The talking machine world (July-Dec 1920)

44 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD October 15, 1920 Some Practical and Stimulating Business Suggestions SONORA BUSINESS IN CHICAGO By J. S. Fay liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiii!iini;:;!!iiiiiiiiiii!iiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu^ In certain lines where merchandise is sold cn the instalment plan retail merchants have introduced campaigns known as "The $5 Day," "The $10 Day," or some other such amount, and on that day products are sold on a terms basis, offering the entire stock of one certain product, we will say the $50 or $75 models of talking machines at $10 or $15 down, or whatever the amount chosen for the particular day may be. Preceding the ad considerable can be done by direct mail advertising, newspaper advertising, window dressing, etc., so that considerable interest is aroused in "The $10 Day." The factor of curiosity can be appealed to by not disclosing what is meant by "The $10 Day" until the night before or the morning of "The $10 Day" is announced. This idea might be successfully adopted by talking machine merchants who indulge in instalment sales. The Telegram as a Sales Factor One way of calling attention to anj special offerings your store may be going to make is to get a stack of blank telegrams and send out a form letter-telegram to a selected list, calling attention to the fact that the newspapers on such and such a date will announce a very important feature which will be of great interest to them as economical buyers. Copy for the telegram could run something like this: "We are going to make an offer the middle of next week that will surelj interest you. We cannot give further details here, but w-atch the Tuesdaj' edition of the News and }-ou will see that we are making it possible for you to save your money, and at the same time acquire an addition to i'our home of incalculable worth." Tying Up Advertisement and Record Whenever you are calling attention to any special records or models of machines through advertising it is sometimes a good idea to have a special color sign lettered up which reads "As advertised," which sign can be placed next to the record or model of machine which is being featured; on the same poster with this can be pasted a clipping of the ad in question. Featuring Record Title and Artist . A clever idea for calling attention to special records is to cut out red arrows, anywhere !i:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin from eight to ten inches long, and to paste these partly on the surface of the record, with the point of the arrow aiming directly at the title of the record or the name of the artist. The same idea can be applied in the case of dummy records, and the records so treated can be used in window displays or in demonstration booths. AMBEROLA SALES MANAGER WEDS Patrick J. Burns, sales manager of the Amberola department at the Edison Laboratories, was married in New York City on September 8 to Miss Edith Richter, daughter of Mrs. Sarah Richter, of that city. Following a stay at Delaware Valley, Pa., where they are spending their honej^moon, the couple will reside in East Orange, N. J. Mr. Burns has been associated with the Edison Laboratories for more than a decade and has held a number of responsible positions during that time. His experiences as a traveling supervisor afforded him an excellent opportunity to study the problems of dealers and to add to his already large number of friends throughout the trade, and the Amberola department, of which he has been sales manager since last Spring, ha 5 benefited greatly under his careful guidance. Needless to say, a host of friends wish him every happiness. TAKES ON THE VOCALION LINE H. W. Hangen, who for a number of years has handled the Aeolian Co. line of Pianolas and pianos very successfully in Reading, Pa., has recentl}' taken on the Vocalion line of phonographs and records, which will be featured in a big wa^-. H. B. TREMAINE OFF TO EUROPE H. B. Tremaine, president of the Aeolian Co., sailed for England on September 21 aboard the S. S. "Aquitania." He was accompanied by Mrs. Tremaine and will remain abroad for a number of weeks. It was announced that Mr. Tremaine would sail several weeks before, but he was forced to postpone his trip. C. J. Van Houten & Zoon, Sonora Jobbers, Preparing for Active Fall Trade — Active Demand for High-priced Models Now in Evidence The sales department of the Sonora Phonograph Co. received recently an interesting letter from Sonora jobbers in Chicago, C. J. Van Houten & Zoon. which gives an optimistic resume of conditions in that territorj'. This letter read in part as follows: "Our standard period models are meeting with universal favor, particularly in the finer furniture stores which are catering to the better class of trade. The Bauer Piano Co. of Chicago had one of our period models in their window and had from fifteen to twent3'-five people coming in every day inquiring about it. Everyone is well pleased with the completeness of our line and just as soon as we get a few more distributed in the territories so that the dealers will become more familiar with the different models they will certainly go big. We are looking forward to a large demand this Fall and Winter. "In our territory the models Baby Grand and Period continue to have the greatest demand, and we have several dealers who have been clamoring for Supremes for some time and cannot get them. "The writer has just returned from a short trip through Iowa and the best crops I have seen this year will be found in that State. The corn is way over your head all through the State and the farmers are counting on an abundant crop of everything. Just as soon as all this is harvested, a lot of that money is going into Sonora phonographs. We are getting a lot of favorable comment from the dealers on the recent straight case advertising. All the dealers are of the opinion that this is going to help them materially in the sale of these models." PATHE FOR SENATOR HARDING Marion, O., September 30. — The home of Senator Warren G. Harding in this city. Republican candidate for President, now contains one of the new and attractive models of the Pathe Actuelle. Many of the intimate friends and visitors to the Harding home are being entertained by the rendition of the new and varied list of Pathe records on this distinctive phonograph. It is said that the Senator and his family are unstinted in their praise of the wonderful musical charm of this instrument. The Dual Tone Phonograph & Mfg. Co., Manor, Pa., has been incorporated with capital stock of $30,000. Kansas Cit;^^ Missouri £x[|iisn?e^^^^Vli0lesale