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CALIFILM CORPORATION 433
with insertions of portions of the annual announcements dealing with pictures which it was desired to advertise particularly.
Distributors had come to an agreement among themselves not to insert any annual announcements in the trade papers prior to May i each year. All distributors, therefore, attempted to arrange with the trade papers for an insertion as soon as possible after May i. As a rule, each of the leading distributors arranged with the trade papers that its announcement be the only one carried in that issue in which its announcement was published.
In 1928 the Califilm Corporation arranged with Motion Picture News and Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World for the insertion of its complete announcements in the issues of May 5th. It also inserted portions of the annual announcement in subsequent issues of trade papers. In 1928-1929, the company paid to the two magazines in which it inserted its complete announcement a total of $13,500 for the space used.
Among the folders, special announcements, and other miscellaneous advertisements sent to exhibitors, one of distinctive importance was the Exhibitors Date Book which was given each year to all exhibitors buying the company's pictures and to any others requesting it. About 15,000 copies were prepared each year at a cost of about $1,200. The date book was carefully prepared to meet the needs of the exhibitors so that they would use it throughout the year. It was made up in the form of a pocket size account book neatly bound in imitation leather, with the company's trade-mark on the front. Most of the book was devoted to a diary in which the exhibitor might write the names of the pictures he had booked for the different days in the year. This section provided space for the name of the company from which the exhibitor bought the picture, a statement of the special conditions under which he bought, the date on which the film was to be returned, and other information. Another section of the book provided a simple accounting system which enabled the exhibitor to keep a record of his receipts and expenses.
Commentary: The use of trade advertising as providing a general preliminary announcement of the offerings of a distributor is of great value. Exhibitors come to look for such announcements and doubtless read them with great care. The exhibitor is interested, furthermore, in facts relative to cast, story, director, and the general reputation of the producer. It may be doubted, however, whether the name