There is a lot of activity going on now, and in the
next Congress, for the small business man. It's a
good time for the music and games people to get in
there and fight in the general cause.
Something of the pioneer fighting spirit is what is
needed to make promotion click. Operators will gain
most from good promotions in 1950 and they are the
ones who must support the Industry programs.
First Steps In Public Relations
Point 1. - To foster and encourage
localized public r elations programs for
the good and welfare of the Industry.
The COIN MACHINE REVIEW Platform was introduced
to our readers in the September issue. It wa not by acci-
dent that the first point in this service platform was chosen
to relate to public relations, and to suggest the best field
where public relations can be carried on.
The local field is the best field for real public rela·
tions work and local operators are the ones who must do
that work, if it is done constructively. Much has been
said over a long period of years about the need for a
general Industry-wide public relations program, and some
very worthy efforts have been made in that direction.
By putting local public relations at the top of THE
REVIEW program for the promotion of the welfare of
the Industry, it is not with the idea of taking away in the
least from any general or national programs that may
be announced by org~nizations within the trade. All such
programs that have the aim and purpose to help the
Industry will be boosted. They are important and nec-
essary, if the busine s is ever to come into its own.
But they will not take the place of local work that
must be done by individual operators and also by local
organizations. The more operators work at building up
a better reputation for themselves and for the trade in
their own local territory, the easier it will be for national
programs to be carried on and to accomplish big results.
We are all generally inexperienced in effective public
relations work . Everyone in the trade will admit that the
public's opinion of the Industry as an industry is none too
good. Everybody in the business would like to see a
much better public understanding of what the Industry
is and what its real service is in the business world.
If this better public understanding existed, every opera·
tor, distributor and manufacturer in the trade feels that
he could make more money. Thus, good public relations
has a money value, will add to the earnings of each
operator who owns or manages a route.
It is no sign of weakness to admit that the Industry
is generally weak in its understanding and experience
in public relations work. Many other indu tries are still
in the same boat, or have come through a long period
in which the public did not understand, and during which
time the Industry in question was subject to adverse
publicity, adverse legislation, and so on.
In recognizing the shortcomings of the Industry, then
we can begin to get down to bedrock and to lay founda-
tions for future work and accomplishment. As mentioned,
orne very worthy accomplishments have already been
marked up and a number of organizations already have
commendable programs that deserve support.
But in all cases, we come back to the individual opera-
tor, the man in the ranks as in an army, the man whom
the public see most often, the one who can influence
scores of people either to think better or worse of the
Coin Machine Industry as a business enterprise.
First of all, the operator may be inclined to forget
that he really is, and must appeal to the public as most
other industries do. The operator deals with location
owners and locations, machines and repairs, but at the
same time the money put into the machines comes from
John Q. Public. The masses of the people are the pros·
pective customers and machines are made to appeal to
them.
While the machine itself is most often seen by the
customer who patronize the business, yet the public
knows there are men who own and presumably service
them, and ill back of every person's mind who pa-
tronizes a coin·operated machine is some kind of picture
of what sort of man the owner·operator may be. The
roain object in public relations is to give the customers
a better picture than they have had in the past of the
men who make up the rank and file of the Industry.
For the better opinion people have of the rank and
file of the men and machines that make up the Industry,
the more often they will patronize the machines.
It is nothing new to point out that each operator, in
his own bailiwick, largely makes up the public mind about
the busines as a whole, and that he also mu t carry the
burden of upholding the good name of himself as a
business man and of the Industry as a whole.
The real need is to encourage operators in giving more
attention to this matter of public opinion_ to enl ist as
many as possible in an organization that carries on an
unending program aimed at creating more public favor
for the business.
A trade paper can do a lot in encouraging constructive
effort, in passing on information and example, and in
Tile COIN MACHINE REVIEW PLATFORM:
L
To loster and enco urage lo calized public relations pro-
grams for the good and welfare of the Industry.
2. To support adequate national trade associations and advo-
cate the lormatioD 01 local and regi onal associations to
affiliate themselves with the national for mutual benefits.
3. Promote . encourage and publicize a National Coin Ma-
chine Week. to be set yearly fo correspond with the week
during which the national Industry show and convention
is held.
4. Promote. encourage and publicize a National Automatic
Merchandising Week. to be set yearly to correspond with
the week during which the national vending machine trade
convention is held.
4
5. Encourage and promote standard distributing firms and
practices within the Industry whereby the maximum pro-
tection is guaranteed the operator in the sales and servic-
ing of new products.
6.
To oppose unlair and discriminatory taxes 01 all kinds on
c oin-operated devices and services.
7. Urge the repeal 01 the le.d eral excise tax on coin-operated
machines.
8. Encourage a unilorm decimal system 01 coinage in all
n a ti on s to promote the use and export 01 coin-operated de -
vices.
9. .Encourage the wider use 01 coin operation on new devices.
services and inventions.
10. Publicize the immense benelits 01 coin-operated device:;
and services to stores. lactories and establishments ot all
kinds.
COIN MACHINE REVIEW