Billboard advertising (Jan 1897)

BILLBOARD ADVERTISING. Vol. VIlI., No. 12. CINCINNATI, JANUARY 1, 1897. House to House Work. I have said many times that I consider ■ ed newspaper advertising the best advci tising. I suppose-1 have said this a ban dred f I have always made the assertion as a distribution ofWklel^T fore the; * vcrtisiDR. They divided the country up into small sections and circularized these sections one at a time thoroughly, by a lionse to house distribution. That tbis system brought results, and big results, is shown by the fact that these concerns 10 jump into general newspaper advertis- ing almost at a bound As I have said many limes, good advertising is simply advertising that brings results. Evident- ly the house to house distribution of these proprietary medicine concerns brought results, and big results. While 1 am on the subject of proprie- tary medicines, I want to say that I don't know of a more effective way of introduc- ing a good proprietary medicine than by the house to house distribution of samples and good literature. "Seeing's believ- ing." So is trying. Take, for instance, some simple, palatable remedy that is re- commended as a laxative. Leave a trial Inttle of the remedy with explanatory printed matter at each house. It's my otiservalion that seven housewives out of every ten will see that that kind of a sam- ple is given a trial. If the results are favorable-that is, if the medicine proves to be what it claims- a great many of these people will sooner or later inquire for the remedy at a drug store. That's as direct vay of producing a demand to house distribution of circulars and book- cal, and badly spelled, but that also show- lets and samples in a great measure ML ed a really ludicrous' ignorance of the Take, for it small city or town where there is a news- It's my be- While an honest and thorough believer in the virtue of the newspaper as an ad- vertising medium, I am just as strong a believer in booklets and circulars. In fact, in some cases, I believe that book- lets and circulars should take precedence over newspaper advertising. 1 believe that in some cases the booklets and circu- lars should be used first and . - and circular., be- actually drought fair returns his and their authors thrived. This being the fel case, it is no wonder that booklets and :o circulars advertising a really good remedy raped Into the first open sewer nat- urally don't sell the goods advertised. It doesn't pay to employ irresponsible people In my own experience I have known an office boy to dump a firm's outgoing mail of three or fonr hundred letters a day into an open sewer rather than carry it six blocks to the Post Office. I have known of cases where this had gone on for weeks, and the firm concerned was utterly at a loss to understand what was the matter with its mails. If a regularly employed office boy out of laziness, pure and simple will do a thing of this kind, what do you expect of any utterly irresponsible nun or boy whom you may pick up, hit or K F. SCHAEFER, of Chicago, -_ ~ -vwaaawasai nonse to house distribution of circulars and booklets to irresponsible people, without references or recjrd or reputation to sustain. My conclusion is that the house to honae dirtribution of circulars, booklets and samples is one of the most effective methods that can be used by the general advertiser of many articles, In fact, in tame tmm iaamk that this style of ad- advertisi ig. Whether a distribution of Circulars should be made by mail or by a house to house canvas is a question for a great big al way? proved productive of result! way. I notice that the firms win made the greatest use of these pit to-day prosperous and wealthy, same time, they are big newspaper take from the value of newspaper tisttig. There are two ways . Their booklets imples of what printers c laiiuca m me n. correspondent writes us as follows ; avesomecuriOB- "You most bear in mind that Stahlbrodt lis is the exact founded the association, that we owe the to house distrib- organization to him entirely." We do! i or circulars are but because a father begets and rears a — child, does that give him toe right to kill :. it arrives at y- " * " anyway norant examples 01 wnat primers can enild, does that give him the right to kill r adver- do. The language used is either stereo- it just as it arrives at years of useful seas? typed or absolutely incoherent, I have Certainly not, you say. Yet that is en- s great read proprietory medicine ads of this de- actly what Stahlbrodt is bow doing to thi-a-f, le house scription tltat were not only ungrammati- A. B. P. A. ■