Music Trade Review
Issue: 1918 Vol. 67 N. 7 - Page 9
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
9
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
AUGUST 17, 1918
Movies That Tell the Public Your Wartime Problems
Ernest A. Dench, in the Following Article Written Specially for The Review,
Shows How the Piano Merchant Can Utilize the Movies to Advertise His Business
At the first the merchandising problems cre-
ated by the war came singly, but now they
come in shoals—shoals in that before the music
dealer can adjust himself to one situation there
is another one staring him in the face. The
music dealer is taking his various troubles op-
timistically, knowing that in order to win the
war he must make numerous sacrifices.
The motion picture has accomplished wonders
as a war propaganda medium. It has sold Lib-
erty Bonds and War Savings Stamps, obtained
Red Cross funds, preached food conservation,
secured men for shipbuilding work, besides
putting across many other appeals too numer-
ous to mention. To a limited degree—limited
in that the appeals were nationalized rather
than localized—the weekly news reels have
been of service in devoting space to industrial
subjects which concern the music dealer and
the consumer.
Localizing the Propaganda Movie
The time has now come for the music dealer
to supplement such propaganda work as the
motion picture has been able to render in a
general way by localizing the propaganda mo-
tion picture. He can do this in several ways.
In some cities there is a local news weekly. If
such a reel is shown in the local motion pic-
ture theatres it will be comparatively a simple
matter to call upon the reel editor to cover
some war conservation subject. This should
be in interview form. The first scene should
show the music dealer outside his store (the
lighting conditions making it impracticable to
take the. scene inside the store) talking to a
customer. Then a title should appear explain-
ing the gist of what the music dealer is saying.
The scene should then fade out, visualizing
the music dealer's statements in several scenes.
If the subject is interesting to the public and
not merely an a'dvertising boost for your par-
ticular store, the editor will no doubt agree
to cover it. Your advertising will come from
acting in the role of the interviewed.
While the subject is being filmed you might
arrange to have the local photographer on the
job so that j r ou can have some snappy pictures
taken for window display and newspaper pub-
licity purposes.
Your Own Trailer Film
The trailer—a term which is applied to a film
from ten to fifty feet in length—has proven
successful in putting across general advertising
messages for the music dealer.
Such films
have been of the stock variety—the kind, you
know, which are sold to hundreds of music
dealers throughout the country. It can inform
the public of his delivery troubles, explain why
it is difficult to obtain certain styles of pianos,
players or talking machines, treat of the neces-
sity for increased prices, discuss the subject of
dull or art finish, give details of war conserva-
tion measures, and such topics as are timely
and pertinent to local conditions. By dealing
with such subjects in motion picture form you
will secure the co-operation of the public.
If there is a local motion picture photographer
ir. your town he will be glad to prepare you a
suitable scenario and produce it at a cost of
from $10 to $60, depending upon the length
of the production. It being a local production
and on a "Winning the War" subject, you
should be able to prevail upon the local ex-
hibitor to show it at his theatre for little or
nothing.
The Slide's Limitations
A useful, though less costly, medium is the
slide. The slide, on the other hand, possesses
more limitations than the motion picture, but
7
pn
musical name
to t/zeWorld.
these limitations can be avoided if the music
dealer knows what the slide's limitations are.
In a single motion picture, taking several min-
utes to run off the screen, several phases of
each subject can be dealt with at length.
In your twenty to fifty of film there are from
320 to 800 individual pictures—there being six-
teen such tiny pictures to every foot of film.
The tiny pictures shown in rapid succession
produce the animation, each tiny picture advanc-
ing the action one-step. The single slide repre-
sents about twenty words of text and one pic-
ture, consequently you are strictly limited to
one subject, whether it be the scarcity of pianos,
your delivery problems or increased prices. In
a single motion picture it is possible to dis-
miss a detail in a few feet of film.
Surmounting the Limitations
The music dealer may wonder why I do not
suggest a single series of slides which would
obviously accomplish the same results as the
motion picture.
But delays in wartime are
dangerous and it may be to the music dealer's
best interests to screen the slide series at a
single performance instead of spreading the
series over several weeks. It seems to be an
unwritten law not to screen more than one
copy of an advertiser's slide at the same per-
formance. This is because the spectator has
to be considered. He pays for entertainment,
not advertising, so in order not to incur his dis-
pleasure the slides are limited to a select few.
He will sit through several advertising motion
pictures of much greater length and never no-
tice that the entertainment part of the motion
picture is being encroached upon. Why he does
not notice this is owing to the fact that the
advertising message is presented in sugar-
coated pill form. However, you cannot camou-
flage him with the slide as you can with the
motion picture.
From this you will deduce that the slide
is of value when some special situation arises
which calls for prompt action.
The local
photographer can prepare you an artistic an-
nouncement in two or three days for a dol-
lar and up. If you cannot wait even this short
time the operator at the local photoplay the-
atre will at a few hours' notice make you a
slide and screen it the same evening. Of course,
his workmanship will not be so good as the
local photographer's, but the slide will serve
its purpose.
If your appropriation is limited and you would
rather deal with your problems by a series of
slides, the delay can be surmounted to a great
extent by careful manipulation. You could deal
with your most timely problem on the first slide
and deal with the other problems in strict ro-
tation of their importance. Still another way
would be if you are accustomed to changing
your slide weekly or less regularly to alter
your schedule. You might have seven differ-
ent slides. The first week show the seven
slides in the order of their importance and time-
liness, changing the slide each day. The sec-
ond week reverse the process. Screen Satur-
day's slide on Wednesday and change the
showing of the other slides in the same way.
By this method those patrons who are victims
of habit and attend the theatre on certain days
will be sure to see all of your slides.
BROOKLYN TRADE KEEPING UP WELL
priced players. Frederick Loeser & Co. sold
two I£ranich & Bach small grands on the hottest
day of the week.
C. Bauer & Sons, who operate two warerooms,
63 Flatbush avenue and 738 Broadway, are find-
ing the demands good throughout the present
season. Despite the hot weather many sales
are being closed. Preparations are being made
for a heavy fall business with the Stultz &
I'auer and other lines of pianos.
William Knabe, general manager of F. G.
Smith, Inc., is spending the week at Atlantic
City.
Majority of Piano Houses Handle Good Busi-
ness During So-Called Dull Season—Joseph
O'Donnell After New Association Members
After a July during which many dealers in
Brooklyn exceeded the volume of business done
in that month in several years, August opened
with a terrific hot spell that need not be dwelt
upon, but which was the means of keeping the
sales in the Brooklyn stores at a very low fig-
ure. However, as this is the month when sales
are usually dull there is nothing to complain of.
Joseph A. O'Donnell, assistant manager of
the piano department of Frederick Loeser &
Co., will start early next week and visit the
various piano houses in the Metropolitan district
for the purpose of receiving applications from
the sales staffs to join the New York Associa-
tion of Piano Merchants as associate members.
Mr. O'Donnell has equipped himself well for
the drive and promises to bring in many new
members with his campaign. He states if neces-
sary he will use some new Whippett tanks in
his advance.
J. C. Francke, manager of the Hardman, Peck
& Co. warerooms, is away on his vacation and
will not return until after Labor Day. The sales
with this house have been very good and even
with the hot weather of early August the staff
was kept busy in the talking machine depart-
ment.
The Pease warerooms are finding the summer
demand to be above expectations and closed a
line business throughout July. Early this month
the sales were not so good, but those closed
were for high-priced instruments. J. E. Engel,
manager of the Pease store, expects a good
fall demand.
During the hot spell last week the sales that
were reported were invariably grand or high-
PIANOS
WURLITZER CO. GETS MEHLIN LINE
Secures Agency Formerly Held by the Famous
& Barr Co.—H. E. Wurlitzer Arranges Deal
ST. LOUIS, MO., August 12.—The Rudolph
Wurlitzer Co., of this city, has secured the
agency for the Mehlin line of pianos and players
formerly held by the Famous & Barr Co. The
arrangements were made by Howard E. Wur-
litzer, who visited the headquarters of Paul G.
Mehlin & Sons in New York City, and placed
an initial order for a carload of Mehlin instru-
ments. J. B. "Moran, manager of the Wurlitzer
Co., will have direct charge of the representa-
tion of the Mehlin line in St. Louis.
WM. J. KEELEY HOME FROM COAST
William J. Keeley, president of the Auto
Pneumatic Action Co., returned recently from a
combined business and vacation trip, which took
him as far as the old stamping ground on the
Pacific Coast.
Rolland E. Baker, formerly a salesman with
the Cable Piano Co., Lansing, Mich., has en-
tered the employ of Grinnell Bros, in that city.
ORGANS
E5TEY PIANO COMPANY NEW YQPK CITY
cs/ie pesrprom
prodacerfgrfhe
dealer mtheTrade.
9
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
AUGUST 17, 1918
Movies That Tell the Public Your Wartime Problems
Ernest A. Dench, in the Following Article Written Specially for The Review,
Shows How the Piano Merchant Can Utilize the Movies to Advertise His Business
At the first the merchandising problems cre-
ated by the war came singly, but now they
come in shoals—shoals in that before the music
dealer can adjust himself to one situation there
is another one staring him in the face. The
music dealer is taking his various troubles op-
timistically, knowing that in order to win the
war he must make numerous sacrifices.
The motion picture has accomplished wonders
as a war propaganda medium. It has sold Lib-
erty Bonds and War Savings Stamps, obtained
Red Cross funds, preached food conservation,
secured men for shipbuilding work, besides
putting across many other appeals too numer-
ous to mention. To a limited degree—limited
in that the appeals were nationalized rather
than localized—the weekly news reels have
been of service in devoting space to industrial
subjects which concern the music dealer and
the consumer.
Localizing the Propaganda Movie
The time has now come for the music dealer
to supplement such propaganda work as the
motion picture has been able to render in a
general way by localizing the propaganda mo-
tion picture. He can do this in several ways.
In some cities there is a local news weekly. If
such a reel is shown in the local motion pic-
ture theatres it will be comparatively a simple
matter to call upon the reel editor to cover
some war conservation subject. This should
be in interview form. The first scene should
show the music dealer outside his store (the
lighting conditions making it impracticable to
take the. scene inside the store) talking to a
customer. Then a title should appear explain-
ing the gist of what the music dealer is saying.
The scene should then fade out, visualizing
the music dealer's statements in several scenes.
If the subject is interesting to the public and
not merely an a'dvertising boost for your par-
ticular store, the editor will no doubt agree
to cover it. Your advertising will come from
acting in the role of the interviewed.
While the subject is being filmed you might
arrange to have the local photographer on the
job so that j r ou can have some snappy pictures
taken for window display and newspaper pub-
licity purposes.
Your Own Trailer Film
The trailer—a term which is applied to a film
from ten to fifty feet in length—has proven
successful in putting across general advertising
messages for the music dealer.
Such films
have been of the stock variety—the kind, you
know, which are sold to hundreds of music
dealers throughout the country. It can inform
the public of his delivery troubles, explain why
it is difficult to obtain certain styles of pianos,
players or talking machines, treat of the neces-
sity for increased prices, discuss the subject of
dull or art finish, give details of war conserva-
tion measures, and such topics as are timely
and pertinent to local conditions. By dealing
with such subjects in motion picture form you
will secure the co-operation of the public.
If there is a local motion picture photographer
ir. your town he will be glad to prepare you a
suitable scenario and produce it at a cost of
from $10 to $60, depending upon the length
of the production. It being a local production
and on a "Winning the War" subject, you
should be able to prevail upon the local ex-
hibitor to show it at his theatre for little or
nothing.
The Slide's Limitations
A useful, though less costly, medium is the
slide. The slide, on the other hand, possesses
more limitations than the motion picture, but
7
pn
musical name
to t/zeWorld.
these limitations can be avoided if the music
dealer knows what the slide's limitations are.
In a single motion picture, taking several min-
utes to run off the screen, several phases of
each subject can be dealt with at length.
In your twenty to fifty of film there are from
320 to 800 individual pictures—there being six-
teen such tiny pictures to every foot of film.
The tiny pictures shown in rapid succession
produce the animation, each tiny picture advanc-
ing the action one-step. The single slide repre-
sents about twenty words of text and one pic-
ture, consequently you are strictly limited to
one subject, whether it be the scarcity of pianos,
your delivery problems or increased prices. In
a single motion picture it is possible to dis-
miss a detail in a few feet of film.
Surmounting the Limitations
The music dealer may wonder why I do not
suggest a single series of slides which would
obviously accomplish the same results as the
motion picture.
But delays in wartime are
dangerous and it may be to the music dealer's
best interests to screen the slide series at a
single performance instead of spreading the
series over several weeks. It seems to be an
unwritten law not to screen more than one
copy of an advertiser's slide at the same per-
formance. This is because the spectator has
to be considered. He pays for entertainment,
not advertising, so in order not to incur his dis-
pleasure the slides are limited to a select few.
He will sit through several advertising motion
pictures of much greater length and never no-
tice that the entertainment part of the motion
picture is being encroached upon. Why he does
not notice this is owing to the fact that the
advertising message is presented in sugar-
coated pill form. However, you cannot camou-
flage him with the slide as you can with the
motion picture.
From this you will deduce that the slide
is of value when some special situation arises
which calls for prompt action.
The local
photographer can prepare you an artistic an-
nouncement in two or three days for a dol-
lar and up. If you cannot wait even this short
time the operator at the local photoplay the-
atre will at a few hours' notice make you a
slide and screen it the same evening. Of course,
his workmanship will not be so good as the
local photographer's, but the slide will serve
its purpose.
If your appropriation is limited and you would
rather deal with your problems by a series of
slides, the delay can be surmounted to a great
extent by careful manipulation. You could deal
with your most timely problem on the first slide
and deal with the other problems in strict ro-
tation of their importance. Still another way
would be if you are accustomed to changing
your slide weekly or less regularly to alter
your schedule. You might have seven differ-
ent slides. The first week show the seven
slides in the order of their importance and time-
liness, changing the slide each day. The sec-
ond week reverse the process. Screen Satur-
day's slide on Wednesday and change the
showing of the other slides in the same way.
By this method those patrons who are victims
of habit and attend the theatre on certain days
will be sure to see all of your slides.
BROOKLYN TRADE KEEPING UP WELL
priced players. Frederick Loeser & Co. sold
two I£ranich & Bach small grands on the hottest
day of the week.
C. Bauer & Sons, who operate two warerooms,
63 Flatbush avenue and 738 Broadway, are find-
ing the demands good throughout the present
season. Despite the hot weather many sales
are being closed. Preparations are being made
for a heavy fall business with the Stultz &
I'auer and other lines of pianos.
William Knabe, general manager of F. G.
Smith, Inc., is spending the week at Atlantic
City.
Majority of Piano Houses Handle Good Busi-
ness During So-Called Dull Season—Joseph
O'Donnell After New Association Members
After a July during which many dealers in
Brooklyn exceeded the volume of business done
in that month in several years, August opened
with a terrific hot spell that need not be dwelt
upon, but which was the means of keeping the
sales in the Brooklyn stores at a very low fig-
ure. However, as this is the month when sales
are usually dull there is nothing to complain of.
Joseph A. O'Donnell, assistant manager of
the piano department of Frederick Loeser &
Co., will start early next week and visit the
various piano houses in the Metropolitan district
for the purpose of receiving applications from
the sales staffs to join the New York Associa-
tion of Piano Merchants as associate members.
Mr. O'Donnell has equipped himself well for
the drive and promises to bring in many new
members with his campaign. He states if neces-
sary he will use some new Whippett tanks in
his advance.
J. C. Francke, manager of the Hardman, Peck
& Co. warerooms, is away on his vacation and
will not return until after Labor Day. The sales
with this house have been very good and even
with the hot weather of early August the staff
was kept busy in the talking machine depart-
ment.
The Pease warerooms are finding the summer
demand to be above expectations and closed a
line business throughout July. Early this month
the sales were not so good, but those closed
were for high-priced instruments. J. E. Engel,
manager of the Pease store, expects a good
fall demand.
During the hot spell last week the sales that
were reported were invariably grand or high-
PIANOS
WURLITZER CO. GETS MEHLIN LINE
Secures Agency Formerly Held by the Famous
& Barr Co.—H. E. Wurlitzer Arranges Deal
ST. LOUIS, MO., August 12.—The Rudolph
Wurlitzer Co., of this city, has secured the
agency for the Mehlin line of pianos and players
formerly held by the Famous & Barr Co. The
arrangements were made by Howard E. Wur-
litzer, who visited the headquarters of Paul G.
Mehlin & Sons in New York City, and placed
an initial order for a carload of Mehlin instru-
ments. J. B. "Moran, manager of the Wurlitzer
Co., will have direct charge of the representa-
tion of the Mehlin line in St. Louis.
WM. J. KEELEY HOME FROM COAST
William J. Keeley, president of the Auto
Pneumatic Action Co., returned recently from a
combined business and vacation trip, which took
him as far as the old stamping ground on the
Pacific Coast.
Rolland E. Baker, formerly a salesman with
the Cable Piano Co., Lansing, Mich., has en-
tered the employ of Grinnell Bros, in that city.
ORGANS
E5TEY PIANO COMPANY NEW YQPK CITY
cs/ie pesrprom
prodacerfgrfhe
dealer mtheTrade.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).