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THE
MUilC TRADE
VOL. LXVIII. No. 20
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
May 17, 1919
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Fer Year
Maintaining Name Values Through Advertising
W
E hear a great deal concerning what the war has done for the cause of music, and there is not a
member of the industry who has not had personal experience with the new trend of public thought
in its appreciation of miusic and musical instruments—an appreciation demonstrated by the over-
sold condition of the market. But let us not forget that the war has accomplished a great deal
of good in other directions, particularly in the matter of publicity, for the Government itself, through its
various agencies, has been foremost in recognition of the power of advertising, both direct and indirect, and
has shown a particular interest in the application of advertising to the building up of good-will among the
populace.
There are, of course, >two recognized forms of advertising—first, advertising calculated to bring direct
results; to make actual gales of goods already on hand, and, secondly, advertising calculated to build up name
value or good-will. It has bgen a noticeable fact that concerns which have been apparently furthest behind in
their orders and in production as a result of war conditions have increased rather than cut down their peace-
time advertising, .- -Leading piano manufacturers, leading talking machine houses, and the leaders in other fields
have remainech-right through the war the biggest users of space. It does not mean that they are using space
because they are big, but rather they are big because they are advertising, and have been advertising persistently
and consistently, advertising for the good-will of the people, for business in the future, spending money for pub-
licity as an investment,
.,:..
• We have said that the Government has shown its appreciation of the use of advertising in the building of
good-will. An instance in point: It was necessary, for the success of the Allied cause, for Americans to change
their mode of living during the war to a considerable extent, to conserve food, to substitute foodstuffs, to eat
war bread and tef*do without sugar. It would have been very simple for the Government to have made and
enforced laws bringing about the desired end, but instead there were simply offered regulations specifying the
supplies and quantities of food it was desired that the people purchase and eat. Publicity through the medium
of advertisements, display cards and word of.mouth was depended upon to bring about the desired results. It
was felt that it was much better to develop the good-will of the people and have them accept the restrictions
gracefully than it would be to enforce drastic laws and thereby arouse an undercurrent of antagonism and a
desire to evade the regulations.
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If the big men of the Government, with all the power of national law behind them, see fit to build up good-
will in the conduct .of the nation's affairs, how much more.-vjjfcal it is for the average manufacturer to regard that
factor of • gtiod-will with deep seriousness. It is only fair to say 5 " that the progressive members of the music
industry, even under the oversold conditions now existirigilT^tfe^^de, thoroughly appreciate the good-will
element, and are seeking to maintain and develop it in its relation to their own particular business. But there,
are still those who take the narrower view, who declare that they.hayeaiiQre orders than they can fill and that
advertising would simply bring more orders to remain unfilled. They are not broad enough to look into the
future. They are not planning for the business to be had in years to come.
Production is catching up with demand steadily, and wath^onsiderablerapklity,. ,„ There is going to come
a time in the not very far future when the output of piano an^^y^fSliSmTi?tac.tories is going to approach
very closely, if it doesn't equal, the demand—that is, m-thealfoTegate, >Jt mav be that some factories may still
y to ha^e a s u r p i u s o ^ f W r n c t l l i e n l h e factor of good-
will will be a most important one. The manufacturep^fho does not^fffize-thaI fSff now and govern himself
accordingly is very likely going to be out of luck. #
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^ OT ai*-
Name value adds immeasurably to the sales abi r li|ifof anyprou i >vhethrcr itis a piano or a collar. Name
{Continued on page 5)o
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