Music Trade Review

'l"'HE
DECEMBER 22, 1923
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
5
Using Local Musicians' Testimonials
How Steinway & Sons Have Developed the Use of the Testimonial From Musician and Teacher Who Are
Known in the Locality Where Their Branch Stores Are Located-Use of the Instrument by a Local
Musician in Many Cases More Valuable Than the Names of Great Musicians
For many years thue has been more or less
of a dispute in this and other trades regarding
the actual value of testimonial s in influencing
and increasing the sale of ce rtain products, and,
although it is generally admitted that testi­
monials by noted pianists and musicians gen­
erally may be calculated to' impress many
buyers and lead them to . make a definite and
i"
- -I
M.. Ma,j VenahI•• Pia... oncI T....... of I'iu.j
.,!he CiDCinno/i COII,...f MIIIK. oncI .. 1hor of lilt bool.
"IGterpretahott.of Pi.DeI M~ -
.
F.... ,he bqinni... 1 .... "'_ MiN Veoable ....
ued and eadoned the Steinw.y as the pre-aninent piano
in ~ W",ld .f M.ac,
STEINWAY.
&
STfJN.... A Y HALL
11..... '........
. ~
,SONS
~ow.
Using the Local Testimonial
final decision in favor of the endorsed instru­
ment, there is a certain class that is inclined
to be skeptical and not equally impressed by
what this or that noted authority has to say,
Knowing the Name
In many cases it happe ns that the prospective
piano buyer is not thorou ghly acquainted with
the standing of the endo rsing musician,and,
although great names hav e sold many pianos,
instances have been known where their influ­
ence was entirely lost for the reason that the
buyer depended upon the opinion of a local
music teacher, perhaps someone he knew, to pass
BALDWIN AS OffICIAL OPERA PIANO
That Instrument Again Selected for the Use
of the Artists Singing This Season With the
Chicago Civic Opera Company
The Baldwin Piano Co. announces that the
Baldwin piano has again been selected as the
official piano for the artists of the Chicago Civic
Opera Co" an honor particularly significant in
view of the fact that it offers proo·f o·f the satis­
faction given by the Baldwin to the opera stars
last season.
The selection of the Baldwin piano again
means that it will be used by such stars of the
opera world as Mary Garden, Galli-Curci, Rosa
Raisa, Claudia Muzio, Cyrena Van Gordon, Tito
Schipa, Forest Lamont, Giacomo Rimini,
Georges Baklanoff and nearly a score of other
artists of standing and reputation.
The fact that the Baldwin piano. is the official
instrument of the Chicago Civic Opera Co. is
put to excellent use by the Baldwin Piano Co. in
the preparation of literature designed to aid
dealers in catering to a clientele of discrimina­
tion. The company has issued an attractive
fin a l jud gme nt on the instrument that he was to
pay for and which was to go into, his own house.
Answe,ring the Problem
Steinway & Sons have answer ed this problem
of appealing to the loca l piano prospect through
the medium of an endorsement by some o ne of
standing in his own locality, in a distinctly
cleve r manner, by featuring in th e rotogravure
section of Cincinnati papers, where they ha ve a
retail sto re, photog rap hs of lo ca l artists and
teachers of reputation who hav e bought and use
the Stein way piano in their recital and tea ching
work. The pictures of these lo ca l authorities
are given all the prominence that would be ac­
corded s uch en dorsers and u sers of the Stein­
way as Paderew ski and Ra chmaninoff.
To
many Cincinnatians th e name of Mr s. Lillian
T . 1'Iogstedt, prominent lo<:a l orga nist and
teac her, means much mor e than th e nam es of
either of th e two concert artis ts, There is
some thin g personal and tangible about the local
authority th a t inspires confidence-at least t he
results of th e adverti~ements that have been run
by Stein way & Sons so indicate .
Going Further
This idea of using the influence of the loca l
teacher or artist is not distinctl y original, for
aggressive merchants have for years take n ad­
vanta ge o f local pride in this connection ill
th ei r selling talks an d to a ce rt ai n degree in
their advertising, but Steinw ay & So ns have
gone a bit further and have played up thi s loca l
appeal ju~t as s tron gly as they wo uld th e na­
tio nal appea l through the use o f the name of
an interna t io nally known pianist.
Perhaps in the great metropolitan cen ters,
such as New York and Chi cago, th e value of
the name of the local artist may not have such
great influence, although there are musicians
and teachers even in those great cities who have
names to conjure with in appealing to music
lovers . The big value of the local endorseme nt
is to be found in the medium-sized and sma ller
cities where indivi dual reput at ion s carry most
substantial weight.
Knowing Them Personally
Steinway & Sons, for instance, enjoy th e ad­
vantage of having many of the world-famous
pianists of the day using and endorsing that
instrument, and there is no question but that th e
reputation of the house and its product s profit
as a result. Mrs. Jones in Indi anapo lis, for
booklet featuring portraits and something of
the biographies of th e membe rs of the Chicago
company, the book being of a s ize that permits
it being enclosed in th e ordinary envelope.
There are a lso other folders and publicity mate­
rial rea dy for the use of deal ers who realize the
possibilities of that sort of appeal.
OPENING FOR .NEW PIQUETTE STORE
BRJDGEPORT, CoNN" Dece mber 17,·--The new
music store of H . Piquette & Sons ha s just
been formally opened at 183 Fairfield avenue.
Th'e concern will have two floors, wh ic h are
up to date in every re spect, the second bein g
practically a replica of th e main flo or in every­
thing but stock The store carries th e Kranich
& Bach, Sterling, Cable-Nel so n, Schubert,
Kurtzman and Becker Bros. line s of piano s and
also the Sonora and Columbia phonographs.
H. S. Piquette, founder of the busines s, has been
a piano salesman for the past thirty-six years,
The growth of the business forced him to move
from the old location on Cannon str ee t to the
present larger store. He has two so ns and
three da ughters associated with him .
instance, may have heard Paderewski play and
may be influenced to the point of buyin g ' by
the national and local advertising presenting hi s
endorsem en t, When the endorsement of Mrs.
Smith, however, the local musical authority,
whom Mis . Jones knows personally and in
w hose judgment she has confidence, is added
to that of the internationally famed artist, there
Mn.. Lillian T ylff ~t. T uehtf of P;'aoo ud Qrwaa. ud Vocal COMh
-Orc."itt _t Qn$! Epi~ 1 ChuKh .ad T e:q.k Bmc 1.. .ft-PiaMl_
May Fe:w.....b .nd Qre:.lliu ,1 tile· ..... ~h.y F'ttli"al. FOIl ...... of,..,
:!::: Fri~~.~~t~=H:~.tt~~·~~-::
Ille
iDI (elcbrititt.. Aho mut.K tMic oe.
C~Mmalt
PotC..
M", P&OC-lccII. OM of u.cil\Cll.li . ~IY o.a, IlOl otIly is ...... ti~ of tM ri~ •
but r.u;,"ed MI .....Nul tduc.fioon hut .... ~II . St.t u_ and iadcmd 1M
SttillWlo7 pUono exth.u.ivdy and btlOt\-et it 10 bt Ifw. ,,·orkf. "1)'_
STEINWA Y & SONS,
St.inwa,. Hall.
tltd_w R.",...enlfltiwe
118 W. Fourth StrMt.
C I~C1NNATI.
OHIO
Another Example of This
is an intimate touch given to the appeal that
is 1110st convincing from a selling standpoint.
Presen ted herewith are two of the advertise­
ments in the series being run by Steinway &
So ns in Cincinnati, which give an excellent idea
of the hi gh character of the publicity and th e
a ttenti on given to its presentation. It appears
to be distinctly amove in the right direction
in merchandising high-grade pianos that win
and are worth y of the endorsement of lo ca l
musical ce lebriti es whose opin ions are valu ed
and respected.
MONTELIUS OPENS IN TACOMA
T.\CO MA, WASH" December 14_-A branch piano
of the Montelius Music Hou se, of Sea ttle,
was opened here thi s week at 736 St. Helens
avenue. Fred E . Cromw ell, who has been cQn­
nccted witl>. the lead ing music establishments
of Tacoma for seve ral years, has bee n appointed
local m a na ger, The salesroom has been attrac­
tively d ecora ted and is up to date in every de- '
tail. The firm will handle the Mason & Ham­
lin, Knab e, Ca ble, Conover, Francis Bacon;
Haines Bros . a nd Franklin pianos, and also.
the Victor ta lking machine line. The Montelius
Music Hou se has been established for fifty ,
years in Seattle and Portland,
~tore
GRINNELL ADRIAN STORE REMODELED
ADRIAN, MICH., December 17.-Alterations and
decor a tions in th e local Grinnell Bros. music
store, in progress for the past two weeks, have
recently been completed. Two new demonstra­
tion boo t hs and a showroom for th e talking
machine department have been constructed. '
The most striking change is redecoration,