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448 HARVARD BUSINESS REPORTS
with the establishment of a trailer department. In the first place, animations and similar expensive photographic effects predominated in the most effective silent trailers. In this particular field an independent trailer company operating on a volume basis was in a position to effect large production economies. Secondly, since prior to 1928 Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., controlled only a few theaters, the company's distribution was confined primarily to independent theater operators who, because of producers' competition for their business, were in an exceptionally strong bargaining position. Previous experience with this situation had taught producers to refrain from engaging in the sale of accessory articles, such as trailers, wThich exhibitors might seek to acquire without charge. Finally, since flat rental price policies were the customary practice in the industry, it was not incumbent upon the producer-distributor to provide a form of advertising, the benefits of which accrued directly to the exhibitor.
During 1927 and 1928, when the motion picture industry developed rapidly, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., rose from a comparatively minor position to one of preeminent importance. As one of the results of the numerous changes that had taken place, the company was convinced that the relegation of its trailer service to an outside company was not in keeping with sound business practice. It decided, therefore, to establish a company trailer service for Warner pictures. Three factors, all closely interrelated, were particularly important in causing this decision. These were: the advent of sound, the company's acquisition of a number of theaters, and the general adoption of percentage pricing in the industry.
The introduction of sound motion pictures necessitated numerous changes in the fundamental character of trailers. Whereas formerly the most effective products consisted of series of climactic scenes, usually interspersed with an equal or even greater number of caricatures, animations, and titles, the synchronized trailers, in a large measure, emphasized dialogue and music. Furthermore, the use of a trailer skit participated in by members of the cast appearing in the respective feature pictures was believed to provide, in many cases, a more effective advertising medium than a trailer comprised only of a group of scenes taken from that picture.
Trailer companies, for several reasons, were not equipped to produce this type of dialogue skit. The inaccessibility of the mem