Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

IHE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 281 I opera that ran long beyond its indicated season just because of the rivalry. That was twenty-frve or thirty years ago, but it still holds good. Spend money to advertise yourself; not to advertise the other fellow. That ^Qod only for the newspapers and the job printer. In Greeting. The Empress Theater, Gordon, Neb., sends in a Christmas greeting, and Manager Poggenpohl explains: I inclose sample of advertising for the holiday week. Understand, please, there is only a weekly publication here, for newspaper ad. Usual way this is handled is dodgers; but during the holiday when a good many students are home and unusually large crowds are expected, I handle it direct through mail. This greeting and program was mailed on 24th, so was received by 25th. In your criticism kindly remember that this editor is sorely in need of new type. ^ The printing is in green and red on gray, and while the type is a bit battered, it might be a lot worse. The front of the cover carries this verse: Good friend of ours, for thee we pray All goodly things this Christmas Day. All goodly things thy life to bless. In these two words — *'Just Happiness." • — Empress Theater. Inside are the announcements of programs from Christmas Day to the following Tuesday, which includes "Oliver Twist" for Christmas night, with a special and different program in the afternoon, "From the Manger to the Cross," and "The Price of Human Lives." There is considerable effect in the printing; too much ink on the forms, but the type display is restrained and effective because of that restraint, a red two-point border and two ornaments being the only supplements to the cut-off dashes. It doesn't look like one of those cheap jobs where the compositor dumps in everything the office has purchased since it opened, and because of the simplicity it will impress even those who do not know why they are impressed. It is a mistake to load a job down with ornaments. Something, now and then, is needed to break white spaces or mark a break in the copy, but when the ornamentation overlays the type, the job ceases to be effective. Looking Back. Now and then it pays to remind the patrons that previous tips have been well placed. We take this from the Gem Bulletin, Pittsburgh: "Victory" proved all we claimed for it. don't you think so? The crowds that saw this wonderful war drama last Wednesday and Thursday evidently were pleased, to judge by the hearty applause at times. Of course your readers know when you have told them truly, but remind them now and then that you have spoken straightly and the new announcements will receive the greater credit. Helping the Paper Help You. Tames B. Bowker has been working in with the paper, with the usual result. How own letter tells the scheme very completely: The local newspaper here, the Star, and myself today completed a publicity stunt that might interest your readers. The advertising manager of the West Chester Star, LeRoy H. Snyder, approached me about a week ago and offered to exchange extra space for the free use of the theater on Friday afternoon after Christmas. The Star for the past few days has printed a coupon in its columns which was redeemed at their office for a free admission ticket. The first day the coupon appeared, hundreds of tickets were given out and on the two succeeding days hundreds more were disposed of. I used the screen in giving further publicity to the affair and the outcome of the affair was a tremendous crowd this afternoon. Before the doors opened the crowd was so large that I had a local photographer take a picture of the crowd. I gained a number of new friends and a tremendous amount of publicity, as many had never before been inside of the theater. I will endeavor the next time to make arrangements of a similar nature, as nothing in a publicity way has seemed to attract so much attention as this stunt. If you wish, you can publish an account of this, as some other manager may want to try it out. This is something we have advocated more than once. Dean R. Daynes, of the Mission Theater, Salt Lake City (is he still in the business?) used to work in with the papers constantly, and his advertising bills were as small as his space was large and everyone was pleased. Work in with the papers wherever you can. If they are getting up a subscription for some popular cause, give them ten dollars and set aside some matinee or offer them matinee tickets to be used as rewards. Suggest the use of matinee tickets as prizes for their want ad business, one scheme being a prize to every person who discovers enough misspelled words in the want ad= to spell the name of the theater or the paper. Unless you play to packed business at the matinees you cannot put the empty seats to better use and you'll get all sorts of good advertising. Just So. "He knows his business, but I know mine." is the way Elmer H. Greenberg, of the Gem, Philadelphia, explains how he gets the best results from his printer. His letter runs: I am inclosing you a copy of the first program. that I ever issued for my house, trusting that you will find space to give it a criticism. My formula for managing a photoplay theater since I undertook to make the Gem pay my way through an engineering course at the University of Pennsylvania has been: "First procure a good show and then let the people know about it." I dog my printer, who is also my neighbor, into giving me just what I want. He knows his business, but I know mine, also, and with my knowledge of type values, we generally succeed in our effort to impress the people. By the way, what do you think of a cheap device by means of which slides may be written while they are being projected on the screen? Answering the latter paragraph first, we hardly think that the demand for such a slide device would repay the cost of putting it on the market. There are several reasonably priced devices of this sort, but few are used, though clearly a slide in process of being written will attract more attention and make a more lasting impression than one merely flashed, but there is no utilization made of the current devices in this direction, so why add another? The program is merely a four-page leaflet, four by seven. It is capitally set and while the size prevents very great display, the matter is so attractively set forth that style replaces black type. One violation of make-up rules is the use of a heavier dash under the date than that used to cut off the divisions of the program, a two-point solid rule being used under the date and a double line two-point between days. This has the effect of cutting off the date from the program it applies to. It is a very minor fault, but about the only point for criticism. Other than that we can offer small comment. This is not an ambitious program, but it is a clean and effective piece of printing, as any printing is bound to be where the manager does not have to rely on the printer for his typographical knowledge. Reverse English. J. E. Tierney, of Sioux City, uses a set of Jesse James heralds to advertise the "Panama Canal" feature at his Scenic Theater. At first glance it would seem that the house was about to revert to the atrocious outlaw stuff, but the red ink at the bottom of the page, just below a cut showing a Mexican about to fix the late Mr. James up for the coroner announces: This Picture will NOT be shown at the SCENIC THEATER But will you encourage the production and showing of such subjects as the PANAMA CANAL SERVICE ? At first glance it may seem to be a far cry from the James film to the Panama Canal, but it works well — once. Most persons who would be attracted by the canal stuff are of the sort that will resent the James pictures and the use of the James advertising will rivet their attention more quickly than would the Panama announcement. Then, when the "sell" becomes apparent, the fact of the educational sinks in. The canal stuff, it would seem, is a weekly change of slides. We do not like the weekly feature. The change should be more frequent, but otherwise the scheme seems to be all right. Bully I Now and then some manager pleads that he must use vaudeville "because the others do,** which is no excuse whatever. The better way is that of the Grand Theater, Rochester, N. Y. In their newspaper advertising they use a cut head, white letters on black that reads: The Grand High Class Photoplays Uninterrupted by imitation vaudeville You don't hare to use vaudeville because the other man does if you have the right sort of house and know how to run it. If the other man uses thirty or forty dollars' worth of vaudeville, argue that there must be intelligent persons who do not care for that sort of vaudeville and cater to them instead of trying to split the vaudeville drag with the other fellow. This would be a most unhappy world if all the shops were shoe stores, or butcher shops or bakeries instead of the mixed trades. If you went into a small town and found two meat markets and no bakery, would you try a third meat market or would you try a bakery, provided you knew both businesses? It's the same way in amusements. If you cater to the same crowd the other man has, you'll merely share his business instead of tapping a fresh field. We certainly would admire to shake hands with the manager of the Grand. Close to the Limit. How would you regard eleven reels of pictures, and five vaudeville acts — with some pure food distributions on the side — for five cents? Two reels of pictures and one vaudeville act for each penny of your nickel 1 ! ! Pretty close to the limit, isn't it? That's what is doing at the American Theater, New Orleans. One evening the bill included "The Last Days of Pompeii" and two two reel features and another night the five reels of "Satan." Satan should feel at home around there. Another Krause Card Building up on the sheet of thirty hand-colored gelatine-photo cards of licensed players, the Kraus Company has started a new series with similar cards of Mary Fuller and Crane Wilbur, the Fuller card carrying a large central portrait in Miss Fuller's favorite pose and nine smaller character poses. They cost but little and look a lot more than they cost. Other favorites will follow in rapid order. A Feature List. Tuttle and Hauck, of the Posti'ille Theater, Postville, Iowa, have not yet grown up to the weekly program, but they send a very neat vest pocket folder from an old but good idea. It is on brown card done in black and carries the title "How we lost a patron.'* The inside of the folder explains that he died, which has been given here before. The back page lists the features for December, giving only the multiple reel stuff. Where a weekly program is out of the question this is the next best, and the card is so neatly done that we hope that they will presently grow up to a weekly. He Didn't Die. Melvin G. Winstock. of the People's Amusement Company, Portland. Ore., didn't die. like the patron above, but he seems to have some foolish idea that we have lost our interest in advertising and it is only about every six months that he shoots in a stingy little press clipping. 'This time the clip relates to the opening of a new house. We would be interested in hearing and seeing how he advertised the new house. That would interest us more than the press clipping. We wonder will he take the hint!