Music Trade Review

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The salon in the Watkin Go.
store is the mecca for the
musical activities of Dallas
Students and Parents Greeting Jacques Jolas After Recital
broader fields, particularly to study in New
York, or perhaps give a recital or two there,
the Watkin Co. sees to it that, the artist is
armed with letters to connections in New York
in a position to make the road easier, and to
render various services, insignificant in them-
selves, perhaps, but highly appreciated by a
stranger in a strange city. When it happens
to be a pianist of apparent talent, arrangements
are frequently made to have the artist make a
trial record for the Ampico, and more than one
such record has found a place in the perma-
nent record catalog.
A feature of the Watkin service that appeals
ing photograph which shows members of an
audience grouped around Jacques Jolas at the
conclusion of such a program.
The recognition that is accorded the Watkin
salon as a musical center is evidenced in the
fact that during the season the recital hall is
occupied for the presentation of some musical
event, professional or amateur, practically
every evening in the week and frequently dur-
ing the mornings and afternoons as well. Not
only do individual teachers make use of the
salon, but clubs and colleges find it particu-
larly well adapted for certain of their affairs,
and on frequent occasions the program is such
that it is found worthy of broadcasting through
station WFAA of Dallas.
Were the activities concerning the salon and
View of the Music Salon of the Will A. Watkin Co.
particularly to three important classes, the
teachers, their pupils, and the parents of the
pupils, is the practice of having an artist appear
at the Watkin salon under the auspices of the
company on some special date, preferably a
Saturday morning, and give a lecture recital,
telling the pupils of the musical possibilities of
certain instruments, and perhaps something of
the noted composers and their works.
These lecture recitals are recognized as hav-
ing a high educational value, and each one of
them draws a capacity audience. An example
of the manner in which the grown-ups enthuse
over such an event is found in the accompany-
the support of the various affairs held there
the only ones engaged in by the Watkin Co.
to promote musical interest, it would seem
quite enough, but the company goes beyond
that. It is constantly seeking avenues through
which its facilities may be utilized in connec-
tion with musical events outside of the store.
When it is desired to give a musical in a
private home or in an exclusive club, it seems
a natural thing to turn to the Watkin house
for assistance in supplying an instrument from
its stock and perhaps arranging for the artist.
When a conservatory has a particularly ambi-
tious program in mind it is generally to the
7
Watkin concern that the appeal is made for a
concert grand or for assistance in some other
direction.
The result of all this is that, in musical
circles in Dallas, the Will A. Watkin Co. en-
joys an unusually high standing. It is not
simply a merchandising concern, but an im-
portant factor in the musical life of the city,
standing ready to give aid and advice whenever
needed, and to go far beyond the limit of
direct sales appeal in order to give assistance
and build up friendship. Naturally, when there
is an instrument to be bought the Watkin
store is accepted without question as the proper
place to buy it. There is nothing altruistic
about this Watkin promotion program. Thou-
sands of dollars spent in promotion and assist-
ing in musical activities is regarded in the na-
ture of an investment that is bound to bring
substantial dividends.
The company's sales organization is in keep-
ing with this general business aggressiveness.
The contacts that are made with the musical
people of Dallis, professional and otherwise,
are capitalized to the utmost. The company
believes in steady and persistent publicity, not
only through the newspapers—and they are ex-
tremely liberal advertisers— but through direct
mail. Those on the company's prospect list
get frequent reminders of the fact that it is
doing business at the old stand. It may be a
program of a particularly interesting recital, a
list of events that have occurred or are occur-
ring at the Watkin salon, a letter offering vari-
ous kinds of service to the teacher and the
pupil, but the mailings are persistent and regu-
lar, and each piece of literature bears some-
where about it reference to one or more of
the well-known pianos handled by the Watkin
house.
If a aoncern that has been doing business
successfully in one city for forty-seven years
finds that it pays, and pays well, to become a
real factor in the musical life of that city, how
much more important it is for the younger
dealer to give heed to these musical contacts.
Its products are designed primarily for the use
of musical people, and he should overlook not
a single channel that will lead him into the
good graces of those on whom he depends to
buy his wares.
This feature on how the Will A. Watkin Co.
has made its store the real factor in the musi-
cal life of Dallas, Texas, should be of consid-
erable interest to all music dealers throughout
the land. It shows how a progressive concern
can make the most of its opportunities by tying
up with all that is musical in the community
life, thus leading the people to think of Watkin
and music.