Music Trade Review
Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 9 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
FEBRUARY 27,
1926
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Now the A. B. Clinton Go. Goes Into
Every Home in Hartford, Gonn.
A Unique Advertising Plan by Which Every Home in That City Is Reached Once Monthly by This Well-
Known Music House—Other Plans Along Similar Lines Which Bring the Music Mer-
chant Good and Profitable Publicity at a Low Expenditure for That Purpose
T
H E more people who are reached by the
advertising of any one concern the more
satisfactory as a rule will be the results
of that advertising. The more people who are
reached by letter, by 'phone or by direct can-
vassing, the higher the proportion of sales that
will result. Nor is this all theory, for the law
of averages applies with recognized force to
the business of selling.
Therefore it follows that the music merchant
who can find the largest number of channels
through which to keep his name and the prod-
ucts he handles before the public of his ter-
ritory, provided it is done with proper regard
for economy and good business practice, is
likely to meet with the least sales resistance
when his canvassers and the members of his
sales force establish direct contact with the
prospective customers.
It is assumed, of course, that the average
music merchant uses a suitable amount of space
in the advertising columns of the local news-
papers, and also that he makes proper use of
his regular mailing list to send out circulars
and letters to his prospects. All this is good
work, but its extent must be kept within the
limits of a reasonable appropriation. There are
other methods, however, whereby dealers can
secure good publicity with a minimum of ex-
pense, provided they are on their toes to
watch for such opportunities.
A Hartford Example
Not long ago Ned Strousse, manager of the
Hartford, Conn., branch of the A. B. Clinton
Piano Co., found that the local electric light
company was using space measuring three
and one-half inches by nine inches on the back
of its monthly bills to advertise the effective
use of electric current in homes and by busi-
ness houses. The idea came to Mr. Strousse
that proper window lighting constituted one
of the profitable uses of electric current, and
that the window of the A. B. Clinton store
might be utilized as a worth-while example. It
was not long, therefore, before through the per-
suasive tactics of Mr. Strousse there appeared
on the back of the electric light company's bill
a reproduction of the A. B. Clinton Co. window
with appropriate comments on the well-lighted
show window made by the company itself. The
illustration carried the caption: "A Window
That Attracts—Courtesy A. B. Clinton Co."
The interesting part of the advertising was
that although the bills carried it into thousands
of homes in Hartford and vicinity, regularly
each month, for several months, the cost to
the A. B. Clinton Co., was nil, beyond the orig-
inal charge for the photographs of the win-
dow which the company had taken and for
which the company paid. In no other way could
such a large circulation be secured on what
amounted to a free basis.
Hammering It Home Constantly
For the dealer who believes in the fact that
the constant seeing of his name and the names
of the products he handles will have the ulti-
mate effect of concentrating the mind of the
reader on his store and developing a new cus-
tomer, there are other channels that may be
used for securing large circulation at small
cost. A favorite method is to provide the ticket
envelopes for the use of one or more theatres
in the town in exchange for the privilege of
printing on their backs the advertisement of
the music house. Bought in quantities these
envelopes are inexpensive and the name of the
music house is impressed upon the ticket pur-
chaser's mind frequently between the time he
leaves the box office with the tickets and the
time he turns them in at the theatre door.
A dealer in a Western city has what may be
considered a permanent arrangement with the
local Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary
Club whereby he provides the tickets for the
annual carnivals run by those organizations in
return for the privilege of placing his adver-
tisement on their backs. Inasmuch as the tick-
ets provide only for general admission and re-
quire no seat or section numbering, the expense
of having several thousand of them printed is
comparatively small and the carnival committee
attends to the distribution without cost to the
dealer.
As a general rule advertising that costs noth-
ing is just about worth the price asked for it,
but under certain conditions where service is
combined with a small charge the advertiser
is really giving something definite for the privi-
lege of the special publicity. In the case of
the A. B. Clinton Co., for instance, although
the advertising on the electric light company's
bill was without expense to the company, it
gave to the company in exchange for the privi-
lege an excellent example of what can be done
to make a show window attractive through
the proper use of electric light for that purpose.
Another case of returning something definite
in exchange for advertising of an unusual kind
was brought to light recently in a fair-sized
town in Ohio where the problem of parking
automobiles anywhere near the business section
had become acute. The dealer had back of his
store an open space sufficiently large to allow
for parking between forty and fifty cars. He
offered to his customers and then to those
of the public who would register at his store
the privilege of parking in the vacant space
provided they would stick on the windshields
of the cars a paster announcing that "We park
at Ryan's Music Store, 817 Grand avenue." Al-
together several hundred cars carried that
paster around the countryside regularly and a
surprising number of the owners take occasion
to buy their musical goods at Ryan's store.
The catch in the paster idea is that to secure
one the car owner had to register at the store,
and without the paster the caretaker did not
allow the car in the parking space.
Keeping the name before the public is the
essence of good advertising whether it is done
through the medium of newspapers, billboards,
circulars or any other matter, and the more
people appealed to the larger the percentage of
sales. That is according to the ever present
law of averages.
J. L. Hudson Co.'s Big Ghickering Campaign
* T H E J. L. Hudson Co., of Detroit, one of the
•*" largest distributors of Chickering Ampicos
in the United States, has recently let a contract
for painted bulletins in Detroit featuring the
Chickering line. That these boards are unusu-
ally attractive may be seen from the attached
illustration. They are painted in full color and
are attracting a great deal of attention in
Detroit, an attention which has already been
turned into sales.
Finishing Walnut Veneers
Described in New Book
it must be remembered that woodwork is sub-
jected to widely varying heat and moisture con-
ditions; therefore, a good finish that seals the
surface is always desirable.
"The finish also guards against decay and in-
sect attacks, although walnut is singularly free
from such enemies. The finish on walnut also
serves to bring out the beautiful texture.
"In a majority of cases it is well to choose
what is known as the natural finish when it
comes to color. Extremely light color must be
obtained by bleaching and, unless desired for
matching something else, is not recommended.
Very dark finishes are not desirable because to
obtain them it is necessary to darken the wood
with stains which, if too dark, conceal the
natural beauty of the color and figure of the
wood. The best shades are the natural color
and the slightly darker shades that display the
natural beauty of the wood.
"There are two styles of finish to be consid-
ered in addition to the consideration of color.
These are known as the 'polished' arid 'dull' fin-
ishes.
Publication by American Walnut Manufacturers'
Association Tells of Dull and Polished Fin-
ishes
A handsome booklet has been prepared for
general distribution by the American Walnut
Manufacturers' Association, Chicago, 111., to
stimulate public interest in walnut interiors with
walnut furniture to match. One of the illustra-
tions in the booklet shows an exquisite music
room with a small grand piano in walnut as
the dominating figure.
The subject of finishing a walnut surface is
taken up authoritatively as follows: "The funda-
mental reason why cabinet woods are finished
is to seal the surface of the wood, which pre-
vents absorption of moisture, which is respon-
sible for shrinking, swelling, warping or check-
ing. While walnut is less subject to such
changes than other cabinet wood, nevertheless
FEBRUARY 27,
1926
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Now the A. B. Clinton Go. Goes Into
Every Home in Hartford, Gonn.
A Unique Advertising Plan by Which Every Home in That City Is Reached Once Monthly by This Well-
Known Music House—Other Plans Along Similar Lines Which Bring the Music Mer-
chant Good and Profitable Publicity at a Low Expenditure for That Purpose
T
H E more people who are reached by the
advertising of any one concern the more
satisfactory as a rule will be the results
of that advertising. The more people who are
reached by letter, by 'phone or by direct can-
vassing, the higher the proportion of sales that
will result. Nor is this all theory, for the law
of averages applies with recognized force to
the business of selling.
Therefore it follows that the music merchant
who can find the largest number of channels
through which to keep his name and the prod-
ucts he handles before the public of his ter-
ritory, provided it is done with proper regard
for economy and good business practice, is
likely to meet with the least sales resistance
when his canvassers and the members of his
sales force establish direct contact with the
prospective customers.
It is assumed, of course, that the average
music merchant uses a suitable amount of space
in the advertising columns of the local news-
papers, and also that he makes proper use of
his regular mailing list to send out circulars
and letters to his prospects. All this is good
work, but its extent must be kept within the
limits of a reasonable appropriation. There are
other methods, however, whereby dealers can
secure good publicity with a minimum of ex-
pense, provided they are on their toes to
watch for such opportunities.
A Hartford Example
Not long ago Ned Strousse, manager of the
Hartford, Conn., branch of the A. B. Clinton
Piano Co., found that the local electric light
company was using space measuring three
and one-half inches by nine inches on the back
of its monthly bills to advertise the effective
use of electric current in homes and by busi-
ness houses. The idea came to Mr. Strousse
that proper window lighting constituted one
of the profitable uses of electric current, and
that the window of the A. B. Clinton store
might be utilized as a worth-while example. It
was not long, therefore, before through the per-
suasive tactics of Mr. Strousse there appeared
on the back of the electric light company's bill
a reproduction of the A. B. Clinton Co. window
with appropriate comments on the well-lighted
show window made by the company itself. The
illustration carried the caption: "A Window
That Attracts—Courtesy A. B. Clinton Co."
The interesting part of the advertising was
that although the bills carried it into thousands
of homes in Hartford and vicinity, regularly
each month, for several months, the cost to
the A. B. Clinton Co., was nil, beyond the orig-
inal charge for the photographs of the win-
dow which the company had taken and for
which the company paid. In no other way could
such a large circulation be secured on what
amounted to a free basis.
Hammering It Home Constantly
For the dealer who believes in the fact that
the constant seeing of his name and the names
of the products he handles will have the ulti-
mate effect of concentrating the mind of the
reader on his store and developing a new cus-
tomer, there are other channels that may be
used for securing large circulation at small
cost. A favorite method is to provide the ticket
envelopes for the use of one or more theatres
in the town in exchange for the privilege of
printing on their backs the advertisement of
the music house. Bought in quantities these
envelopes are inexpensive and the name of the
music house is impressed upon the ticket pur-
chaser's mind frequently between the time he
leaves the box office with the tickets and the
time he turns them in at the theatre door.
A dealer in a Western city has what may be
considered a permanent arrangement with the
local Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary
Club whereby he provides the tickets for the
annual carnivals run by those organizations in
return for the privilege of placing his adver-
tisement on their backs. Inasmuch as the tick-
ets provide only for general admission and re-
quire no seat or section numbering, the expense
of having several thousand of them printed is
comparatively small and the carnival committee
attends to the distribution without cost to the
dealer.
As a general rule advertising that costs noth-
ing is just about worth the price asked for it,
but under certain conditions where service is
combined with a small charge the advertiser
is really giving something definite for the privi-
lege of the special publicity. In the case of
the A. B. Clinton Co., for instance, although
the advertising on the electric light company's
bill was without expense to the company, it
gave to the company in exchange for the privi-
lege an excellent example of what can be done
to make a show window attractive through
the proper use of electric light for that purpose.
Another case of returning something definite
in exchange for advertising of an unusual kind
was brought to light recently in a fair-sized
town in Ohio where the problem of parking
automobiles anywhere near the business section
had become acute. The dealer had back of his
store an open space sufficiently large to allow
for parking between forty and fifty cars. He
offered to his customers and then to those
of the public who would register at his store
the privilege of parking in the vacant space
provided they would stick on the windshields
of the cars a paster announcing that "We park
at Ryan's Music Store, 817 Grand avenue." Al-
together several hundred cars carried that
paster around the countryside regularly and a
surprising number of the owners take occasion
to buy their musical goods at Ryan's store.
The catch in the paster idea is that to secure
one the car owner had to register at the store,
and without the paster the caretaker did not
allow the car in the parking space.
Keeping the name before the public is the
essence of good advertising whether it is done
through the medium of newspapers, billboards,
circulars or any other matter, and the more
people appealed to the larger the percentage of
sales. That is according to the ever present
law of averages.
J. L. Hudson Co.'s Big Ghickering Campaign
* T H E J. L. Hudson Co., of Detroit, one of the
•*" largest distributors of Chickering Ampicos
in the United States, has recently let a contract
for painted bulletins in Detroit featuring the
Chickering line. That these boards are unusu-
ally attractive may be seen from the attached
illustration. They are painted in full color and
are attracting a great deal of attention in
Detroit, an attention which has already been
turned into sales.
Finishing Walnut Veneers
Described in New Book
it must be remembered that woodwork is sub-
jected to widely varying heat and moisture con-
ditions; therefore, a good finish that seals the
surface is always desirable.
"The finish also guards against decay and in-
sect attacks, although walnut is singularly free
from such enemies. The finish on walnut also
serves to bring out the beautiful texture.
"In a majority of cases it is well to choose
what is known as the natural finish when it
comes to color. Extremely light color must be
obtained by bleaching and, unless desired for
matching something else, is not recommended.
Very dark finishes are not desirable because to
obtain them it is necessary to darken the wood
with stains which, if too dark, conceal the
natural beauty of the color and figure of the
wood. The best shades are the natural color
and the slightly darker shades that display the
natural beauty of the wood.
"There are two styles of finish to be consid-
ered in addition to the consideration of color.
These are known as the 'polished' arid 'dull' fin-
ishes.
Publication by American Walnut Manufacturers'
Association Tells of Dull and Polished Fin-
ishes
A handsome booklet has been prepared for
general distribution by the American Walnut
Manufacturers' Association, Chicago, 111., to
stimulate public interest in walnut interiors with
walnut furniture to match. One of the illustra-
tions in the booklet shows an exquisite music
room with a small grand piano in walnut as
the dominating figure.
The subject of finishing a walnut surface is
taken up authoritatively as follows: "The funda-
mental reason why cabinet woods are finished
is to seal the surface of the wood, which pre-
vents absorption of moisture, which is respon-
sible for shrinking, swelling, warping or check-
ing. While walnut is less subject to such
changes than other cabinet wood, nevertheless
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