Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

January 5, 1918. MOTOGRAPHY 11 Producer's Goal Is to Satisfy Exhibitor TRIANGLE STATEMENT EXPLAINS HOW IT CAN AFFORD TO PAY REEL TAX "T 'HE great goal of the motion picture business today might be summed up in the single word, 'satisfaction,' " is the answer of the Triangle Distributing Corporation to a question as to what the organization is trying to accomplish. Triangle is one of the storm centers of the controversy over the reel tax. A statement of its purposes is contained in the following: "Activity in the motion picture business is like working in a fertile field, which in the rapidity of its crop rotation, has yielded such prolific returns that the harvesters have neglected everything except their harvesting. Rank weeds have grown up; the fertility has been reduced, and intensive cultivation has become an immediate necessity. Economic Laws Rule Industry "Of course there is a market for the product of this commercial soil. There always will be. But — and this is the point of the whole analogy — the consumer has set his own maximum price and his standards of quality. He knows what he wants, and he knows, by stern economic experience, just what he can afford to pay for it. Strangely enough, producers and distributors in general still cling to the theory that the motion picture industry is exempt from the operation of economic laws. When their best laid plans "gang aft agley," they blame the stupidity of the exhibitor, or government, or the ignorance of the public, instead of stripping themselves of conceit and examining the actual dollars and cents strength of their respective proposition. It is like the man who wanted an increase in salary before he did any increased work. Must Satisfy Exhibitors "It is not admitting a human weakness to say that 'satisfaction' almost invariably has some relation to money and profits. It is a known fact in and out of business. There is no profit to us unless the exhibitor profits by dealing with us, no matter what rental he may pay us at the time of any current transaction. If he doesn't come back, and keep on coming back, we lose. Our problem is, how to keep the exhibitor satisfied. What does he want? Is he reasonable in his expectations? Can we afford to give him more for his money? "What are we doing to back up this analysis of trade conditions Well, we can not tell you everything that we are "There arc many signs of distinct improvement in ethics, in personnel, in spirit and in quality of product. Ahead, the New Year offers unlimited opportunities for greater improvement. Help Build!" — From an editorial in the December Triangle Magazine. doing, but here are a few instances of actual accomplishments: "We are paying the reel tax instead of passing it on to the already burdened exhibitor. 'How can you afford to pay this enormous assessment, when others are uniting to avoid it?' is a question put up to us daily. "The answer is simple, and is best given by another question, 'How can the people of the United States afford to buy Liberty Bonds, pay increased prices for their necessities, and send their wage-earning sons to the battlefields?' Meeting Needs of the Hour "The country is at war, and it is no time for dodging individual or corporate responsibilities. We believe that the reel tax is meant for producers, manufacturers and importers, and with that conviction, we can't honestly say to the exhibitor, 'This is going to cut into my profits; you pay it.' It is our 'bit,' and we are glad to make any sacrifices necessary in order to meet the needs of the hour. "It follows that we must be doing something to economize if we are taking this so-called philanthropic stand. We are. For five months we have had in operation a traffic department charged solely with the duty of cutting out transportation waste. It is part of the new Triangle service,, not only to find the shortest distance between two points, but the cheapest way to cover that distance. We do not pocket all the savings which have been effected by this intelligent sort of business methods. Service to exhibitors has been improved both in prompter deliveries and smaller shipping costs. Overhead Is Reduced "Territories are now organized on a geographical and economic basis, not a personal one. The branch managers serve only the counties they can serve best, and no others, regardless of the temporary loss in receipts because of the readjustment of territorial lines. And every time an exhibitor kicks about the service he is not getting, something happens in the New York office of our traffic manager which doesn't stop until the complainant is satisfied. The result is greater co-ordination of effort and reduced overhead. "Through the trade papers we are trying to tell exhibitors of the things we are doing in a quiet way to stabilize the industry. There has been no blowing of trumpets, because every betterment we make is as much for our own good as for the exhibitor. We both profit, and let the public in on the bargain, too. "Take the seven-reel feature recently announced as a regular item on the monthly program. It goes out at no advance in prices, and is sure to increase box-office receipts. 'Because of a Woman,' the first multiple reel release on this plan, has been so favorably received that we expect the January special, T Love You,' to be a big success. Renewals of old contracts and a number of new first-run accounts in the larger cities attest the appreciation of showmen. Trade-mark Represents Value "The Triangle trade-mark at first stood for three branches of an industry built originally on individual personality and ability. Today it stands for concrete cash values secured by business organization and co-ordinated, controlled talent, and expressed by three symbols — quality, co-operation and dependability. The three spell satisfaction. We do not urge exhibitors to incorporate our trade-mark in everything they do. They will not fail if they do not use it in their advertising. Experience has convinced us, however, that the exhibitor who does use the Triangle symbol profits by it, simply because the Triangle program, through many ups and downs of the film business, has represented the sort of a varied entertainment that has converted thousands into movie fans. "Stars? Yes, they come and go. We believe in stars provided their cost does not wreck a picture's chance for success. It is interesting to scan the pages of the trade papers and study the history, of the high-salaried people who are rated among the leaders in the acting profession. Remarkable how many of them started with Triangle. "Take this ad, for example. Fairbanks