Music Trade Review
Issue: 1919 Vol. 69 N. 23 - Page 39
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
DECEMBER 6,
1919
39
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
HOW EDISON ADVERTISING HELPS THE RETAIL DEALER
NEW MODEL VICTROLA ANNOUNCED
William Maxwell, Vice-president of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Tells How the Edison Advertising
Campaigns Are Planned so as to Give the Retail Merchant Maximum Benefit
Style XVII in Lacquer Finish and With Japanese
" Decorations a Handsome Instrument
a ghost started after him. Sam outran the ghost
for about a mile and then sat dow.n, exhausted.
The ghost, catching up with him, sat down be-
side Sam and said: 'That was a mighty fine race
w(- had; let's have another.' When our campaign
was over the dealers in these 200 towns said to
us: 'That was mighty tine advertising you did;
let's have some more of it.' When we suggested
that maybe they might do a little advertising
themselves in addition to the small space they
had been using in conjunction with our adver-
tising they were shocked at the idea. Mean-
while in the 3,000 odd towns wherein we had
done no advertising the dealers were complain-
ing and refusing to put forth any noteworthy
sales effort until we had run an advertising cam-
paign in their respective towns.
"A situation thus arose where it seemed neces-
sary to say to our dealers that we would do no
newspaper advertising in any dealer's town, but
that we would advertise extensively in the maga-
zines and furnish dealers with newspaper copy
which interlocked with our magazine copy. We
pointed out to merchants handling our line
that our policy of limited dealer representation
justified our dealers in bearing the entire ex-
pense of local newspaper advertising. This
policy has-been in effect for several years and
has been successful to such an extent that at
least 80 per cent, of our dealers are regular
newspaper advertisers and the aggregate amount
spent by the dealers in newspaper advertising
reaches a very large sum annually. The prin-
cipal fault in the system is the fact that it
probably does not give our line sufficient adver-
tising in large cities, whe"re space is expensive,
but consistency requires us to treat the large
cities the same as we do the small towns.
"Lately we have evolved a plan which will re-
sult in our spending about half a million dollars
in newspaper advertising over the names of our
dealers and a considerable portion of this ex-
penditure will find its way into the metropolitan
newspapers. The theory of this new plan is that
if a dealer will do certain things we will pay
him for doing them—the pay to take the form
oi a newspaper advertising allowance. For ex-
ample, we say to a dealer: 'Hire some returned
soldiers or sailors, train them to give demon-
strations of the Edison phonograph in churches,
lodges, schools, factories, etc., and for every
demonstration so given we will allow you $5
for newspaper advertising, provided you put
another $5 with our $5.'
"We also propose, where an Kdison artist
gives a concert, to go fifty-fifty with our dealer
in newspaper advertising, featuring such artist's
records, or 'Re-Creations,' as we call them.
"Probably everyone is familiar with our so-
called 'tone tests,' in which an artist sings or
plays in direct comparison with the Re-Crea-
tions of the artist's performance. Our dealers
have found that those so-called tone test con-
certs are a very fine form of advertising. We
require the dealer to pay the artist's fee and
all other expenses incident to the concert, but
we rebate the artist's fee in the form of a
newspaper advertising allowance.
In other
words, if a dealer pays an artist $500 we will
pay for $500 worth of newspaper advertising.
"We have still a fourth plan by which we set
up for a dealer an advertising allowance of a
certain percentage of his purchases of a cer-
tain class of goods.•*
"From the foregoing you will see that we
have at last realized our ambition to spend
money liberally in the newspapers, without
creating a situation similar to that of Nigger
Sam and the ghost."
CAMDEN, X. J., December 2.—The Victor Talk-
ing Machine Co. has just announced the com-
pletion by the Art Department of the company
of the first lot of the iu-u Victrola XVII, a
A recent interview in Newspaperdom with
William Maxwell, vice-president of Thomas A.
Edison, Inc., will be of interest to the trade in
that it clearly explains the attitude of the Edi-
son Co. in regard to newspaper advertising.
Mr. Maxwell, in commenting on the advertising
policy of the company, has always said:
"We want to help the live dealers—the ones
who will help themselves. There is a limit to
the amount that any company can spend in
newspaper advertising. We don't want a dollar
of our money to go to a dead or disloyal dealer.
We want it all to go to loyal and live Edison
dealers. This is the reason for the sales pro-
motion plans, whereby newspaper advertising
at our expense is made contingent upon the
dealer doing things which show he is both
live and loyal. It means that such a dealer gets
a bigger slice of our money than he would
otherwise receive and that the inactive or dis-
loyal dealer gets none of it."
The following is the interview which Mr. Max-
well gave to Newspaperdom:
"Two or three years ago we had a prize con-
test, extensively advertised in the magazines.
We prepared newspaper copy and sent it to our
dealers, urging them to run the newspaper copy
contemporaneously with our magazine advertis-
ing. In our letter, or bulletin, to the dealers we
stated that we proposed to make up special
scrapbooks of the dealers' advertising in connec-
tion with this contest and that such scrapbooks
would be shown to Mr. Edison. We, therefore,
urged each dealer to send us clippings of his
advertisements.
"Somehow or other, our bulletin to dealers
got into the hands of the newspaper trade
papers. I don't think it was Xewspaperdom, but
perhaps it was. The editor literally took the
hide off of us by means of an editorial, which
denounced us for asking our dealers to do what
he believed we should have done at our own
expense. He also ridiculed our statement that
we intended to show the advertising scrapbooks
to Mr. Edison. As a matter of fact, we did in-
tend to show the scrapbooks to Mr. Edison, we
did show them to him and he looked through
them with a great deal of interest. His ability
to feel a genuine interest in such matters helps
to keep him young.
"That minor point disposed of, let us take
up the other question. In this particular case
more than 2,000 of our dealers responded to
our request and ran newspaper advertising in
conjunction with our magazine advertising. In
other words, the dealers used about ten times
as much newspaper space as we could have
afforded to use and the editor was quarreling
with a policy which brought more money into
the cash drawers of the newspapers than any
other policy we could have adopted.
"There seems to be an impression abroad that
we believe a phonograph manufacturer should
spend all of his appropriation in magazines and
farm papers and none of it in newspapers. There
is probably no manufacturer who believes more
fully in newspaper advertising than we do, but
until recently we have been unable to find a
satisfactory way of spending our money in the
newspapers.
"Five- or six years ago we ran a newspaper
campaign at about 200 central points and ap-
pended the names and addresses of the local
dealers. This campaign was very successful,
so far as these 200 towns were concerned, and
the dealers in these particular towns were highly
pleased, but they acted a good deal like the
ghost which ran a foot race with Nigger Sam.
Sam was walking by a graveyard one night and
Style XVII Victrola, Lacquer Finish
handsome instrument finished in lacquer and
with Japanese decorations.
The new model, which has already been com-
mented upon most favorably by the trade, will
be included in the next edition of the Standard
Instrument catalog of the Victor Co. The first
shipment will go forward to wholesalers prompt-
ly in order that dealers may be in a position
to display the new model to the" public without
delay. It is listed at $550, and with electric
motor, $615.
Although the accompanying illustration in
black and white does not in any sense do justice
to the handsome Japanese colorings of the prod-
uct itself, it at least gives some idea of the
general attractiveness of the style.
NEW POST FOR GEO. THAU, JR.
Elected Assistant Secretary of the Blackman
Talking Machine Co. This Week
J. Newcomb Blackman,, president of the
Riackman Talking Machine Co., New York, Vic-
tor wholesalers, announced this week the elec-
tion of George Thau, Jr., as assistant secretary
of the company. Mr. Thau succeeds John L.
Spillanc, who has joined the staff of the Collings
& Price Co.
Mr. Than is well qualified to take over the
important duties of assistant secretary of the
Blackman Talking Machine Co., as he has been
associated with the company for the past nine
years and is thoroughly conversant with Vic-
tor merchandising from every angle. Mr. Thau,
who is personally acquainted with a great ma-
jority of the Victor dealers in metropolitan ter-
ritory, achieved signal success as manager of
the company's shipping department. Charles R.
Marquise, who has been a member of the Black-
man Talking Machine Co. for the past five years,
now becomes head of the shipping department.
DECEMBER 6,
1919
39
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
HOW EDISON ADVERTISING HELPS THE RETAIL DEALER
NEW MODEL VICTROLA ANNOUNCED
William Maxwell, Vice-president of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Tells How the Edison Advertising
Campaigns Are Planned so as to Give the Retail Merchant Maximum Benefit
Style XVII in Lacquer Finish and With Japanese
" Decorations a Handsome Instrument
a ghost started after him. Sam outran the ghost
for about a mile and then sat dow.n, exhausted.
The ghost, catching up with him, sat down be-
side Sam and said: 'That was a mighty fine race
w(- had; let's have another.' When our campaign
was over the dealers in these 200 towns said to
us: 'That was mighty tine advertising you did;
let's have some more of it.' When we suggested
that maybe they might do a little advertising
themselves in addition to the small space they
had been using in conjunction with our adver-
tising they were shocked at the idea. Mean-
while in the 3,000 odd towns wherein we had
done no advertising the dealers were complain-
ing and refusing to put forth any noteworthy
sales effort until we had run an advertising cam-
paign in their respective towns.
"A situation thus arose where it seemed neces-
sary to say to our dealers that we would do no
newspaper advertising in any dealer's town, but
that we would advertise extensively in the maga-
zines and furnish dealers with newspaper copy
which interlocked with our magazine copy. We
pointed out to merchants handling our line
that our policy of limited dealer representation
justified our dealers in bearing the entire ex-
pense of local newspaper advertising. This
policy has-been in effect for several years and
has been successful to such an extent that at
least 80 per cent, of our dealers are regular
newspaper advertisers and the aggregate amount
spent by the dealers in newspaper advertising
reaches a very large sum annually. The prin-
cipal fault in the system is the fact that it
probably does not give our line sufficient adver-
tising in large cities, whe"re space is expensive,
but consistency requires us to treat the large
cities the same as we do the small towns.
"Lately we have evolved a plan which will re-
sult in our spending about half a million dollars
in newspaper advertising over the names of our
dealers and a considerable portion of this ex-
penditure will find its way into the metropolitan
newspapers. The theory of this new plan is that
if a dealer will do certain things we will pay
him for doing them—the pay to take the form
oi a newspaper advertising allowance. For ex-
ample, we say to a dealer: 'Hire some returned
soldiers or sailors, train them to give demon-
strations of the Edison phonograph in churches,
lodges, schools, factories, etc., and for every
demonstration so given we will allow you $5
for newspaper advertising, provided you put
another $5 with our $5.'
"We also propose, where an Kdison artist
gives a concert, to go fifty-fifty with our dealer
in newspaper advertising, featuring such artist's
records, or 'Re-Creations,' as we call them.
"Probably everyone is familiar with our so-
called 'tone tests,' in which an artist sings or
plays in direct comparison with the Re-Crea-
tions of the artist's performance. Our dealers
have found that those so-called tone test con-
certs are a very fine form of advertising. We
require the dealer to pay the artist's fee and
all other expenses incident to the concert, but
we rebate the artist's fee in the form of a
newspaper advertising allowance.
In other
words, if a dealer pays an artist $500 we will
pay for $500 worth of newspaper advertising.
"We have still a fourth plan by which we set
up for a dealer an advertising allowance of a
certain percentage of his purchases of a cer-
tain class of goods.•*
"From the foregoing you will see that we
have at last realized our ambition to spend
money liberally in the newspapers, without
creating a situation similar to that of Nigger
Sam and the ghost."
CAMDEN, X. J., December 2.—The Victor Talk-
ing Machine Co. has just announced the com-
pletion by the Art Department of the company
of the first lot of the iu-u Victrola XVII, a
A recent interview in Newspaperdom with
William Maxwell, vice-president of Thomas A.
Edison, Inc., will be of interest to the trade in
that it clearly explains the attitude of the Edi-
son Co. in regard to newspaper advertising.
Mr. Maxwell, in commenting on the advertising
policy of the company, has always said:
"We want to help the live dealers—the ones
who will help themselves. There is a limit to
the amount that any company can spend in
newspaper advertising. We don't want a dollar
of our money to go to a dead or disloyal dealer.
We want it all to go to loyal and live Edison
dealers. This is the reason for the sales pro-
motion plans, whereby newspaper advertising
at our expense is made contingent upon the
dealer doing things which show he is both
live and loyal. It means that such a dealer gets
a bigger slice of our money than he would
otherwise receive and that the inactive or dis-
loyal dealer gets none of it."
The following is the interview which Mr. Max-
well gave to Newspaperdom:
"Two or three years ago we had a prize con-
test, extensively advertised in the magazines.
We prepared newspaper copy and sent it to our
dealers, urging them to run the newspaper copy
contemporaneously with our magazine advertis-
ing. In our letter, or bulletin, to the dealers we
stated that we proposed to make up special
scrapbooks of the dealers' advertising in connec-
tion with this contest and that such scrapbooks
would be shown to Mr. Edison. We, therefore,
urged each dealer to send us clippings of his
advertisements.
"Somehow or other, our bulletin to dealers
got into the hands of the newspaper trade
papers. I don't think it was Xewspaperdom, but
perhaps it was. The editor literally took the
hide off of us by means of an editorial, which
denounced us for asking our dealers to do what
he believed we should have done at our own
expense. He also ridiculed our statement that
we intended to show the advertising scrapbooks
to Mr. Edison. As a matter of fact, we did in-
tend to show the scrapbooks to Mr. Edison, we
did show them to him and he looked through
them with a great deal of interest. His ability
to feel a genuine interest in such matters helps
to keep him young.
"That minor point disposed of, let us take
up the other question. In this particular case
more than 2,000 of our dealers responded to
our request and ran newspaper advertising in
conjunction with our magazine advertising. In
other words, the dealers used about ten times
as much newspaper space as we could have
afforded to use and the editor was quarreling
with a policy which brought more money into
the cash drawers of the newspapers than any
other policy we could have adopted.
"There seems to be an impression abroad that
we believe a phonograph manufacturer should
spend all of his appropriation in magazines and
farm papers and none of it in newspapers. There
is probably no manufacturer who believes more
fully in newspaper advertising than we do, but
until recently we have been unable to find a
satisfactory way of spending our money in the
newspapers.
"Five- or six years ago we ran a newspaper
campaign at about 200 central points and ap-
pended the names and addresses of the local
dealers. This campaign was very successful,
so far as these 200 towns were concerned, and
the dealers in these particular towns were highly
pleased, but they acted a good deal like the
ghost which ran a foot race with Nigger Sam.
Sam was walking by a graveyard one night and
Style XVII Victrola, Lacquer Finish
handsome instrument finished in lacquer and
with Japanese decorations.
The new model, which has already been com-
mented upon most favorably by the trade, will
be included in the next edition of the Standard
Instrument catalog of the Victor Co. The first
shipment will go forward to wholesalers prompt-
ly in order that dealers may be in a position
to display the new model to the" public without
delay. It is listed at $550, and with electric
motor, $615.
Although the accompanying illustration in
black and white does not in any sense do justice
to the handsome Japanese colorings of the prod-
uct itself, it at least gives some idea of the
general attractiveness of the style.
NEW POST FOR GEO. THAU, JR.
Elected Assistant Secretary of the Blackman
Talking Machine Co. This Week
J. Newcomb Blackman,, president of the
Riackman Talking Machine Co., New York, Vic-
tor wholesalers, announced this week the elec-
tion of George Thau, Jr., as assistant secretary
of the company. Mr. Thau succeeds John L.
Spillanc, who has joined the staff of the Collings
& Price Co.
Mr. Than is well qualified to take over the
important duties of assistant secretary of the
Blackman Talking Machine Co., as he has been
associated with the company for the past nine
years and is thoroughly conversant with Vic-
tor merchandising from every angle. Mr. Thau,
who is personally acquainted with a great ma-
jority of the Victor dealers in metropolitan ter-
ritory, achieved signal success as manager of
the company's shipping department. Charles R.
Marquise, who has been a member of the Black-
man Talking Machine Co. for the past five years,
now becomes head of the shipping department.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).