Billboard advertising (Feb 1900)

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tHE jilLLBOAi(&. Outdoor Publicity. By JAS. A. CURRAX- Tbe men who conducts a business on. the reory that it does not pay, and who can not [ford to advertise in some recognized legit- ^te method, sets up his judgmcnit in oppo- tion to that of the best burfness sense of le world. In reference to outdoor advertisins. a few the principal features are. tlia* ttoe mer- mmt can nmite Ikis advertislnit Indrl-sidual: lat is to say, be can get out postere ««at no iher in his line can use. he can dictate In !lja« pert of Ma town or city he wants posters lit, and he can thereby appeal to certain asses of consumers. Take, for instance, the icperiecce of condoetin« a small business on jfew thousan* dollars' capital. He can order i few posters put upi In aaA around Ms ^ace ; business, then he can fo««w tWs up with ' few thousand circulars and give them a iont-dcor. bouse-to-houae distribution, and if so doing can rcedi all the people in his Sighborhood. He will not have to spend seless dollars to reach distant country or ■ber parts, where It would be impossible to raiw custom to his establishment.. Then, on le other hand, the large manufacturer, who _i thousands of dtdlars to El>en«, can pursue U same course, only on a larger baste. He in place before fie public the articles that '» manufactures, advertising the price they 'ill for, and the merchants that sell them. ;Take, for instance, the well-known article, Uneeda" biscuit. wMch has been so largely ivertlsed. and think of tbe enormous trade lined by posting and outdoor adverarfng. I argue that, for tbe money it costs, we can »acb more actual readers every day by the [ister, wall, or buUetin slgnB. than by any Iher known meihod. Outdoor advertising >adies all classes. The merchant who gets lit a, few hundred posters, and has them bsted In his city and on the country roads kdine into tlie town where be is doing Jislness. will reacb at the lowest estimate It per cent of ^ tbe residents in and around |e city.^1 of whom will be bound to see and ^ce tbe posters, if they are properly put up. [There is only one fatflt with tbe poster, and kat Is, too many merchants or mamifac- firers put too much reading matter on it, and iiis same argument applies to other adver- Ising natter. The main point to convey to |je consumer is that you have tbe best goods it the lowest prices. Some merchants or mamiCacturers wbo at- nnpt to do outdoor adifertlelns to iiot foUow up earefuliy or properiy. They make a IjntTact for thirty or sixty days, thinking |iat will dv> for a whole year, but there Is cthing forgotten so easily as an advertised rlide or name. Many merchants who ad- ertise are thiowlng th«r money away or oaaitiae It to tbe advertising man by not :%Ua«iDg up the advertising properly. Now. '' they would make a croitraic* are same as do with the new^pers, that is, so much Sgiace every month, they would find ttnat in frfiort time their returns would be ten-fold ' ^water, and at less expense. SThe system of outdoor advertising is now ;|> complete that a mercbanit or manufacturer *-B give hia posters to a weU-reguIated bill sting establi^Hnent and have a complete ^mlzed list of each an* every location band- in to Mm, so that he can check tbem up iSaie same as he would a bill of goods re- volved into his establishment. There is also r Mnotlrer improvement. When a mercba-nt Is : MdvertisiDg- goods at a certain price and he ~ ^ants to alter the price that Is pa the boards, ISe can do so every twenty-four hours on ev- tary poster Umt be.bas up in the city. Outdoor advertising fs sHll In Its infancy. f'Mut it keeps abrOTst vritlr the times. It is L^MUB t l m es difficult to comtnce an old news- ;£tper advertiser who has a system of Ms own P» try oudoor di^ays, but once fairly ] ^trougbt into line a good trial of this method \^ nsu^ny convliKlns; and lie Keeps it BP, T argue that the greatest advances in ad- vertising of late -years have been made with posters and bulletin boards, as there is no other method where the true colors :^of arti- cles can- be given except by the poster, bul- letin, or waU sign. To illustrate the force of outdoor advertis- ing mcnre fully, take any city or town where none of the inhabitants know of the show that is to appear in the place n'sxt week. The bill boards are posted, and inside of three days at tbe farthest tbe wbole population knows what tbe coming attraction Is to be at the .iqiera -bouse or other place of. amuse- ment.—Profitable Advertising. New Dramatic Paper. The Western Stage, published by the West- ern Stage PuUisbing CO., Chicago, is a new comer in the theatrical field. It is a weekly and the first number of the first volume, which has reached our desk, is Oiled with newsy news and interesting lea^ng. The pa- per fills a long-felt want in the Middle West. Duty Removed. Printers and advertisers in general have heretofore been greatly vexed because of a revenue law which placed a heavy duty upon all advmislnjs matter wMcb entered the Isl- and of Cuba. This order has now been re- EciDded. and ai^ and all kinds of advertising matter, providing it is not for sale or barter, now passes In wiUiout duty. That this means mucb to all general advertisers is self-evident. Tht-y can now send dodgers, signs, etc^ to Cuba the eame as they -would send th'em to Texas or any other of our States, And ad- vertisers -will undoubtedly , avail tbemselves of the privilege. A new field is opened to themi—a field practically untouched by ad- vertisers of American products and manu- fSictures. Because of the recent strife and turmoil which existed in the island, things are as yet unsettled, and the people are poor. Therefore, aiticles wMcta axe not considered among tiie necessities of life woiild be hard to advertise successfully, but the more staple articlea -will find the Island, and particularly Havana, an excellent fieldv At ptEsent flrere are few bill posting plants, as we know tbem. tn Cuba, but vrlth the West Icdiies Advertising and Bill Posting Co. at ^^avana as an example and with tbe Amer- ican paper starting to go in. we can expect to soon see regulation plants tbronghout tbe island. NOTES. Porto Rico and the Pbilinpines are now bGtb Included' In tbe domestic postal rates— since thejr are botb a part of the TTnlted StaMs—Cuba, alhongb' now reached by dames- tic-poetage rates, should be considered as a sepuate member of the United States since Uncle Sam Is only exercising a guardianship over tbe Island. Haweli is now the only one of our possessions wbich is not hnduded In these rates. And they are out only because of a cdause in tbe annexation treaty, wMdi pro- -vides that the Hawaiian lavrs should remain valid until Congress decreed otherwise. "A Brave Coward" is tbe title of a thrill- ing story of caimpaigning in the Philippines, published by the advertiEing department of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. It Is a in<jet pleading little story, bringing in ro- mance as well as adventure, 'nie track is illustrated with half-tone inrts. Altogether, the work is a very creditable one. But the most remarkable feature of the book is the exceedingly small amount of advertising for the road which appears. ■We are in receipt of a novel circular from the Smith-Premier Typewriter Company, which is cut in the shape of one of their ma- chlneei Their catch phrase. "Improvement the Order of the Age," is given, followed by an account of the latest Improvements on their typewritere. Cocktail Olives, Royal Hieadacbe Tablets, <9arke Carriage Heater, and Dent's Tootta- aebe Gnm are among the products for which vigorous advertising campaigns are being planned. Proportion must exist between the size of the ad^ and the size of the business. A large busioesB with' a small ad. seems as ridiculous to tbe public 8B a small bUElness wllb a big Stwne business men think that to ad-vertise on the Iwards property they must do like the circus companies do—use big bills. This is r.ot necessary for an advertiser who is con- stantly bringing his goods before the people. All he needs is a reminder. Of wurse the more forcible tbe reminder the better, but a small sboiring will do the work. The stout little boy wbo swings bottles of Johann Holt's Malt fixtract is stUI in evi- dence on the boards. Sccurene, the rtval of Sapollo, uses posters and street cars In seeking publicity. IIungerfcTd' & Darrell Adveitlsing Agency, of Washington and Baltimore, send to adver- tlt#isr a unique little booklet eirtitled "In Quest of Cold." It tells that good advertis- ing means success and that they know how to advertise. The supplementary catalogue of room mold- ing made by the A. F. Kern Company of Chicago has -reached us. Tbe cover Is at- tractive and the Inside Is fined with cuts of moWings and prices. This house carries an immense line or frames, moldings, etc. Eight-Pheet posters are used to pusta the famous Mt. "Vernon liye. Advertisements which have been most se- verely condemned by the experts often bring the best returns. •Aunt Jemima and Uncle Jerry are still on the beards. If It were not for the fact tliat bey are different In color, we mlgbt tbink that some relation existed between' tbem. 'Bulletins are coming into great favor with the big general advertisers. .Mthough they are more expensive ttiau posters, by their use the business of checking up, etc., is greatly simplified. Blue label Soup and Campbell's condensed soups both put out good advertising. It is a case of have to, for they are rtvals. Ainong all the calendars and note-books that have reached our desk, the memory pad. "Make a Note of It." sent by the Gunning Svstem, was by far the most complete. Like ail of Gunning's souvenirs and business- bringers, it is worth bavins. The policy fol- lowed by Mr. Gunning in pushing his own busincES, as well as the business of others, has always been a Hberal one. . How well it bos succ^ded we all know. •AM the talking in tbe 'world vrlll not con- vince a hard-headed business man that poster ad'verUsing pays. He must try it to be fully convinced. When he has once tried that me- dium all the talking in the world can not make him believe that it is not profitable. 'Allsopp's Ale uses eigbt-sheets to reach tbe people. The Stockton (Cal.) Mail has done some good work on the booklet sent out to adver- tise tbe counties of San Joaquin and Tuolum- ne. The paper is good, the printing is clear, the iialt-tones are pretty, and the matter in- teresting and full of information concerning that section of the country. Dr. J. B. Lynas & Son, of Lioganeport. Ind., a're sending out quarter-sheet snipes, adver- tising flavoring extracts, toilet soaps, oint- ment and perfumes. The Architect and Builder's Magazine, pub- lisiHd in Baltimore, uses each month the back page of their paper to advertise their own space. Tlie Buffalo Commercial says: "The late Gvangeiist Mocdy was a firm believer in ad- vertising. He usied to say: 'I don't believe aj»y man needs preach to empty pews if he will only use a little common sense—adver- tise". Put a notice in the papers, stick out a sign: put out a bil of fare; no churoh can succeed with only undertakers' signs on it Don't be afraid; shock somebody. No mat- ter, we've got to be shocked. Somebody says it isn't dignified. My friends. let dignity go to the windB- That isn't one of he fruits Of tbe SpiriL I notice these reporters don't stop for dignity. When they want anything out of me, they don't hesitate to follow me Tight into my bedroom. Use the same en- terprise in run'ning your meetings that tbe papers do in cbeir business.' " Use not all kinds of advertising, but only those which pay you. r>r. F. S. Person's, 12 Court square, Mont- gcmery. Ala,, will sivortly advertise "Per- sons' Purgative" with posters. At the begin- ning be will use an eight-sbe«t a'nd a one- sheeti He propa-es to deal direct with bill posters, and invites correspondence. Tlie Beacb-KIngeley Co.. Binghamton. N. T., proprietors of the Red Root Remedies, are going into posters htavily during the coming spring. They want to bear from bill pasters, with a view cf con*|rieting their lists now. Address Prank H. Beach, secretary. ■Haydock & Co., Box 731. New York, want to bear from bill posters. Tbey are using a one-Ebeet: The following is an extract from' a paper read by EMwaid Bmnch Lyman, upon tbe old- time advertising methods found In the Con- necticut Valley newspapers In the early times of the present century: - 'The advertising columns were not :without their humor. Here are some quotations: 'Drilling, ticking, crash, flannels, lots of syr- up, sugar, and moISESos r«m>ing up by extra freight this afternoon- It sweetens up "Hy- pocracy" so much tn have us deal in sugar and 'laeees that we heave decided to enlarge inilD tbe domestirs.' " 'Tliramy's Ferry. Nortblleld. T hove this day put my large boat into tbe Big Connect- tctit. I am stationed at Tiffany's Peny, at the lower end of Xortbfleid street. The road 30 it Is now t'raveled Is 94 rods nearer my way tiian it is to turn at Billing's guideboard. I can crosB tbe river as quick as the horse- boat, and assure my cuBlnmers that they won't be "horsed" 94 rods out of their way, as tbey have the year passed,' " '(%urch Roere! William Brown's Inex- tltiustlble. Double Fertumed Pungent and Smeiilng Botbie, exten«4veiy Uked la i^V«Vehl drowsiness and remove headache,' " A. Hamberger & Sons, Los Angelea, Cat., have oidered 10,000 twenty-staeet posters for general distribution. Tbeir contra<ct. calls for delivery by Aipill I. Tbey will deal direct, and bill posters should address the advertis- ing ntanager, O. K. Fairhead, 12T N. Spring street, Los Angeles, Cal. As means of an advertisement, the Wash- ington livening Star sends out a fac eimile of a £tatien(ent showing the figures for the circulation of each day during the year 18HI», She sheet is signed by tbe treasurer and sworn to before a notary public. It Is a •■on- vinclng means cf telling the circulation. The Aetna Is the name of a little paper got- ten out by the .^.exna Life Insurance Com- pany. It is a lioust> organ, and'makes no at- tempt to disguise it. but pays Its iMstiiee like a man. Wte have revelved another ofl'er from Pete Dougun to exchange advertising in the News- - paper lJire<'tory for advertisement of Ripans' Tabules. Pete has lots of perseverance—• tkat,'e true, and- you can't get around it. The Carlstedt Medicine Company, of Bvans- ville, Ind., has ordered another eight-sheet and another one-sheet to advertise Yucatan. This makes three eight-sheets and three one- sheets that this enterprising concern is using. They assert that the use of posters increases their sales over t>5 per cent in all territory that tbey bave covered to date. ■An Eastern man is trying in the South to work up a sclieme to exhibit the products from the various States by means of an ex- hibition train. His plan is to hnsve the cars fitted out at tbe expense either of pri\-ate par-: ties or by tbe State Government, and turned over to him. He will take them tbrougb the country and exhibit tbem, charging an ad- mission of t\. This sctieme be will work In conjunction with a cattle fair based on a sim- ilar plan. We learn from an exchange that the mer- chants of Bloomington, Ind.. have been beau- tifully worked by a man who gave his name as Hill. He represented himself to be tbe adTOnce agent of a repertoire company with new methcds of getting patronage. He se- cured a date for one week with the managers of the Coliseum. He visits the merchants with an advertising scheme. One of liie feat, ures of he show each' nigivt would lie views by a picture madrine and stereopticons. Be- tween the pictures he would show cards, ad- vertising business houses. He asked fl.50 fiom each merchant who took up with the Idea, and he gave in addition a ticket good for one night. In this way he collected a gcod^sized sum of money. Tbe bubble burst l>efore time by the arrival of the news that the company he pretended to represent had no sucb person on the road. & B. Rice's "Little R«d Riding Hood" company has been advertised this season by the girls of the company wearing on the street a red bood and a cape. Tbe girls cre- ated quite a sensation wherever they went and seemed to enloy it. Tbsy protested, bow- ever, wben tbey reached New York, and de- clared' tbey would not wear tbeir fireman coctumee. The result Is diat Rice is getting mere advertising out of tbe difflculty than he would bave received bad the gMs trot gone on a strike. The following little Jingle has been going the rounds, credited to Exchange. It con- tains a woild of common setree and good ad- vice: "If you toot your little tooter and then lay aside your horn, there's not a soul in ten days will know that you were bom. The man who gathers pumpkins is the man who plows all day, and tbe man who keeps humping is the man* who makes it pay. Tbe man who ad- vertises with a short and sudden Jerk, is the man who blames the primer becaiKe it didn't work. The gewt who gets tbe business hos a long and steady pull, and keeps the local paper for years and years quite full. He plans his adverUsoments in a thoughtful, honest way. and ke^vps forever at it until lie makes it pay. He has fuH faith' in all the future and can wilbstand a sudden shock, and like the Man of Scripture, has his busi- ness on a rock." The Bronx Soap and Perfumery Company of New York City will probably be a heavy ad-vertlser before many moons. Wells & Richardson's newspaper advertis- ing is now placed by Mr. Prank Stevens, of Boston. Lease, of Cincinnati, is advertising bis chocolates by various mediums. He is using the boards to some extent. As people turn and look twice at a man who Is well dressed, so pcoffle turn and look twice at a good ad. ■Pettijobn's Breakfast Pood la being very extensively advertised upon the. boards. To post twrlve-sbeet potters prolmbly costs ten times as mucb as to port a one-sheet poster, but the twelve-sheet will bring fifty times the amount of returns. The Novelty Advertising Company Is the name of a new company of Coshocton. O. It wa» incorporated «t Dover, Del., and has a capiial stock of 1126.000. Hummel & Vogt, big cigar makers of Louis- ville. Ky., arc going on the boards. Russell & Morgan get the printing, lam W. Hoke will send out the imper. Hummel & Vogt declare that they were perstiadcd to try poKt- ers solely by reading "Tbe Hillboard." for which they subscribed some two years since. A most valuable little gift Is being sent out by Uiie panenKer department of the U, P. as an adivortisemcnt. It Is a book of about twenty pages, called "Indoor Sports." and gives the rules of many games and Indoor amuscmetfts. R. P. Morris & Son Manufacturing Co.. of Durham, N. C, have ordered 20.000 one- sheets atrd l.ROO eight-sheets, advertising tlieir Justly-famed Key West Uberootih Mill post- ers should addres* tbe secretary, Mr. 8. F.