The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1891-09-19
WILLIAM wANAMAKER's WAY.
He Thinks the People Cannot be Hum
plugged.


Mr. VIM. H. Wanamaker, a mem
Der of the Philadelphia firm of
Wanamaker d Brown, ON a brief
business trip to Louisville, where the
firm has a flourishing branch estab-
lishment, has been giving his views
on the general subject of advertising
in the Louisville Commercial His
opinion and experience will be read
with interest Hesays: There are
no people anywhere that can be
humbugged or deceived more than
once. Your customer, while he may
may not know the intrinsic merit Of
what you offer, can form a pretty
fair idea of quality, and once you
mislead him his confidence in you
is gone forever, and besides that he
will influence a portion of his circle
of friends against you.
'slf there is any one thing / would
offer as maxim to advertisers it is
this. The truth pays Some years
we have spent over quarter of
million dollars in advertising, and
you can readily see that we have
given the subject very much practi-
cal trial, and have studied it theo-
retically as science. In all these
years we have watched the returns
carefully from every standpoint we
have taken, and are now prepared to
give our unqualified opinion that
more and better returns are given to
us through the newspapers than all
the other means ever tried.
1--WE advertise every day in the
year." said Mr.. W., Except Sunday.
There is always some trade doing.
even in the dullest season, and we
strive to divert the floating or tran
sient trade to our place. Again.
when business ordinarily is dull,
people who see our invitations in the
newspapers are more apt to read
them, for the reason that they have
more time to read, and there are
fewer advertisements then. Many
merchants who have been in bust
ness for certain number of years
will say, 'Oh, we are so well known
it is no use for us to advertise
There never was greater mistake
We would as soon think of canceling
our insurance policies as our adver-
Using contracts. We spend more
money with newspapers each year
that goes; there are more people who
want goods, and new trade is always
coming to the surface.
advertising that is well done is
cumulative in its character 1t is
like the compromising of interest.
An advertisement inserted in daily
paper one day will, in all probability
make good return to the merchant
who has the goods the people ant
at the right prices. Each success
sive advertisement that he puts in
gains an impetus and influence from
the original one, and so it counts up
until the name of the firm gets what
is equivalent to the good will Of a
successful business, besides deriving
the direct profit from immediate
sales caused by the advertising.
ITO advertise well merchant
should give as much care to his
newspaper space as he does to any
other department of the business.
AS general thing a merchant can
well afford to spend in newspaper
advertising from oneihird to one
fifth the amount of all his other total
expenses. If a man in business
talks as earnestly through his news
paper when he is addressing four or
five thousand people simultaneously
as when he is talking to one custom
er, he cannot fail to make a sue
cess of newspaper advertising"