San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1886-02-25
Retrospect of a Veteran Advertising
Agent.


: NJ, Petoingll, VINO is still ia business IN
this city, WIS his only partner for years un
der the style Of :, NJ Pellengll Co, then
formeda partnership with u, Il Locke Of
the Toledo, OHIO, Blade, an Tor The hyie OF
Bates 4 Locke, aud nov for oBht years
have gOue on alone,
Thlsis GOOD while 10 be- steadily In ono
busine,s, anl ~ have succeeded fairy well
IN II, gaining nt least large experience,
IL Cccupd u me, as these active years II my
lpa,t life camo up In reyiow, that neither
publ shers or advertisers would take It GuisS
In 1 set down some conclusions have form
I'd nj tho cud of 30 long n period Of work,
| bearing ON the whole subject of newspaper
advertising These / win place In II de-
| tlcLed sort OF way, without any protenco
TO orderly composition.
/. Whom began, Newspaper adycrtis-
ing was not az respectable ~ II IN now.
Respectable il, perhaps not quite the the
right word 10 express the status Of buSi-
ness, looked un ~ rather irregular and queer
but no other 30 good occurs Ia me just now,
Regular sloaiy-going business house,
thirty years ago, felt something like shame
in advertising thGr goods IN the Newspapers.
This feeling has pretty much worn away,
although some of It still fingers among old
fashioned business men.
g should Judge that the people Of this
! Country expond at lenst tlirty times as
much money in Newspaper advertising as
they did thirty years ago, Tie vast increase
Of population aud newspapers explains u
considerable part Of tins, but IT mostly
comes from the moro general aud froer use
made of the advertising columns by the gen
eral public. All ciRsseS have become more
and more to believe that tho newspaper Is
! tho most impersonal, se!f-raEpcctins, and
effective way Of getting before the public
with what anyone has to say to II.
Thirty years ago man who should spend
S2j, 600 year IN tho Newspapers, would
attract attention n largo advertiser; now
there are houses spending almost rs much
monthly, right along through the year, with
out attracting attention. Mr. ltpbl. Bonner,
whose undertakings in all directions have
been characterized by breadth, boldness,
precision, aud success, was the first to make
Inc public familiar with large advertising
applied in the most original manner to
build up the circulation Of his Ledger to
point mover attained before or since by any
journal in this Country Although Mr.. !
Bonnel's largest Newspaper advertising
was done twenty-five years ago, (for he IA |
Accommodated his purpose, cut down his cx-
pcnscs IN TINT channen, still no one has
come up TO tue "spleniid nuducity" Of an
order for one insertion of an advertisement
to cost over 500, 600. Aud yet in pecunlary
lnnttsrs ho is a very exact and careful man
3. 1t agrees with my experience that
Newspaper advertising is profitable. 40
look back over the very considerable num-
Der Of those whose advertising have done, |
do not now recall II single one who Ju |
diciously. perBcveringly, and freely pushed
GOOD articles of Whatever kind, in the News
papers, and did not nuke at least n fair sue
cess, while great many have gained am
pie fortunes. / will not mention names III
support of this statement, rs could easily
do, but the list is large one.
When business men come To look on tho
cost Of steady Newspaper advertising as an
Investment, sure To pay rs well rs any other,
and not unlikely to be exceedingly profitable, /
they will use il more systematically than
heretofore, and regard it as L necessary ,
item Of expense.
4. Ever since ] lave been in business,
there have been wide differences of opinion
among advertisers rs to the best MEDIUMS
and methods, and never SO great rs now IN
consequence of the rivalry between Gdver- /
tisers and ngcnts; and whenever anyoncsuc- .
ceeds by the use of certain mediums in q /
certain way, he naturally conclu les his moth .
cd to be the best, Notwithstanding another
may have made m equal success by using
quite another class Of awspHperS III quite
a different way. Twenty five years ago,
largo advertisers, rs n rule, contented thom-
selves with well wriited and displayed adj
vertiscment taking its run. on the ndyort's-
ing pages, or paid something more and
used a Especial Notice in position for q
long time the only preferred ono in the gen
cra run of newspapers, and having no other
advantage over the ordinary advertisements
than being nearer reading matter Now tho
struggle is TO get preferred position with
displayed advertisements, or TO w0rl, in no
tiGcs and reading articles so that the readers
of newspaper will think them either writ
ton or selected by its editor. sill do not
know that adyortiscrsuOw make it pay them
any bettor than those did quarter of a
century ago, who used simpler and cheaper
told tneir stories in plain way
oycriheir own names, and used the same ad-
vertisemcnts yoNr after yenr until the pub
nc came to lool, on them not lnkindly rs
old acquaintance.
C,trrrt'g Drr r RENNa rpttnrr tho anOptTtI /