Publix Opinion (May 16, 1930)

ORGANIZATION FIRST, THEN INSPIRATION, GOOD AD PROCESS Complete organization first, and then inspiration, is the proper procedure in all good advertising, A. M. Botsford told Boston meeting in a brief general talk on the advertising de partment. Mr. Botsford’s speech follows: Inasmuch as I am the next. speaker, I find myself in a sort of tough spot, I want to speak generally about the advertising department, to close this morning’s session, and this afternoon I will ask Mr. Stewart to speak more _ specifically about certain of our problems. In talking about advertising it is very difficult to generalize. Advertising is a specific problem in a specific spot, and general statements very rarely go. However, there are some general remarks about the department that some of the newer men may not be familiar with. When you are dealing with 1,561—I believe that is the correct figure; Mr. T. Cc. Young gave me that figure last night and I think he is the man who knows—1,561 theatres, you must realize that an advertising department in New York must be a well oiled machine, and it cannot function in any other way. It is a huge advertising agency manufacturing aids that go out into the field. Many of these aids are general, many of them are specific. The specific problems are, of course, the great problems, the ones that take the most brain work and the most time and the most effort. In making this advertising department up in New York we have followed the procedure set forth by the director of management and have tied ourselves in with the divisional management. Most of you know this set-up, but I will just repeat it hurriedly. The divisional director has a co-operating advertising assistant along with him, known as the divisional advertising man, in addition to his divisional booker. There must be two divisional advertising men for New England, and they are Earl Long and Richard Dorman. After these division advertising men are the district. advertising men, of whom there are twelve in the New England Division. 2 Organized Ad Men I do not put myself out of the q category of the class that runs the danger of being those men who are called the over night geniuses, That is the thing I want to talk on a little more specifically. What I mean to convey is this, that when Mr. Katz speaks of organizing yourself for your particular problem, the hardest part of doing that organizing is along advertising lines. Inspirations for campaigns come in advertising out of the air, and the advertising man who does not organize himself is the man who runs the danger of out by trying to pick up an inspiration for a campaign without sitting down first and getting down all the things he wants to do in black and white for that campaign, all the help from the manual and from the press sheets and from previous experience and everything that has been told him—if he does not do that, he is going to be one of the geniuses that wash out over night. That applies to the theatre manager who does his own advertising, to the advertising man in, your district, to the advertising man in your division, and to Mr. Stewart and myself. The functions of the department are too detailed to go into here, but I think I will ask Mr. Stewart to take up a few of them after lunch. Some of them are connected with advertising records. We would like to be able to tell you, but it would take quite a while, why we have advertising records, what they are, and what the necessity for them is, how they should be filled out, and what the necessity is for getting them in on time; why we want tear sheets, what good they are, an how we compile the budget. Budgets are getting little attention, nobody pays a great deal of attention to advertising budgets, but they are made up very carefully. | Watch Percentages | In addition to the budgets, one of the functions of the advertising department is to watch percentages which gives a visual appreciation of what is wrong in the advertising expenditure of theatres. If we have a theatre which is spending 12 or 15 per cent of the gross for advertising, we want to know what is wrong. We go to: the tear sheets and see advertising on Monday for pictures opening on Sunday, bigger than on Sunday, with half-page ads when they are not necessary, and all kinds of loose expenditures in advertising. I am speaking very hurriedly, but these are some of the functions of the advertising department in New York, and it is a large job when you think of 1,500 theatres, with all these different with half-page ads when they are organized so that they have their work mapped out day by day, hour by hour, and they know what they are to do Monday morning. They look at a picture every day, sometimes two a day and sometimes three, and they know what they are going to do Tuesday morning. They know when the booking let {ters are going out, and they take the experience on the features and put them in the booking letters what has been done on campaigns and what should be avoided. being that genius, that over night These are some of the direct bene genius, that we are not so fond of. The advertising man—and it applies to managers who are doing their own advertising too —must start off and organize himself for his problem in advertising. He must arrange his program of advertising and his ' thoughts on advertising, and it must be down in black and white. He must know his picture, what he has got from the home office to help, and he must know what he is going to do for the particular campaign. The fundamental principles of the manager’s function are newspaper advertising, his lobby and the trailers. Twentyfive per cent of his work should be concentrated in those three things. When he has that all organized and down in black and white and set down orderly and he knows what he is going to do, then these inspirations that come out of the thin air can be added, but if he starts fits from New York to the theatre managers and the advertising men. All of these are general statements about the organization of the department, and it will include the organization of a circuit art department to be handled by Mr. Edwards and Mr. Wellington. This department will function for the entire circuit. Mr. Wellington is beginning the preparation of an art manual which will be published probably every two weeks and this manual will contain art suggestions, actual pictorial suggestions of coming pictures, suggestions that can apply to coming pictures and can be clipped out and filed for other pictures to come, full of general information on parts and of great service to the artists. That is, our manuals will go to the artists in the theatres, not directly to the manager, but to the artists, and his manual is designed to help the artists in the theatres. The manager of course and send them to you and show PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF MAY 1o6ru, 1930 TRADE-MARK! What the new Paramount Publix sig cuts will look like! The reproductions below show the white on black form and the black on white. It is expected that these will replace all former Publix sig cuts, and mats in various sizes are now being prepared. Later new decalcomania signs will be made Trade for box-office windows. mark is now being registered. AD DEPT. WORK EXPLAINED BY STEWART A talk covering in detail the functioning of the advertising department was delivered by Lem Stewart at the Boston meeting of ee New England Division on May ithe The difficulties confronting the department when new houses are taken over was stressed, and the co-operation of the men in charge of them, it was pointed out, would do much to facilitate the eventful establishment of a smoothly functioning routine. The tickler file as a necessary theatre adjunct was next explained, Stewart emphasizing the fact that when a file is sent out, it is not filled up with all the forms and memoranda that have gone out over a year, but is rather a| file of original suggestions. The function of the picture manuals put out by the department was next discussed. It is divided into three sections, publicity, exploitation, and newspaper advertising. Hach manual is valuable not only for the picture for which it was designed, but is full of suggestions that may help the manager sell other attractions. Cost control of advertising and how the department studies tear sheets were also taken up. will get copies of these so they ean follow through. Will Tour Country Mr. Wellington will go about the country from time to time inspecting the art shops we are operating in the circuit now and will be able by his knowledge of the men and the work they are doing, the costs they are running up for supplies, to work up a very efiicient department that will not only improve the service we are getting from the artists now but actually save money in the purchase of supplies. This department has just been established. The home office advertising department also includes Publix Opinion, which is, I think, a very valuable publication and handled by some expert showmen. This Publix Opinion, it is of course necessary to read thoroughly. There are a lot of things that can be clipped from that for future use and filed in a tickler file. That is a very important part of the manager’s record, and that is supplied by the art department. We show you how to use the tickler file, how to file material from trade papers, from Publix Opinion and manual for use on coming pictures. A man will often see some thing that may not hit a picture this week but will apply later on}. and he knows how to file it and where to put that material which comes out of the home office advertising department so that he can use it when he needs it. ) Lt. Gov. Youngman|CHATKIN TALKS Sees Big Future For Publix moving picture plays in the life of today and the high quality of entertainment contributed by Publix, were stressed by Lieutenant Governor William Sterling Youngman, of Massachusetts, in his speech at the banquet to Fitzgibbons. Lt. Governor Youngman represent ed Governor Allen at the event. “The State of Massachusetts, my chief, His Excellency, Frank G. Allen, the Governor, and all of us at the State House, appreciate ‘| the very high quality of public en tertainment that Mr. Fitzgibbons has been responsible for in our midst,’’ said the Lieutenant Governor. ‘“‘He will get always the very highest and best gilt edge certificate from wus wherever he goes. “We appreciate in the Execu tive Department of this grand old Commonwealth of Massachusetts the part that the movies and the talkies has in our life today. They are certainly, and in all seriousness, the most moving and most changing element in our publié life. They start a new business every day, new plans for the public entertainment, instruction and encouragement, _ “YT predict a great future for this business, constantly expanding, and I predict that the principles that have started this ‘great organization that is chiefly represented here tonight, and that: has been so much helped by the splendid personality of Mr. Fitzgibbons in this territory, will go on, will win in the future, even greater triumphs than they have won in the past.”’ BOSTON MAYOR LAUDS PUBLIX PROGRAMS A fine tribute to the brilliant role played by Publix in elevating the standards of life of the community, was paid by Lieutenant General Edward LLogan, representative of Mayor Curley of Boston, at the Fitzgibbons banquet. “T am very happy to be here tonight,” said General Logan, “and to bring to our distinguished | guests in this great gathering, the greetings of the Mayor of Boston, who regards it a solemn and sacred obligation to express to you his regard, his esteem and. admiration for this great audience representative as it is of every theatre, every division and every department of Publix Theatres, “The Mayor of our city has been very much interested in the character and type of entertainment to be given to the people of this city. He has asked me to say that he is grateful to this organization for the cooperation with which his effort has always been met, and he particularly wanted me to express to your distinguished guest that the help which he has generously rendered to the Mayor and his office in his effort to provide for the safety and security of those who are your patrons. “Your organization has produced happiness and education and training and culture to all who have been privileged to visit your home, and I am sure that on*an occasion like this, I but speak the true sentiments of the Mayor when I say that we are delighted to have had with us here in New England. so splendid a representative of our traditions.”’ The great part -which the} ON MANPOWER POLICY (Continued from Page Eight) ideas. Only in that manner can you build the man power that is going to come up, and only in that way can you advance yourself and in no other way. Stoddard’s Department : Now I want to say just a word in recognition of Mr. Stoddard’s department and the excellent job that has been done up here by his boys, Mr. Rosenberg and the new men that are here. You will find that these boys you are now getting in touch with have the ability to do an excellent job, and I am sure you will give them every co, operation... Mr. Schosberg, who handles the installation of the machines and the merchandising end of the business, has also received marvelous co-operation in the New England district, and I am sure it is going to bring a fine revenue to you, and everything you can do to aid that he surely will appreciate. I think that goes without saying; too. I might again touch on one of the important things we touched on in Chicago which is definitely part of the meeting, and that was sound. Don’t ever for one second let up your vigilance on sound in your respective theatres and districts. That is the all-important question in the operation of our theatres, something that deserves your attention every minute of the hours that you are away from or around the theatres. Don’t take anything for granted in respect of sound because in no other way can a theatre more quickly pass out of the picture than by neglect Ing sound. And I need only add that I know you have the keenest appreciation of that fact, and I am just emphasizing how important it is to remember it always. ; I also want to say that the accumulative first month’s prize of the New England division which I was so happy to offer was won by Mr. Howe, of the Gorman Thea tre in Framingham. I could go on talking at length about a great number of subjects but the time is rather limited, and. I am sure you have gathered a great deal from the things you have heard. The only thing you have heard about Mr. Mullin is that he is going to come through, he is going to give you a real administration up here, and you will be just as happy, I am sure, with him as you have been with Fitz. I do not think you can say it in any other way and be expressive about it. | Know Your Organization In closing, I want again to call your attention to the necessity of knowing your organization. This is becoming rather trite but we in New York are nothing more or less than a service station to serve you, to give you what you want when you want it and in the best manner we can obtain it, and if you do not take advantage of everything that is there for you you have no one to blame but yourself. That is why you should read what is written here on the wall., That expresses it fully. We are going into the second month of our second quarter. [ know you will be interested to know, and it may not be new to you, that we are behind the national quota, materially so. It be hooves all of us, then, to do every-_ thing that is humanly possible to try to recoup some of that amount that we are behind and try to make it all up if possible so that we will come through this second quarter of this year with the kind of results we had hoped for. 4