~,
"
THE
AUGUST 4, 1923
'~etail
MUSIC
TRADE
5
REVIEW
Dealers' Summer Advertising
·E. L. Hadley, Advertising Manager of the Cable Company, Chicago, Points Out the Fallacy of Discontinuing
All Advertising During the Hot PeriQd~ Outstandihg Advantage. ,of Summer Publicity Is
the R ;sults That Are .R,eaped From It Du'ri~g the Fall Months
"--,
1.'
'~'
The practice of e li mina tin g a ll a dv e rti s ing
expendit ur es duri n g th e S umm e r months is one
of exceed in g int c res t to a ll p ia no d ea le rs. So m e
be li eve th a t h o t- wea th e r a d ve rti s in g pays and
S0111 e be li eve that it d oes n ot. The majori t y
probabl y co uld be pla ce d in th e fO rln e r c lass. In
fact , we do not know of 0 11 C s ucce ssf ul m('f
c hant that doesn' t do a very fa ir bus in ess dur
ing' jul v an d }\ugust. It is n ot o nl y possible
bu t hi g hly p rob a ble that m a n y mu s ic m e rc ha n ts
ilr c lo s in g- o ut o n a goo d thin g in th e nHltt e r of
S Ullllll e r a d ve rti s in g. if th e s pa ce pe l'lllitte d w e
co uld w ri te th e o pini o n s of m erc ha nt s whose
n;,m es a r e knowll from coast to coast, a li of
w ho m would hate to ha ve July o r ,\ ug u s t t a ke n
out of the calendar.
Successful merchants come o ut an d sta t e th a t
they sec ure goo d prof,t s durin g Ju ly a nd A u
g ust as a re su lt o f can vass in g ac ti v iti es a nd a d
ve rti s in g ex penditure s, an d it wo uld nat ura ll y
~ee m th at th e
ment s in loca l mediulll s durin g these month s
wOll ld be se t tied ddinit e ly in th e affirmative.
But look ing at the pr opos iti o n as id e from th e
illllll eJi a t c results obtain able in Ju ly a nd A u
g ust bu s iness is the value to be d e ri ved from
consistent campaigns throu g h o ut th e ycu'
E liminatin g adverti s in g expe nditur es durin g
two months of th e y ear leaves a bi g g a p w hi c h
ca nn ot be ove rcome late r on in th e Fa ll excep t
b v Ill ll Ch hea vi<:r L'Cpenditures.
Simply s tating that the majo ri ty of s uccessful
merchants maintain Summ e r adve rti s in g is not
enoll~'h : it is con v in c in g , th a t is true, but t he
1I111 Sic d ealer who at present is n o t s pe ndin g
111 0 n l:Y in advertising wa nt s t o ge t at th e r easo n
w h y of the t hin g. It is to thi s e nd th a t Th e
H ev ie w has obtain e d for it s rea d e rs v ie ws o n
thi s imp o rt an t s ubject from th e man and the
co nl pany th a t wo n first pri ze in the co nte st re
ce ntl y co ndu cte ci b y the Mu s ic Tndustries C ham
ber of Com merce. \V e are referr in g to E. L.
I bdl ey, of th e Cable Comran y, of C hi cago
eve ryone. "'"A co n cern that has n ot "passe d out
of th e p ict ur e" durin g the Summ er 11as a g reat
advantage over the one which ha s fai led to keep
its name before t he public. Large fu ll -page a d
ver ti semen t s a r c out of the question , but sma ll
copy st r o n g ly featuring the compa n y's na me is
advisable. I t is a d visa ble b e cause thro ug h o u t
th e S umm e r , mont hs that company's na m e is
ke pt in th e public co n sc io usness a nd th e weight
of th e less expe nsive Sumwer adver ti sement:; is
piled 0 11 w ith int e re s t when the r ea l adve rti se
m e nts are rUIl in the FiliI. Her e in li es th e b ig
advantage.
Th e va lu e of S ummer
tir e ly up o n th e e ffectiveness of small space. Th is
Ill ea ll S a parti e ular t y pe of copy mu s t b e use d .
Th e illu s trat ion problem is not as co mplicat e d ,
but th e layo llt pr o bl em is g reater. Th e layo ut
mu s t fea ture the compa Il Y'~ name prominent ly
a n d indelibl y no matte r wher e o r how sma ll
t he
his fir s t impression a t a g lan ce. in th is t ype o[
copy th e first impress ion is th e importa nt thin g.
I n a ddition t o thi s, it mu s t hav e, in order t o be
four- s quar e a nd cOlllpif.t e ly effect ive, a d e fi nit e
appe'a f to thr ee cla sses of piano bu yers , i. e.,
Pianos in Walnut
Beauty Combined
With Serviceability
D~~~~t cl~pov:.~~I:~~ ~~:n:':I~~~. ~~:": h~~";~~~
Piano Company
Cable Comer
Waba.h and Jackson
Featuring a Special Product
write
fOT
particu/au
CAB
LE
, Piano Company
Cable Comer
Wabash and Jackson
Summer Rental Ad
Th c ollts tancl in g advanta ge sec ur ed b y co n
, is te ll t S nl1lm e r ;)ch'c rti s in g , acco rdin g t o M r.
H a dl ey, is it s e ff ect hter Oil ill th e Fa ll. Against
tlli s adva nt" ~c, of co ur se , is it s co,;!. W hether
o r not it is worth while to run s mall adve rtise
me nt s ri !!;ht aloug throu g hout th e Summer
Ill o nth s to get a runnin g s tart fo r th e Fall is
the Cjll e,tio ll . Th e adv
ve rti s in g OVl'r SP:ISIIlOdi c is a (hllitt ed h y a lm os t
you 'get a fi ner instrument for less
money - and you enjoy the privi,
legea of our liberal atended pay'
ment plan , Ltt u.s put music into
House Prestige Copy
'/II"",o/pricclfOI7l4l-.,p..n.<. Co_ ... U>d4,.
O'f
HIS ~ a good time to buy your
T
Piano or lnriu.. Player. You get
the benefit of Cable's lower prices
, Piano Company
CABLE
Call
select it at Cable's.
We've been building
forover/orty years on
the honest-price, hon
est -quality principle.
C able Corner Wabash & JackllOn
Wc .. ..,nf7OWIOJUfW ~.,.gd.,uf"w"I" ...
T~. , IwmoI ....llw;".:r<""hlJw... ,
T~ terms are surprnlng/y fa",noblR..
OU
CABLE
we arc di.playing: wmc of our mOl! popular new model. In
I
are sure of
a good Piano or
Y
Inner-Player if you
youe home- today!
:~u~~f~kl~~~W;U:a~.~Ish:d A~dul:n~~:h
~~~hl~~~:::~~jl:sbu~l~ r~·:~':;:d~~:!Il~~~
T'S high time you had a piano
to brighten your home. If you
can't buy now, then rent a piano
on our Special Piano Rental Plan.
sc iousness of th e r ea de r. T he possibl e pros
pec t regi s ters ano impress ion in his subcon sc iou s
mind , Gett in g int o thc body of the copy we
next I:ea d, "Y 0 11 a re Sll re o f a good piano or
inn e r-p layer if you se lec t it at Cable's. W e've
been buildin g for over forty yea rs on the hon est
pri ce, hon est quality, princ iple." Here we have
th e imllled ia te bu ye r, th e p r ospect on th e fe nce
and the possibl c p rospect. Eve n sma ll a dver
tisements whic h h ave for th eir p ur pose the
ke e ping' of th e cO l11pallY's name before t he pub
li c should h ave a defini t e h oo k a t the en d along
with the fc a turin f" o f th e CO :; 'I >;< ny's ll a lll e a nd
ge nera l q ua li ty t a lk.
Th e layo llt nlu s t mak e a n im press io n o n th e
s ub co n ~c i o u s mind o f th e r ea der, w he th cr he is
a pr os pec t o r no t, a nd this is us ua ll y d one in
bi g - typ e hea din g a nd gene ra l artist ic exce ll ence
of illu stration. T hi s type of appea l reaches the
possible prospc c t. Get t in g into the b ody of th e
ad th e appeal is be st made t o th e prospec t on
th e fe li ce, a nd th e ll a lo n g towa rd the e lld of
th e co py s h o llid co m e t he d e finit e h oo.k direc t e d
\0 th e imme di ate bu ye r.
It m ay see m im poss ibl e to ge t a ll o f thes e
vari o ll s appea ls in one s mall adve rti se m e n t, but
that is t il e art of co py -w riting and in o ll e of
the a d vert isc lll e llh , IIOW11 h e rewith t aken fr o l1\
th e Cab le Con lpa n y a dv er ti s in g we ca n ilill stra t e '
just what w e m ea n O ne a d start,; Ollt w ith th,c
wor d s, "YO ll a re s ure of a goo d piano/', a ~ ll '
lllld cr nea th til e ' regul ar Ca bie 10 g o tYI)c. T he
na m e Ca ble s t r ikes s tr o n g ly IW OII III ;~ 1:0 11
th e app ea l dir ecte d to the se.cond class of
buyer, th e lIlall o n th e fe n ce. A p e rson III
the mark e t for a rea l pia no a nd not knowin g
jllst wh e re h e wan t s to co nsider a purchase is
inflllenc e d b y copy s ll c h as "we've been bllild
in g," and th e n at th e c los ing pa ragrap h w e
get the d e fini t e hook fo r th e imm ediat e pur
c ha se r. Th e ad ve rti se m e nt is a mod e l for ge n
era l S U11ltll e r alh 'e rti s ill g purpo ses a nd is s ur e
to b rin g re s ult s.
In th e ot li e r advertisements shown there are
variou s other appe a ls, and if t he r eta il mer
c hant wili analyze thelll wit h th ese three
thought s in mind, i. e., o f the imme di ate buyer,
the pro spect on th e fe nc e a nd th e po ss ibl e pros
pe c t, he will s ee how th ey a ll have bee n s ha ped
for defll1it e purposes, a nd th e s tudy ce r tain ly
lIl ay ai d hi1ll in hi s ow n prepa ration an d se lec
ti o n of co p y.
WHY THE SALESMEN FAIL
A Survey of the Reasons for Salesmen Turn
over in the A verage Retail Store
A survey a lll o n g re ta il s to res in N e w York
covering a twe lve- m ont h p e riod to d e termin e
w hat percentage of :;alcs m en were discharge d
and the r easons, acco rdin g to th e Milwauk ee
Retail Journ a l, s howe d t hat:
Thirty per cent lacked industry.
T wen t y per ce nt were un a bl e t o fo li ow in
str u ctions.
Twel ve per ce nt lac ke d co urt esy and tact.
Eight pe r cen t lacke d s ti c kin g pow e r; th ey
co uld not hold th e job.
Seven per ce nt lacke d confide n ce.
Seven per ce nt wo ul d not o r cOll ld not lear n
their merch andise.
Seven p er cent co uld not cope with the c us
tomers' objection s .
Four per sent went s tal e a lld los t int e r es t in
the ir work. '
FOIlr p e r ce nt we re di sc harged fo r s undry
re asons.