Billboard advertising (Jan 1900)

THE BILLBOARD. ADVERTISING RATES: Advertisements will be published at the uni- rm rate of ten cents per agate line; no dis- unt for time or space. Copy for advertise- ents must reach us on or before the twenty- th of the month. Our terms are cash. he Billboard. Published First of Every Month, at 7 East Eighth Street, Cincinnati, O., U. S. A- Address all communication* r the editorial or business departments to THE BILLBOARD PUBLISHING CO. Subscription, $t.oo l'er Vear, In Advance. The Billboard is sold in London at' Low's Ejc- ange, 57 Charing Cross, and at American Ad- rtising Newspaper Agency, Trafalgar Build- gs, Northumberland Ave., iV. C. Jn Paris, at ■entand s,3J Avenue deP Opera. The trade sup- 'ed by the American News Co. and its branches. Remittance should be made by post-office or ex- ess money order, or registered letter addressed •d made payable to The Billboard Pub. Co. zTAe editor can not undertake to return unsolicited muscript ; correspondents should keep copy. When it is necessary to iuire us the instructions d copy for advertisements, great saving in the 'ter of telegraph tolls may be had by recourse to Donaldson Cipher Code. Entered as Second-Class Hatter at Post Office Cincinnati, Ohio. The Xew Year Has Begun. To those who entertain that view, ie new century has started, at any .to, the season for making good reso- tions and for proclaiming your plans r the future is at hand. We desire to announce that during e coming year, no pains, labor or oney will be spared in the endeavor keep "The Billboard" in the plane which It has risen, and to have it 1 that a trades paper should be. We believe that the object of a ade paper should be, not alone to in- rni the members of the profession of ets, events and matters in general ferring to the trade, and to give sug- •stioirs that may be of use and value them, but also to further their in- rests by making those who have tilings with the trade, acquainted ich the doings of the latter. A trade paper which only circulates long the members of the trade, erefore does not completely fulfill mission. The aavertfisfng, to do any rod, must extend outside of the lim- >d circle of the trade. It must reach who either have dealings with e trade or expect to have such deal- gs in the future. According to this eory, the contents of a trade paper tould not only be interesting to the Ivertisers. but also to the readers of e advertisements—that is. the pa- ons of the trade. Although this hafe bc-e:/. the aim of "lis paper in the past, our efforts in re future in this respect will be more bonouneed than ever. We will with- 3* abridging trade interests, endeavor "> make our paper acceptable to a ride circle of readers.' Y »*» "Sv The advent Of "street fairs" into the lass of business enterprises, which Ldlectively may be called expositions, las called forth more discussion and fimment, both favorable and adverse, ■ lan any movement in the show world v many years. The managers of eorraty fairs, who iedare that the street fair is a menace to morality, and of no special interest to any one but the fakirs, who, on every available occasion, seek through the medium of the agricultural and the daily press, to disgust the public with the new idea, evidently have in mind visions of failure and decreased gate receipts. They, instead of accustoming themselves to the in- evitable, attempt to dethrone t'.ie street fair from the great popularity it en- joys. The advantages of the street fair over the old style fair are many. They are held in the business center of the town. They afford new and novel amusements at a small cost; they re- lieve the monotony of trade, tend to bring merchants closer together, and promote concentrated action. If the country -shows hope to fight the gay street fair, with any chance of success, they must cast off their old fogy methods and contend with the new comer with equal weapons. They must add to their shows those features of the street fair which have made for it the place it holds—in the hearts of the people. One disadvantage, and the only one which we can think of at present which the agricultural fair can not avoSd, is in the matter of position. ' The fair grounds can not be moved— but after all, the situation of the fair matters but little, provided a large attendance can be secured, very little trouble is experienced in indue- insr merchants to exhibit where a crowd "is assured. Then to draw the people is the question. Attractions win accomplish this feat. Experience ' has taught us that the more numerous ' and the better the attractions offered, the larger the attendance and the more ^satisfied the people will be . S . * ■ * * * The' question arising from the indis- criminate distributing of samples of proprietary medicines have become most serious. Many have been the or- dinances passed of late which render it unlawful to put out such samples. " Although in most cases the ordinances can not hold, nevertheless they serve to show the general tendency and to point out in what light the public views this method of advertising. These are but rumblings before the cyclone, the skirmish before the bat- tles in which are found the warning to both distributors and advertisers. Should these cases of criminal negli- gence continue to occur with the fre- quency which they have of late, the whole system of distribution will be m danger. The blame can not be placed upon the shoidders of the pro- fessional distributors, who very seldom get into any trouble because of care- less distributing. They know their business and have their prices, charg- ing according to the kind of service expected by the advertiser. The fault lies with the advertisers. It should and does rest alone upon them; not upon all of them, but upon those who in the vernacular would be called "short skates" or "cheap screws," men who to save a few dol- lars, send work to a town and allow it to be done by scab labor or boys, who have no reputation to uphold, and are therefore indifferent to conse- quences and every other consideration except the money they get out of it. This practice not only places in jeopardy the lives of thousands of children, but also tends toward the abolishment of an advertising medium, which brings munificent returns to the advertisers of the country and gives employment to thousands of men thronsrhout the entire land. The remedy for this evil is found In these traxieSTOien employBng reliable men, who follow this work as a pro- fession paying them the necessary amount, "which in no case is exhorbi tan*,"' to assure a good, honest, reliable service. This would in the end bring better results, and be of more benefit to these advertisers than have been ob- tained through the irregular methods heretofore employed. The past year has been the most encouraging, the most prosperous and the most successful peroid in the his- tory of the development of poster ad- vertising. The advertisers who at the present time firmly believe in the efficacy of bill posting, and are its loyal support- ers, are numbered in the thousands. During the past twelve months hun- dreds of firms have been added to the list of active billboard advertisers, while but few, very few. have been the advocates of this medium who have ceased posting to try other methods. This general tendency of partiality towards bill posting has not been with- out its good effects upon the system, or its benefits to the bill posters. The boards throughout the country have been so crowded that almost every posting plant proprietor has been forced to erect many new boards, while plants have been started in towns heretofore unable to support one. The advertisers (have received ex- cellent returns from their posting, which resulted in the bill poster get- ting plenty of work; consequently enabled him to spend some of his earn- ings in developing and Improving his service. Bright as the past has been, the future appears even more radiant, for with all of the advantages of the past year still before them and no ap- preciable drawbacks, the bill posters of the country should in the ensuing year be able to prove to a host of ad- vertisers that posting Is a sure and ciuick method of seeurlmr trade. A New Associafion. The A. B. P. A. no longer to have a Monopoly. For the last few months there has been whispering throughout the Mil posting world that an association composed of bill posting plants now running in opposition to the As- sociated Bill Posters members (an* maybe others) were to band themselves together for the furtherance of the bill posting Interests. These rumors have spread enormously. Many bill posters who have heard of the movement but who have not been able to get hold of any particulars, have written to "The Bill- board" for information, which until the pres- ent time was impossible for the paper to give, although nothing definite concerning the line of action of the new movement has been found- out by the bill posters in general, enough is known at present by those most In- terested to present the shock of the great surprise from injuring their health—to cause many of them much joy and a number of others considerable anxiety. For some time the promoters of Ihe new organization have been considering the ad- visability of Joining forces, but no definite plan of action bad been mapped out. It seems that they have now come to an understand- ing, and the active work of organizing will begin immediately. The men whose names are associated with this excellent movement are men who are known throughout the entire advertising field by bill posters and 1 advertisers alike, as men of sterling worth, untiring energy, and ab- solute integrity, men whose names alone would insure the success of any undertaking with which they are associated. That there is room for another association can not be doubted. With on4y one associa- tion in the field, a system has developed which is nothing short of blackmail, the vic- tims being the entire membership of the as- sociation, outside of those who run matters and the general advertisers of the country. Ad advertiser may be discriminated against, and the billboard space of the members pro- hibited to Mm. simply because of the personal spite or the individual interest of the Grand Mogul. The interest of the members is never considered for a minute: they receive or- ders not to do this or to do that, and they are afraid to do otherwise, for fear tfcat the solicitors will not send them paper, or that they will cut down the number of sheets which should be sent. Will not an associa- tion which will eradicate these evils be wel- comed with open arms by the bill posters of the country? Will not an association which wHi accord to the advertisers fair and open treatment be endorsed by them? But we are saying too much concerning why there should be another association, when the purpose of this article is merely to announce that there is a new association. That the asso- ciation will have a big field in which to work, can be seen from the fact that opposition plants are now being conducted independently in San Francisco, Kansas CHy, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York, and many other large cities. With all these, or a majority of these as centers, together with the hun- dreds of small towns where there are opposi- tion plants or unaffiliated plants, a service can be offered which would suit any ad- vertiser. Notes From New York. tarn W. Hoke was a "Billboard" caller Christmas week, and although he talked a great deal, the majority of what be said was distinctly understood not to be for publica- tion. We presume, however, that be will not object to the publication of bis statement that business with him never was better, and that future prospects for the Fifth Avenue . Bill Posting Establishment Is very bright. He reports that at the time of his leaving New York, the New York Bill Posting Com- pany's imprint boards had not yet appeared • on the tops of the old Reagan, Clark and Munson billboards, but at the same time these boards seemed to be well filled with . paper. , He gave It as Ms private opelnion that be- fore many moons there would be only one bill posting company In New York Oity, but he would not state whether he believe* It would be "A. Van Buren 4 Co." or "New York Bill Posting Co." Mr. Hoke was loud In Ms praises of Sam Pratt's Suburban BW Posting enterprises, such as the Newark Bill Posting Co., the Elizabeth Bill Posting Co., and all their rami- fications 1n the thirty or forty towns sur- rounding Newark. Hoke Is now placing paper throughout America for the following articles: Jav- , Mar-Mo Coffee. Is and 8 sheets; Henry George Cigars, is, 4s, 8s, and 16s; George W. Child's Cigars, all sizes of paper from Is to 21s; Gloria Cigars, 8-abeets. He has new posters under way for a num- ber of large concerns, among them being the ■ Col. Astor Cigar, for J. L. Hanly. KansaB-r City; the Early Bird Tobacco, for P. H. -, Hanes & Co.. Winston, N.-C, and some others which the advertisers are not yet ready to have announced*. Incidentally. Jam W. paid for Ma adi In "BHlboard." and bad some money left, which to Indict'.te that "Billboard" advertla- .