Building theatre patronage : management and merchandising (1927)

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The Development of Theatre Advertising 17 advertising message carried into the homes of motion picture patrons. Lithographs. The true-to-film one sheet was originated by the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1909. Then producers supplied one style of one sheet for each one reel release. In 1912, the first press sheet was prepared. This was for "Quo Vadis" and consisted of about twenty pages, prepared like the present day press sheet in text, but lacking illustrative material and not carrying exploitation suggestions. This press sheet was prepared and sold for five dollars a copy by private interests and not by the distributor. It reached a very high sale and emphasized how badly the exhibitors needed advertising assistance. Newspapers. Prior to 1916, newspaper advertising was very meagre. Cuts were not supplied by producers, and the exhibitors could not afford staff artists, so that the exhibitor who could afford newspaper advertising usually placed no more than four inches. The throwaway program was then a better investment. These took various shapes and styles, from the vest pocket card to the four page daily newspaper, carrying local advertising to defray the cost Then came a gradual improvement in theatre fronts. Simple marquees were built. Display frames replaced the old wooden boards. Stock paper was displayed reading "Always a good show" and "20 degrees cooler inside." Home-made decorations and displays were attempted. But the lobby was still cluttered up with stands and machines; and was usually a striking example of how not to advertise. When two reelers were succeeded by five reelers, advertising advanced accordingly. Longer subjects offered betterdeveloped stories and provided the exhibitor with something that he could really play up in advertising. It was no longer a case of being forced to announce "Moving Pictures tonight" or "pictures that move." The filming of well-known books and plays made it possible to announce well-known subjects.