Los Angeles herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1890-1893, 1890-08-24
HOW TO ADVERTISE.
The Views of a Man Who
Speaks by the Card.
An Interview With a Man Who
Does Good Advertising.
He Tells How to Catch The Public Eye
and Never Fail.

Leaks on Horse Troughs And Legends
That Run all Over the Sides of
Brick Blocks.
Noticing the water troughs about the
city to have been painted with the word
Leaks - on them, it occurred to the
mind of a HERALD reporter that the
Leak Glove Manufacturing company OF
San Francisco had struck Southern
California with their advertising outfit,
as he had seen the same legend all over
the state, and had learned its meaning
So off went the reporter to hunt up the
manager of an advertising scheme that
has become famous all over the coast.
Hailing gang of painters, whose
overalls were covered with paint, and
who were putting an advertisement all
over the side of blacksmith's shop,
near the depot, he asked them where
the manager might be found. He was
told that Mr.. Leak could be found at
the Hollenbeck hotel, the most popular
hostelry in the city. Arriving at the
advertiser the reporter said:
"Mr. Leak, how did you conceive the
scheme and get up the nerve to spread
such an amount Of paint all over the
country and to incur such large expense
in the way of advertising?"
Mr.. Leak replied: 81 am an old adver-
tiser. I have tried all the methods in
vogue. started out with small catch
penny methods and found they did no
good. So l went on to New York city.
where did little interviewing myself.
I went to some of the heaviest adver-
tisers in the country, and l asked their
advice as to how / should
get my goods before the people.
''They told me to 60 out all over the
country and paint my goods on every
fence board, water trough and such like
object in the land. Then to follow this
with thorough advertising in liberal
way in good newspapers, and that if l
did the work in earnest / would reach
the eye of every consumer in the
country and thus create demand for
my wares. l soon saw at glance that
this meant the expenditure of large
sum OF money. L put out
at the first movement $4,000
for teams and wagons. In order to re-
duce the expense to myself l was will
ing to go into partnership with other
merchants. To this end looked around
for number of frst-class business
houses whose trade is general all over the
country, and who like myself believed in
thorough advertising because they knew
how effective such method is to build
up trade. l selected the Carleson-Cur-
rier silk manufacturing company,
San Francisco, that employs
large number of boys and girls
to manufacture their goods. 1t is, in
fact, the only sewing silk factory on the
coast. 1t is, as consider, the best silk
in the United States, having used thous-
ands of pounds of it in the manufacture
of our gloves, in the last six years.
Then | wanted representative -four
mills, and knowing that the Sperrys of
Stockton, had the largest mills west Ct
the Missouri, and that they have the
Of making the best flour on
the coast, I secured them as clients,
and now Ladies Use Sperry's,
Stockton, New Patent, Roller
Process Flour, the Best Made orna-
ments all the fences from Siskiyou to
San Diego. Knowing, too, that baking
powder people are heavy advertisers,
and that j. A. Folger & Co. manufacture
Golden Gate Baking Powder, and having
used it in my family and knowing it to
be the best ever introduced into my
kitchen, l naturally worked up j. A.
Folger for my business, and Golden Gate
Baking Powder ornaments many space
formerly blank in all parts of the great
state of California"
The reporter saw that he had struck
big lead and feeling his interview might
grow to be too long, said:
''Mr. Leak, let us wholesale the bust
ness. How many houses have you in
all your list?"
The great Napoleon of advertising
said: II have six-some of them pat
ent medicines. Rex ham, the old estab-
lished wholesale liquor house of E.
Martin and Co., 40S Front street, San
Francisco, whose celebrated brands of
old Argonaut, j. F. Cutter, are SO well
known to the trade"
GLOW do you procure permission to
paint your signs on these large build
ings?" was the next question put by
the scribe.
81 have good deal Of trouble some
times. l saw an elegant space today
and asked for the use of
it. 1t was IN large brick
store. The owner wheeled around in
his chair and said, Young man, /
know where there is fine space for
you to occupy. 1t is around here at the
city hail. 1 told him if he had any
influence with the city fathers, and
would give me letter to them, 1 would
go and ask for it. He paid me big
compliment on my nerve. l begged
his pardon, and said hoped he was not
offended; but that we would never get
to heaven if we did not ask for permits
sion. l am, of course, always willing
to run some risk to get the place that
suits myself and patrons"
Said the reporter: "Have you reaped
much benefit yet from your scheme?"
Said Mr.. Leak: "Six years ago l had
a little shop employing twenty-five
hands, now have two hundred boys
and girls and keep 16 travelling men all
the time on the road selling my goods.
They sell in all the country west OF the
Mississippi river"
Tbo ronortor loft with tho ip,proceiop