Music Trade Review
Issue: 1917 Vol. 65 N. 10 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MEW
THE
VOL. LXV. No. 10
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
Sept. 8, 1917
* ln *%&°$£
££ ent
Trade Names As a Guarantee of Quality
T
H E value of an established name or trade-mark, and the wisdom of dealing only with products which
can always be identified by their names or trade-marks, cannot be overestimated. There is hardly an
article of commerce in general use that does not bear some specific name or mark whereby it can be iden-
tified, and it is almost impossible to advertise or create a demand for an article that is not branded in
some specific manner for the purpose of identification.
When a manufacturer affixes his name or trade-mark to his product it is not only proof of his willingness
to back that product with his business reputation, but it is also a form of guarantee to the public that the product
bearing the particular brand or identification mark will of necessity be of a certain standard of quality, a
standard which will be constantly maintained.
This is an era of trade-marked goods, and the almost universal demand for designated and identified goods
proves that the era is a logical one. The housewife who buys soap does not merely ask for soap, she asks for
Ivory, or Colgate's, or some other identified soap which will answer her requirements. The man who buys a
watch does not merely ask for some sort of a timepiece. True, he may ask for an Ingersoll, or he may ask for
a Howard, according to his requirements and the elasticity of his purse, but in either case, be it Ingersoll or
Howard, he knows that the watch which he buys will represent a certain standard which has been established
through the uniformity of quality possessed by the watch in question.
It logically follows that the manufacturer who sets a certain standard for his product and who identifies
that product in the public mind by means of a trade name or mark, cannot afford to vary the quality of that
product if he desires to maintain its sale.
The public is very quick to note a lowering of quality in any product. The manufacturer who places a trade-
marked article on the market must create a demand for that article, an undertaking which necessitates the
expenditure of much time and money. Having created the demand, the manufacturer must maintain the quality
of his product.
Should there occur any deviation from the particular standard of quality which is associated in the
public mind with the product, the public will lose confidence in the article, demand will drop off alarmingly, and
even though the former standard is restored, it is an almost impossible task again to create sufficient public
confidence in the product and in the trade-mark to maintain a profitable demand for it.
No honest man is ashamed of his name, for it constitutes his most valuable asset. The man who has a
good name is therefore careful to keep the reputation which his name bears free from blemish and reproach,
and should he depart from the path of rectitude he usually forsakes the name which formerly stood for character
and reputation and assumes another name.
Piano dealers who handle instruments which are known and advertised under an established trade name
know that back of those pianos stands the reputation of the manufacturer, and of the particular line as well.
They know also that the manufacturer dare not deviate from the quality which he has established for his
particular line. To do so would be to commit economic suicide.
The truth of the foregoing statements is proven by the fact that the foremost piano manufacturers in this
country, when confronted with the problem of increased costs, and having the alternatives of either lowering
the quality or else increasing the price, unanimously pursued the latter course. Manufacturers could not afford
to lessen the standard which they had set for their trade-marked goods, so they adhered strictly to the standard
they had hitherto maintained, even though it necessitated increasing the selling price.
Names mean more to-day than they ever did before, and the piano dealer who handles only those instruments
which bear a recognized name and stand for a recognized degree of quality is conducting his business along lines
which assure lasting success.
MEW
THE
VOL. LXV. No. 10
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
Sept. 8, 1917
* ln *%&°$£
££ ent
Trade Names As a Guarantee of Quality
T
H E value of an established name or trade-mark, and the wisdom of dealing only with products which
can always be identified by their names or trade-marks, cannot be overestimated. There is hardly an
article of commerce in general use that does not bear some specific name or mark whereby it can be iden-
tified, and it is almost impossible to advertise or create a demand for an article that is not branded in
some specific manner for the purpose of identification.
When a manufacturer affixes his name or trade-mark to his product it is not only proof of his willingness
to back that product with his business reputation, but it is also a form of guarantee to the public that the product
bearing the particular brand or identification mark will of necessity be of a certain standard of quality, a
standard which will be constantly maintained.
This is an era of trade-marked goods, and the almost universal demand for designated and identified goods
proves that the era is a logical one. The housewife who buys soap does not merely ask for soap, she asks for
Ivory, or Colgate's, or some other identified soap which will answer her requirements. The man who buys a
watch does not merely ask for some sort of a timepiece. True, he may ask for an Ingersoll, or he may ask for
a Howard, according to his requirements and the elasticity of his purse, but in either case, be it Ingersoll or
Howard, he knows that the watch which he buys will represent a certain standard which has been established
through the uniformity of quality possessed by the watch in question.
It logically follows that the manufacturer who sets a certain standard for his product and who identifies
that product in the public mind by means of a trade name or mark, cannot afford to vary the quality of that
product if he desires to maintain its sale.
The public is very quick to note a lowering of quality in any product. The manufacturer who places a trade-
marked article on the market must create a demand for that article, an undertaking which necessitates the
expenditure of much time and money. Having created the demand, the manufacturer must maintain the quality
of his product.
Should there occur any deviation from the particular standard of quality which is associated in the
public mind with the product, the public will lose confidence in the article, demand will drop off alarmingly, and
even though the former standard is restored, it is an almost impossible task again to create sufficient public
confidence in the product and in the trade-mark to maintain a profitable demand for it.
No honest man is ashamed of his name, for it constitutes his most valuable asset. The man who has a
good name is therefore careful to keep the reputation which his name bears free from blemish and reproach,
and should he depart from the path of rectitude he usually forsakes the name which formerly stood for character
and reputation and assumes another name.
Piano dealers who handle instruments which are known and advertised under an established trade name
know that back of those pianos stands the reputation of the manufacturer, and of the particular line as well.
They know also that the manufacturer dare not deviate from the quality which he has established for his
particular line. To do so would be to commit economic suicide.
The truth of the foregoing statements is proven by the fact that the foremost piano manufacturers in this
country, when confronted with the problem of increased costs, and having the alternatives of either lowering
the quality or else increasing the price, unanimously pursued the latter course. Manufacturers could not afford
to lessen the standard which they had set for their trade-marked goods, so they adhered strictly to the standard
they had hitherto maintained, even though it necessitated increasing the selling price.
Names mean more to-day than they ever did before, and the piano dealer who handles only those instruments
which bear a recognized name and stand for a recognized degree of quality is conducting his business along lines
which assure lasting success.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).