The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-12-05
ON ADVERTISING.

The Merchants Protective ASsocia-
ton, of Dunkirk, n. Y, thriving
commercial town, has determined to
refrain from advertising in any medi-
UNI other than newspapers. This is
a conclusion arrived after long and
costly experience. The merchants
there have found that money spent in
the many hundreds of methods and
schemes offered for advertising does
| not bring one cent of return, but is
just simply money thrown away. The
Merchants Association there calls all
other advertising except the newspa-
pers fake" advertising, and realize
that the only way to secure a return
for their money is to use exclusively
the home newspapers. They go to
the homes and are read by all mem
bers of the family. Special mediums
must necessarily, from their very ma
ture, reach only limited number of
persons and in a manner that does
not direct their attention to the offer
ings made by the advertisers. Spec
ials generally serve to boom some en-
tertainment, attraction, ETC., in which
the people are more interested than
in the advertising matter, though
they may be beautifully displayed
and splendidly printed. Advertise
ments cad in specials, if they are
ever read, are forgotten, and the spec
ial is lying in the gutter or in some
vacant seat, or on the floor out of
reach, so that it is impossible to refer
to it even should reader remember
that bargains were mentioned. With
newspaper it is different. 1t reaches
home early in the morning and re-
mains there in the most prominent
part of the house until the next issue
comes to take its place. The mercn-
ants of Dunkirk, enumerated as some
of the schemes they found as worth
less, hotel registers, racing meet pro-
grams, dance and theatre programs,
business directories, local time tables,
advertising clocks, desk blotters, fair
flyers, special sheets filled with ads
and innocent of news matter and 9TH
ers. The merchants of Oakland will
doubtless remember the many dollars
they have spent in advertising in
schemes similar to the above. and on
reflection will doubtless see that the
money thus spent has been wasted.
A point about special advertising
merchants should consider is that the
prices charged for it are exhor bitant
in comparison with what is paid the
newspapers. The special ads, no
matter what their size, can only reach
limited number of people; they can
only be before that limited number a
moment and then they are thrown
away. If advertisers would follow in
the footsteps of John Wannamaker
and stick to the newspapers exclu-
sively they would prosper. Mr. Wan
namaker refuses to have anything to
do with special advertising He is "a
liberal user of the newspaper: he
pays hundreds of thousands of dollars
for the space thus used, and he has
millions of dollars as a return for the
money thus expended. The mer CHI
ants should use the money they de-
vote to specials and fakes to pay
ing the newspapers for changing their
advertisements or towards increasing
their space in the newspapers and
they will find it money well spent.
Mr.. Wanamaker is a milliona ire
because he stands by the newspapers,
and eschews specials and fakes. The
merchants of Dunkirk are following
i'll his footsteps after bitter and cost
ly experience. 1t would be wise
thing for the merchants of this city
to do the same thing.