Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
6
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JULY, 1U0
ports from spots where sales have been
held indicate that the foregoing opinion
is correct. In New York, e.g., Macy
went along selling pianos in a limited
way; then put out its "first piano sale'*
and in a few days sold 4 carloads. Pub-
lic likes to have an excuse to get a
bargain, and with the dealers doing
the most "sales-ing" showing better
than average increases, we think this
plan should be adopted by more deal-
ers, as even a dignified product like a
piano, still must be sold on a semi-gag
basis.
A
LTHO pianos came up much in
last 5 years, several mfrs.
{ went out of business, proving
' no matter what conditions
may be, the individual direction of a
company is ONLY as good as the quali-
ty of its top executive brain . . . and all
the hemming and hawing about gen-
eral business being this or that is just
so much smoke to cover up on inferi-
ority of business ability. These men be-
long to what I call "the vapid type''
and we spot them again and again, and
can forecast the result of their work.
Characteristic of the vapid boy is the
tandrum—you know, "don't try to talk
to Mr. Buttercup this morning as he is
not in the mood". But this is neither
there nor here, but to show that dealers
must now become careful about their
lines so that they are not wasting a lotta
of time developing a brand in their
city which is destined thru three-cor-
nered management, to be out of the
picture, thus requiring the dealer to
repeat the entire story again about
another make. One hears expressions
of "the dealer's leader" but we don't
know what that means, for the dealer-
leader in one town is a dog in another,
plus vice versa. There is public ac-
ceptance for several makes of pianos,
but no public demand for any piano,
and the tough dealer is still supreme
in the retail distribution of instruments
. . . so with the constant decrease in
fine names, and with more destined to
go with the others, a substantial source
of a piano supply appears more needed
to-day than ever. PS—this is not a bad
topic for floor discussion at the Dealers
meeting.
O
LD time dealers will remember
that the piano boys have been
thru plenty of stunts for sell-
ing pianos, such as counting
the dots in an ad; giving away certi-
ficates "good for $100" on the purchase
price of a piano, guessing this and that
and so on ad gagem. All these and
various other things have been used by
many lines and are continuing even
right now. Perhaps the best newspaper
copy for selling is the ad featuring
"free trial, no money down, easy pay-
ments" but in the various ramifica-
tions of piano advertising, a few deal-
ers have been asked by various bu-
reaus to cease and desist from such
doings. Giving you some quotes from
a bulletin of the Chicago Better Busi-
ness Bureau, as while it covers appli-
ances, just substitute the word "piano 7
and much of the statements can be
taken to heart.
P
ERSONALLY, with millions
of people in Europe being shot
or dispossessed, we can't see
the worry over here about
split infinities and trying to emasculate
the pulling power of advertising. We
are against malicious lying but the
public inertia is strong and it takes
such stuff as "$1 puts this into your
home" and similar tactics. We cov-
ered the "sale angle" in a preceding
paragraph, and while anyone is ap-
preciative of criticism, we would much
prefer with the criticism, to see a sug-
gestion that will work as well or better
than the one specified. Anyone can
pan anything, and be justified in doing
it from the personal angle. However,
the following is very interesting to
piano men:
Appliance advertising with the capacity to mislead and
confuse the buying public continues to appear in Chicago,
declares the Chicago Better Business Bureau in its weekly
bulletin, practically all of which in a recent issue is given
over the the subject of appliance advertising. Rarely does
this mouthpiece of the bureau take up a single advertising
subject.
In the front page message to appliance advertisers, the
bureau says, "Practices are followed which the trade it-
self has condemned.
Advertisers who indulge in these
practices are, fortunately, in the minority, but violations
of established standards reflect on the entire industry, and
impair consumer confidence.
"The following paragraphs outline how not to advertise.
Failure on the part of advertisers to observe these cautions
provide the answer, in part, at least, as to what is wrong
with appliance copy: