Music Trade Review

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IS THE TEST
THE
EFFECT
EFFECTIVE
W DISPLAY
C. WALTER
Towering above the piano was a life-size bust of Geise-
king, famous piano virtuoso, together with a card which read:
"Geiseking— the artist who created a sensation at the Phil-
harmonic Auditorium recently." On the piano itself was an-
other card with the legend: "The Baldwin piano which was
used by Mr. Geiseking and which caused all to marvel at its
richness and beauty of tone."
On the floor in front of the piano was a card inscribed,
"The Laurel Wreath of Honor." Flanking the piano on
either side was a large full sheet card decorated with laurel
wreaths and with suitable sales talks emphasizing the su-
premacy of the Baldwin piano.
Another display by Mr. Bailey took advantage of the visit
of the Chicago Civic Opera Company to Los Angeles. An
exact replica of the opening scene of Aida was reproduced on
a miniature stage in the center of the show window. A
miniature orchestra of fifty pieces rose through the window
floor, the footlights flashed on, the curtain rose and the actors
HAVE TO SHOUT TO ATTRACT ATTENTION
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
December,
went through their various parts with life-like precision
while the conductor wielded his baton vigorously. The dis-
play attracted crowds of interested spectators three and four
deep and was the talk of Broadway, even the newspapers com-
menting on the unusual display.
The show lasted three minutes and was repeated every
seven minutes, making six shows an hour. This kind of dis-
play has the human appeal that makes people stop, look and
investigate. Displays of this kind are not easy to design, but
original presentations have become essential because of the in-
tense competition for the eye and ear of the downtown shop-
ping public. The display has to be unusual and dynamic in
order to attract attention.
This is particularly true of your show windows after d'ark.
The lighting of your night displays is a matter that should
be given careful thought. After dark the downtown district
is a blaze of myriad lights, a glory of mingling colors and
every store and building seems to have a winking electric
sign of some kind. The show windows of the larger stores
are a blaze of light, unfolding with unforgettable beauty the
whole story of modern merchandising. Amid this bewitchery
of light and color your display must catch and hold the at-
tention of the passer-by.
Window display is advertising, "at the point of sale." T o
be effective it must be dramatic unless your store happens to
be in a quiet, conservative neighborhood where people of an
older generation reside. Then a display in keeping with
cultured tastes and mature judgment is in order. A flashy,
colorful display would be out of place.
But whatever type of display you use, you should re-
member that your show windows absorb a large part of the
rental value of your store space and for that reason they
should be kept working profitably twenty-four hours a day
if possible.
The only method by which they may be kept thus working
is to change the displays at frequent intervals and make each
display so attractive that it will simply demand the attention
of the passer-by and create the urge to enter the store.
1931