Music Trade Review
Issue: 1952 Vol. 111 N. 3 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
The J/lusic
Established 1879
REVIEW
VOL. I l l - N o . 3
THE
PIONEER
March, 1952
PUBLICATION
OF
THE
2,864th Issue
MUSIC
INDUSTRY
The Vital Role of Public Relations
As Applied to Retail Merchandising
by OLE S. JOHNSON, Ph.D., Chairman, Retailing Concentration
Atlanta Division, University of Georgia
T
HERE is nothing seriously wrong
with the American Economic Sys-
tem. Probably its greatest weakness
is the widespread ignorance of how it
works. The existence of that weakness
may leave it temporarily vulnerable to
those who preach other ideologies.
In our expanding economy, the re-
tailer, the salesman and the advertiser
have become more and more important
to our prosperity. Nothing really hap-
pens in our economy until something is
sold. The number of jobs in our pro-
duction system is determined, in the
final analysis—not by management—
not by the unions—but by how many
goods and services can be marketed.
We have come a long way from the
days of the peddler and the frontier
trading post and we expect to go a lot
further — not through revolutionary
changes, but through constant study, re-
finement and evolution—as in the past.
Today the retail store is a symbol of
the fruits of a free economy. Here the
comforts and the conveniences—yes, the
cultural advantages—that characterize
our American Way of Life are placed
at the finger tips of the people. Here
are the things Americans grow or make;
here are the material things for which
Americans work; here are the products
of creative thought in the fields of liter-
ature, art, and music. Here, in the re-
tail store, where the forces of selling
and buying meet, is the final determi-
nation of how much our industry will
produce and how many of our people
will be employed in the process.
Where Public Relations Fit
Where does public relations fit into
this economic picture? The great goal
of all businesses is to achieve custom-
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MARCH, 1952
DR.
OLE.
S. JOHNSON
ers, not just sales. Anything can be
sold once to somebody—the first sale
in the Garden of Eden is a case in point
—but an organization becomes success-
ful as it develops customers who come
back again and again. Some thirty
years ago, T. P. McCubbin, a well-
known merchandiser, said at an NRDGA
convention: "Salesmanship is selling
goods which won't come back to cus-
tomers who will come back."
It would perhaps be well to clarify
just what we mean by public relations.
Tn 1948, a committee appointed by the
National Retail Dry Goods Association
formulated the following definition:
"Public relations is the continuing co-
ordinated process by which retail man-
agement evaluates public attitudes and
earns the good will and understanding
of its employees, customers, resources,
and the public at large; inwardly
through self-analysis and correction.
outwardly through all means of expres-
sion." Simply stated it just means the
relationships of others with whatever
you are, or do, or say. It can also be
thought of as a basic attitude of mind
—really a philosophy of management
which has the Golden Rule as its base.
This latter attitude must be emphasized
in all activities in the store and out. The
retailer, as well as all his employees,
must be instilled with the idea of kind-
ness and a real appreciation for the
rights, privileges and wishes of others.
He must be taught that there is no one
with whom he comes in contact who is
not important to his ultimate success.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "Public
sentiment is everything. With public
sentiment nothing can fail. Without it,
nothing can succeed."
No institutions have a more urgent
need for a modernized public relations
program than do retail stores in gen-
eral. On a recent trip to New York
City, I heard Denny Griswold, Publish-
er and Editor of Public Relations News,
state how woefully slow retailing has
been in its public relations activities.
There are actually only about twenty-
five full-time public relations men in
retailing today! The relatively low sal-
aries paid to these men and to those
who function on a part-time basis are
indicative of the importance which top
management fails to place on their ac-
tivities. Too many are judged by the
number of times the bosses' names are
found in the papers.
Fortunately, outstanding work has
been done in this field by certain pro-
gressive firms, some of which are no
doubt represented here today. Our
problem then lies in developing an
The J/lusic
Established 1879
REVIEW
VOL. I l l - N o . 3
THE
PIONEER
March, 1952
PUBLICATION
OF
THE
2,864th Issue
MUSIC
INDUSTRY
The Vital Role of Public Relations
As Applied to Retail Merchandising
by OLE S. JOHNSON, Ph.D., Chairman, Retailing Concentration
Atlanta Division, University of Georgia
T
HERE is nothing seriously wrong
with the American Economic Sys-
tem. Probably its greatest weakness
is the widespread ignorance of how it
works. The existence of that weakness
may leave it temporarily vulnerable to
those who preach other ideologies.
In our expanding economy, the re-
tailer, the salesman and the advertiser
have become more and more important
to our prosperity. Nothing really hap-
pens in our economy until something is
sold. The number of jobs in our pro-
duction system is determined, in the
final analysis—not by management—
not by the unions—but by how many
goods and services can be marketed.
We have come a long way from the
days of the peddler and the frontier
trading post and we expect to go a lot
further — not through revolutionary
changes, but through constant study, re-
finement and evolution—as in the past.
Today the retail store is a symbol of
the fruits of a free economy. Here the
comforts and the conveniences—yes, the
cultural advantages—that characterize
our American Way of Life are placed
at the finger tips of the people. Here
are the things Americans grow or make;
here are the material things for which
Americans work; here are the products
of creative thought in the fields of liter-
ature, art, and music. Here, in the re-
tail store, where the forces of selling
and buying meet, is the final determi-
nation of how much our industry will
produce and how many of our people
will be employed in the process.
Where Public Relations Fit
Where does public relations fit into
this economic picture? The great goal
of all businesses is to achieve custom-
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MARCH, 1952
DR.
OLE.
S. JOHNSON
ers, not just sales. Anything can be
sold once to somebody—the first sale
in the Garden of Eden is a case in point
—but an organization becomes success-
ful as it develops customers who come
back again and again. Some thirty
years ago, T. P. McCubbin, a well-
known merchandiser, said at an NRDGA
convention: "Salesmanship is selling
goods which won't come back to cus-
tomers who will come back."
It would perhaps be well to clarify
just what we mean by public relations.
Tn 1948, a committee appointed by the
National Retail Dry Goods Association
formulated the following definition:
"Public relations is the continuing co-
ordinated process by which retail man-
agement evaluates public attitudes and
earns the good will and understanding
of its employees, customers, resources,
and the public at large; inwardly
through self-analysis and correction.
outwardly through all means of expres-
sion." Simply stated it just means the
relationships of others with whatever
you are, or do, or say. It can also be
thought of as a basic attitude of mind
—really a philosophy of management
which has the Golden Rule as its base.
This latter attitude must be emphasized
in all activities in the store and out. The
retailer, as well as all his employees,
must be instilled with the idea of kind-
ness and a real appreciation for the
rights, privileges and wishes of others.
He must be taught that there is no one
with whom he comes in contact who is
not important to his ultimate success.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "Public
sentiment is everything. With public
sentiment nothing can fail. Without it,
nothing can succeed."
No institutions have a more urgent
need for a modernized public relations
program than do retail stores in gen-
eral. On a recent trip to New York
City, I heard Denny Griswold, Publish-
er and Editor of Public Relations News,
state how woefully slow retailing has
been in its public relations activities.
There are actually only about twenty-
five full-time public relations men in
retailing today! The relatively low sal-
aries paid to these men and to those
who function on a part-time basis are
indicative of the importance which top
management fails to place on their ac-
tivities. Too many are judged by the
number of times the bosses' names are
found in the papers.
Fortunately, outstanding work has
been done in this field by certain pro-
gressive firms, some of which are no
doubt represented here today. Our
problem then lies in developing an
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