost of production is greater this is more than offset by the saving effected in their dis- tribution. Many merchants carry only a single line of a manu- facturer's products. Why go to the expense of mailing them a catalog of 2,000 or 3,000 pages when one of 100 pages describ- ing the goods in which they are interested, would meet all their requirements? Hitherto it has been somewhat difficult to select from the many different sizes of catalogs the one that would best serve the purpose of the advertiser. Both advertisers and printers have long wished that the time might come when catalog sizes would be standardized, because of the saving of time, cost and labor that would follow. The first concerted attempt to bring this about was made at a conference of representatives of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the United States Department of Commerce, the National Association of Purchasing Agents and twenty-six engineering, printing, paper and allied associations, held in Chicago in 1918. Three standard sizes were recommended as a result of their deliberations : 6 X 9, 7^ X 10% and 8X11 in. The Purchasing Agents preferred a single size, 7^ X 10%, or its half-size, saddle-stitched so that the catalog will lie flat. Its 212 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING advantages are that it fits in a standard letter file and thus makes possible a uniform filing and indexing system; it effects economy in filing space and thus insures the instant availability of the catalogs when wanted. This size page can be cut from standard size sheets of paper without waste and can be folded on all makes of folding machines. Eighty per cent, of the printing presses now in use can economically print it in 16- and 32-page page- forms. One of the largest catalog printers in the country has con- centrated production on the 7^ X 10% size. Selecting the Cover. The cover should be of heavier weight and of more durable stock than the paper upon which the text is printed. Its toughness and color should depend upon the amount of handling the catalog is to receive. In trade catalogs that are frequently consulted the cover should be dark in color so as not to soil easily, and tough in texture so that it will with- stand hard usage. Choose a cover that will be in keeping with the business that is being advertised. The cover of a refrigerator manufacturer's catalog that attracted much attention was a light green; that of a water-heater and furnace manufacturer, red and yellow. Dark browns, blues and grays are in demand for machinery catalog covers. Jewelers use white and bright tints while light gray is favored by schools and colleges. Excellent cover color effects may also be secured through printing. Kind of Paper to Use. For catalogs in which line cuts and coarse screen halftones are used newspaper stock is employed, but for those in which artistic typographical effects are sought coated papers are necessary. There are several kinds of finish high, medium and dull or semi-dull. The latter is much easier to the eye than a high finish and takes a better impression. All coated papers have a grain running lengthwise of the sheet in the roll as it is manufactured. When cut into sheets care should be taken in printing to have the grain so run that, when folded, they will not crack. The Different Finishes of Paper Are Machine Finish, Super- calendered, Coated, Plated and English Finish. The machine finish is produced by the steel rolls through which the paper runs in the course of manufacture. Super-calendered finish is given by passing the paper at high speed between steel rolls under SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING 213 heavy pressure. Coated paper is paper to which a thin layer of white clay has been applied to give it body and an extra-smooth surface. Plated paper has a surface somewhat similar to that of super-calendered paper, produced by pressing it between steel plates or rolls. English finish is given by introducing a small amount of clay into the paper pulp during the process of manufacture instead of adding it to the surface after it is made. It should be borne in mind in selecting paper of any class that there are many different grades and weights of that class produced by the many different mills. Unless you are careful you may find when you come to print your catalog that the paper instead of being clean and clear is muddy and dirty, although the finish and weight are exactly what you ordered. Type. What kind of type shall we use in printing the catalog? It depends largely upon the nature of the product. Quality may be indicated by the type faces used. Experts say that Caslon Old Style stands supreme as a good readable type and that it is as popular to-day as when first cast many years ago. Some type faces, while artistic in outline, are not easily readable or pleasing when used in combination with cuts except when they have been modernized. The body type faces in common use in catalog printing, in addition to Caslon, are French, Century and Roman Old Style, Old Style Antique, Cheltenham, Bodoni, Modern Roman and Scotch. Type faces generally used for display purposes include Jensen, Delia Robia, Cheltenham Bold, Bookman, Post Old Style and Bewick Roman. Lines set in capital letters need more leading than those set in lower case or small letters. It has been found by experiment that the length of line easiest to read is 2% in. It can be read at the rate of Q^Q words per second. A very short line, singularly enough, is as hard to read as a very long line. Black letters on a white background form the best combination in printing provided the paper is not high-finished, coated stock. The size of the type should be in proportion to the size of the catalog page. Ten-point is recommended for the ordinary size page, although 12- and 14-point can be employed to advantage when the page is 9 X 12 or larger. 214 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Cuts and Illustrations. In order to secure the best results in the reproduction of illustrations the cuts or plates must be made with due regard for the work they are expected to do. The two most popular kinds are line cuts and halftones. The use of wood cuts, once in favor with catalog makers, is a fast dying one. The character of the cuts depends upon the kind and quality of the paper to be used in printing. It is therefore highly important in ordering them from the engraver that he be furnished these facts in order that he may produce the right kind of plates. High- grade line cuts which are almost etchings in effect are more applicable to high-quality advertising than the ordinary half- tone. In technical advertising halftones are preferable. The proper screen for halftones when a dull paper is to be used is 133 lines to the inch and for coated stock from 150 to 175 lines. As we already know, a screen is a sheet of glass upon which parallel lines are drawn at right angles to each other, the fineness of the screen depending upon the number of lines to the inch. These lines break up the surface into dots. On the negatives the shadow dots are sometimes allowed to run a little larger than for ordinary work, according to the ability of the paper to take care of the spreading of the ink. The larger dots in the high lights permit of deeper etching. Because of the absorbent qualities of the paper and the pressure required to get a good impression the plates have a tendency to flatten out unless they are treated in this way. If you want a good job of printing do not use old and new cuts together on the same page. The old cuts, being worn, will not show up as well as the new. Binding. Up to 80 pages, the stock being on the basis of 25 X 38-80, the catalog should be saddle-stitched, with two wires through the cover, trimmed flush. If 7 X 10 in. in size, three wires will give additional strength. The cover, which should be tough, but not too thick or of too hard a finish, should be sufficiently porous to take the glue. If the stock is heavy it should be scored so that it will crease properly and not break away so readily when glued to the book. No catalog over 1 in. in thickness should be wired. Catalogs that are to be handled much should be hand- or saddle-stitched so that they will lie flat when opened. SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING 215 Distribution. Catalogs run into money very fast. There- fore they should not be sent out indiscriminately. See that your mailing list is kept up-to-date and contains no "dead" names. There is a certain waste that cannot be avoided, especially when an advertiser offers to mail a catalog on request. Many persons who have not the slightest intention of buying will write in for copies. The sales department of one of the best known auto- mobile concerns in America once received a request for a catalog written on the crested letterhead of an exclusive coast hotel. In an effort to further interest the prospect several letters were written to him, but they elicited no response. Finally the manager of the branch office nearest the place where the hotel was located was instructed to call upon the writer. Visions of the sale of a $4,000 car flitted through the agent's mind as he made the forty-mile trip. When he arrived at the fashionable hostelry and asked that his card be taken to the room of the guest whose name was signed to the request for the catalog, he was told that no one of that name was stopping at the hotel. The automobile agent insisted that he must be there. The clerk thought a moment and then suddenly exclaimed, "Sure he's here! He is the head bell-hop." They went to the boy's room, where they found enough automobile catalogs to fill a bushel basket, not one of which cost less than 40 cents, and several as much as $3. Export Catalogs. Now that the United States, as a result of the great war, is actively engaged in foreign trade, catalogs are being largely depended upon to carry the business messages of our manufacturers and merchants to foreign countries. In preparing catalogs for distribution among people whose language, customs and traditions differ materially from our own, certain things must be taken into consideration. Catalogs Should be Printed in the Language in General Use in the Country to Which They Are to Be Sent. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been wasted by the United States exporters on catalogs printed in English and circulated in South America where Spanish and Portuguese are the only languages spoken by more than 90 per cent, of the population. Don't send catalogs in English to any of your foreign customers unless you know they 216 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING understand that language. If you wish to do business in Brazil your catalog must be printed in Portuguese; if in Argentine and other countries of South America, in Spanish. Another point to be remembered is that you should avoid the use of American slang or colloquial expressions. In describing your goods give full details leave nothing to the imagination. Remember that the buyer may be unfamiliar with the product you are selling or he may never have purchased merchandise in the United States. He wants to know all he can about your firm, your goods and your method of doing busi- ness. Make everything so plain that requests for further infor- mation by letter or cable will be unnecessary. In Giving Weights and Measures Use the System in Vogue in the Country in Which the Catalog is to Be Circulated. The Metric System is in general use in Latin America, France, Spain and many other countries. It is not advisable to print prices except when the catalog is to be distributed among consumers. Better print the price list on a separate sheet. Make Your Catalog Durable. Cheap paper, flimsy covers, poor printing and careless binding are a poor investment in angling for export trade. If it falls into the hands of a good prospect or is received by a customer it will be constantly used and consulted, and therefore should be so well built that it will not fall apart after it has been consulted once or twice. Use Illustrations Freely, but See to It that They Do Not Misrepre- sent the Goods. Lying pictures will destroy confidence as quickly as lying text. If you can put local color into your illustration you wiU greatly enhance the value of their appeal to your for- eign audience. When you have an English catalog translated into another language have the work done by a person who is thor- oughly conversant with business terms and practices in both countries. Several New York exporters who cater to South American trade have their translations made in Rio Janiero, Buenos Aires or Santiago because of the superior quality of the work done by native translators. You can secure the addresses of reliable translators here or abroad by writing to the editor of any one of the leading export publications. SUGGESTIONS ON CATALOG MAKING 217 Questions 1. For what purposes are catalogs used? 2. In what respect should a catalog reflect the character of the advertiser? 3. Name the three kinds of catalogs. 4. What points should be determined before the actual work of con- structing the catalog is begun? 6. In what respect is a catalog better than a salesman? 6. What should be the character of the introduction? 7. What three standard catalog sizes have been adopted? 8. What things should be considered in selecting the stock for a cover? 9. Name the different finishes of paper. 10. Name some of the type faces used in catalog printing. 11. What length of line is easiest to read? 12. Wliat size of type is recommended for the ordinary size page? 13. When cuts are ordered of the photo-engraver why should he be in- formed as to the character of the paper to be used? 14. When should a catalog be hand-stitched? When wire-stitched? 15. In distributing catalogs what precautions should be taken to prevent waste? 16. Give several practical suggestions for the preparation of export catalogs. 17. In what language should a catalog be printed that is to be distributed in Brazil? In Argentina? CHAPTER XIX THE MISSION OF THE BOOKLET A booklet has been defined as "a salesman traveling by mail." Some of the suggestions made in the preceding chapter con- cerning the selection of paper, covers, and type dress for a catalog, apply with equal force to a booklet. In the catalog, as we have already seen, we deal with classified information price lists, simple or technical descriptions of many articles of merchandise, with accompanying illustrations that usually bulks large and is frequently referred to by those who are in- terested in its contents. In the booklet, on the other hand, we present arguments in favor of the articles or services offered and give reasons why they should be purchased. We go more into details than is possible in newspaper or magazine advertisements. Often booklets contain entertaining stories about the firm and its manufacturing processes, statements about its policies, the distribution of its goods, and such other matters as would appeal to the public who buy, or the retailers who sell its products. "Reason, sunlit with imagination, should characterize the ideal booklet," says an advertisement writer. "Put a little of the pink flesh of imagination on the dry bones of logic. " Argument will sell golf balls to a golf player, but not to other people. If you want to influence the latter you must appeal to their imagina- tion through pictures of scenes on the golf links and descriptions of the pleasures and benefits to be derived from the game. In Writing a Booklet the Story Form of Presentation Will Be Found Particularly Effective. People like to read stories, what- ever the subject, if they are well told and have a human interest. Men and women are only grown-up children. In their kinder- garten days they were taught many important facts about the animal and vegetable worlds by means of stories related by their 218 THE MISSION OF THE BOOKLET 219 teachers or parents. In their mature years they are still sus- ceptible to this kind of instruction, but insist that the matter presented shall be of sufficient importance to be worthy of their attention. When you write a business story be sure you stick to facts. It's so easy to exaggerate and misrepresent in order to make the narrative grip the reader that unless you are constantly on your guard you will find yourself spinning Munchausen tales that no one will believe. Avoid the Commonplace. Don't follow a bell-wether. Be original don't "crib" other people's work. We all use practic- ally the same words but we have a chance to show our origi- nality and ability in the way we combine them. A booklet should be entertaining as well as instructive. If it lacks spontaneity, life, and a purpose it will not make a favorable impression. Booklet Sizes. The size of a booklet has much to do with its attractiveness. While booklets are still made in many shapes and sizes, advertisers who have been most successful in their use favor the smaller, standard sizes those that will fit the pocket. They are handy to hold and are convenient to read in the street cars or while waiting for an interview or for a train. A large proportion of those put out by leading manufacturers are 33^ X 634 in. and will exactly fit a 6^ envelope. Large booklets are hard to handle, take up space and can only be read to advantage when spread out on a desk or table. More- over, they are difficult to file. They cannot be folded without spoiling their appearance. Sometimes it is necessary to make the booklet large for the sake of impressiveness or to accommo- date large cuts and diagrams. The proportion of a booklet should be carefully considered. It is possible to make a mistake in such a simple geometrical figure as an oblong. One man will lay it out in such a manner that it will be graceful in its proportions while another will produce a booklet that is ungainly. The nature of the product to be advertised may be suggested by its shape. For instance, a line of imported parasols or expensive hosiery would suggest a long, slim, booklet while cement blocks or machinery would require one that is nearly square. 220 ESSENTIALS OF ADVERTISING Coated and Highly Calendered Paper Should Be Sparingly Used. The shiny surface is not grateful to the eye as it furnishes a trying background to the printed page. The glaring effect of the paper upon the eyes makes the type hard to read. The best thing in its favor is that it brings out the details of fine half- tone plates better than any other kind of paper. When the greater part of the space is occupied by text matter the most satisfactory typographical results may be secured by the use of dull-finished, hand-made, or machine-made paper that imitates hand-made, or even a good book stock, if cheapness is to be considered. On this kind of paper zinc engravings, instead of halftones, can be employed to advantage. It is well to remember that the illustrated booklet tells no more and no less than the advertiser wants to make known. The Booklet Should Be Inviting in Appearance. Its appeal may be based on two things its purpose as indicated by the title and its intent as shown by the arrangement. A lot of money is wasted on fancy designs for the front cover page. If a suffi- cient amount of thought is given to the title it should be possible for the advertiser to write a line or a sentence that will literally compel the person who receives the booklet to open and read it. "There's Treasure Within," "How to Save Money," "How to Double Your Income," and "A Short Cut to Wealth" are titles of this character. Arranging the Type. Type matter should not be placed in the center of the page, but above it, and nearer the fold than to the opposite edge. This arrangement places the widest margin at the bottom of the page and the narrowest next to the fold. The old-time bookbinder laid out the page in this way to allow convenient space for making notes on the margins and while note-making is no longer in vogue the practice is continued for the reason that it produces a much better look- ing page. When the page is not broken up by illustrations, subheads should be used unless it is quite small in size. There are two kinds of subheads one, the centered horizontal line, set in small caps, and the other, the indented. The former best serves its purpose in large booklets and the latter in the smaller ones. THE MISSION OF THE BOOKLET 221