The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-01-03
ADVERTISING AND
LIFE INSURANCE.
TWO IDEAS OF BEN FRANKLIN

rhreo Hundred aud Eiity Millions
Spent In Advertising Three Hun
deed Millions In, ested in New Lie
Insurs nee,
TIE Chicago Tribune says that the
head Of ~ pig advertising agency and I
the manager OF one Of the largest in.
SuraEcc companies recently lunched
together in that city, and the follow
ing Is repOrtof their conversation
During 1899" said the advertising
mau, over the coffee, We estimate
t1al 500 UUU. go wCrt spent TO adver.
Using. lsu'C tina: pr2Gty good for al
ide" that aidu'L gvLa i.u sta until
fVrlv y, 3Ca hIu?'
You uanC EOll IL ,..I., VII u IL
comes 10 ,.,hics aUout mIuiUls, s&}u
l ~ i;Is u'anCG maD. " Wul, lhc O;G
assets OF TIC iIc lLeLI.ucs eoinpan c.
las, year Was Is b.i.un au1 n LeI 20!
i"rs, and tnat uou't couut 90! II 80
assessment companies"
Yes, OuO nO" much money w"o
spent for life insurance In the Uut.cu
States TINS year,
We dou't Know yet, but las. year
new premiums were paid 10 the i,urUuLt
Of $500, 1000, 600. That would pay oil
the national debt in less than iOur
years. This year there will DC Is big
increase.
How Old is the life insurance bust
ncs., anyway ~
Wcll, iV's old enough, but il didn't
begin To get it's growIu until 1860
The first ne insurance company III
tuis country WAS the PresUy ,crii,u
Annuity ana Lie Insurance Company,
Of Pni.adeiphla. IL Was an OrGauIZa-
tiUn OF PresOy ICriau ministers, which
got IL charter in 1859. Benjamin FranR
lin was at the bottom Of ueIIcve
1t WAS his suggestion. TnaC was Is
hundred and lUr.y years ago, but it
took hundred years W get tnU idea
under way. Why, IN 1913 the tutat as
sets OF the largest life Insurance com
pauy IN the United States was only
$32 900. But no" 90 sou tigurG ouy
$500, 600 600 for advertising
In tnc hrst place, VIC know the
amount OF advertising handIe0 by the
advertising agencies ui the COuaLry.
That Is "a mGIe trIilc compared Win
| the total. IL CuvCre Ouly tue AdyerLlo-
| ing done by the people VINO Want 20
advertise ali over The country ana " o
| uOn'L care to take charge OF tic WORK
thems elves. 1t amUuuts TO about $40
UO0,OOU year. As much more is uOOr
| by firms who deal directly with the
papers and magazines the country over
and dpu't use an agent at ali. But the
| great bulk Of the advertising, SIX
sevcnths Of the total, IN fact, Is uOnC uy
business men VINO deal directly witt
the newspapers AID o,ucr nlodiuns III
tneic home towns.
And you say they spcnt $3.50 900,
900 this year 2"
"As nearly as We caa get ~ it. lr
the first place, you know tuerc are MT
less than 23,OUO newspapers, nnagoz,ac
and Other publications. IN the UntJ.u
states who are Out sft-r advertising
| n few of these pubilCatlonS nave an
nual incomes OF irOm 81 900 900 To So
900, 600 apiece from advertising aIuue
Oi course The greater aJOrIly az,
! country wcekllcs anu daIIvs, wulcI
| AXE IN only comparatively sinai
amounts. Putting tLc Total openv Iui
nuvcrtislng In local papers AZ $40 COZ,
UOO hnu utviuing that CDOrmuus sun d,
23 900 you Will ma tUaJ th;,J rIvus
Lnem an ayeragL Income Vi less .nut
$l4 900 Yplcce. Many Of tue sm,llyt
papers do we'll If they get So 900 Or
$3, 600 year, but the Dig fellows com
IN and bring up the average. Ineu
there ara millions sEclt every year %
bill boa ls, on fcuces ana 10 i t,uuo
and anu one ways. That ala u
suUtraCted from the total, and wuuIu
! Cub W" II IlIC average. w i1L D-CO.!icS
O! the $500, ,UO0, 900 you expect. wIIi D.
paid thle y:ar for life insurance pre-
miums ?"
" More than half OF the prl III ums
received eacn yenr are pad 10 tur
policy holders or their hclrs. a ilttl
over 70 per cent go.s 10 pay LhU yX
penses Of management"
"And what is the largest amount ul
in arance in fUrc3 on the uie Of on.
man ?"
- George Nardorbilt, Of Now York,
has single pOlcy wnlcn, in case oi
his death, will pay his heirs 81 900 coo
What is the largest am Junt speht Se ,r-
| iy by an advertiser IN the u UniJeu
States 2"
1T is impossible 10 get exact figures,
but the company wnicn is ,LlI the
| largest advertiser in tue country has
spent os mu"h as $500 900 IN m sius!u
| year. just al present 1t 10 not spend
ing more tnnn $0UU 600. Blu. the
| Oec atty OF II Is aOt Lnat big alve. tlec :
| arc spCrul3. Larger sums OF uO.Gy
| out that eaci4 year xfua.vr NUN o@l
Of pa"po oegIn auvcr i7iug, whll, fC N
| OF Inc oder advertisers drop out OIi-
| sido Oi the nix ic,nii stores IN the c!tica
| dOn't believe thCrO are fifty com
panles or lnu,ViduHia IN The Uo!teu
| okhtCS " itSt! 81 Clll rs MUCH rs lUU,
| O0O year IN advertising, 81 y"i aGu
| the bu!k ~ the business ls maze up Oi
| d multitude o! smaller merchants nad
! manufacturers, which 5 ad..ci.o every
ye"r. Why"c have q list OF b1twcen u
5000 and 5000 people who are classe d
as general advertisers that is, VINO
advertise in all parts OF The country,
| and We pay no attention at ell to tuU
| local dealers, VINO pat OniZ1 their
homo pDpCrs almost cVc!uslvely. HOx
macy men uoCs IT take to solicit the
| buslncsa on which you expect TO col
lcct $500 600 OUO In premiums tails
yea 2"
Veil, II the United States army in
the Philippines aGd else Sherc, at
hom3 and broad, shnuid be wiped Uut
in moment ana you cOu,d enlist Ill
the ne and i.uustrial Insurance. soil
cltOrs In the country y0u would pro
baby fad that I'll of them would not
be needed TO ii ! tue ranks. How mauy
mOrt than lUU, 900 there are in the
country | don't know, but one compaay
has neariy iivH hundred men working
in Cnicago alone. There are between
sixty and seventy reg ular lie Insurance
companies In the country, Of which
thirty-hve are extremely active, to say
moth ng OF the big Industrial insurance
companies, some OF which employ as
many as 5000 or 10 600 solicitors each.
And stlll you have not accounted for
the men who solicit for tho assessr.cnt