Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1929)

November 2, 1929 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 51 Ink That Puts a Kick in Theatre Newspaper Ads 3 I r*" ,w sfco* (M.K1NG Engravers ink was used in this layout which appeared in the paper 3 columns wide and 9 inches deep. increasing seriousness of the theatre situation. As a result of these5 developments and expansions, the theatre operator of today is faced with the problem of having to actually sell the public what he has to offer, the same as a clothing merchant, an automobile firm or a hardware store. With the number of places where the public can spend its money increased ten-fold, those days are gone forever, when the theatre operator merely announced his attraction, cocked his feet upon his desk and waited for an assistant to bring in the hourly box office report. Must Merchandise Theatre "The successful operator of today must merchandise his theatre as well as his attractions. Or more strictly speaking, the key to successful operation today is a complete aboutface from the old conception of, the function of a place of amusement. Finding out what can be sold patrons, not what can be crammed down their throats ; gaining a thorough understanding of what patrons prefer; these are the things that help fill the paths to the box office. And this means daily study and contact. In this fast moving age preferences change rapidly. The public may accept murder today and want 'legs' tomorrow. Those who know merchandising know this. "One of the principal faults with theatre operators is that they do not attempt to find out the potential factors in their theatre, beyond the attractions played, that can be merchandised. And there are many. Make a survey of the situation. Begin at the canopy; go into the box office, through the foyer, into the auditorium and back on the stage. Then go into the office and draw a sketch of the entire layout, together with every function of every employee throughout the hours that the theatre is open. Do this for seven days. I wager there are many things that will furnish a merchandising idea. If none are found the operator had better make some changes. Put a Kick in the Copy "And now we come to the subject of advertising. This subject is so closely allied to merchandising that it immediately becomes a part of it. To merchandise properly one must advertise properly. There are many mediums through which a theatre may advertise but I shall confine my remarks to newspapers since I have spent 16 years in that business, during which time I also have been affiliated with theatre operation. Theatre advertising in many newspapers during the last few years has become an art and great strides have been made, particularly in the larger cities. Particularly good is the advertising of Publix, B&K and Marks Brothers in Chicago. But the average theatre operator pays too little attention to his advertising copy. A lot of it is unintelligent. A man with all his dollars, and those of others, invested in a theatre wouldn't think of wearing overalls to get up hefore a crowd of 50,000, 100,000 or 500,000 people to tell them about that theatre. Yet that is exactly what he does when he fails to 'dress up' the ad that goes out to the subscribers of the newspapers. "It is obvious that a large number of theatre operators do not consider fairly the intelligence of the vast army of newspaper readers to which his message is addressed. Too little time is spent in preparing advertising copy. Engravers ink was used in this layout which appeared in the paper 3 columns wide and 21 inches deep. Not enough thought goes into a large portion of them. An interesting advertisement is as interesting to prepare as it is to read. It's hard to get a kick out of anything that hasn't a kick in it. Read over your copy. It should interest you. A great advertising man once said 'before I release a piece Oif copy it must be able (Continued on next page)