The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-10-25
THE GREAT PROBLEM OF TO-
DAY
Trade Journals Throughout the
Country Favor Advertising

This office is in receipt OF a recent
issue OF The Commercial News, pub
lished at Sioux Falls, and while the
whole paper is very interesting the
advertising department is to us the
most attractive. This department is
conducted by John A. Murphy, and
among other things he says:
In this twentieth century OF pro-
gress and commercial achievement,
there are very few merchants who feel
that advertising does not pay. Adyer-
Using needs no defense. Everybody
realizes its importance. However,
there are a great many business men
who do not know that advertising, in
one form or another, is absolutely
essential to any great commercial
success.
Advertising lies at the very basis OF
successful merchandising. It's a
powerful force in the world OF com
merce, and the merchant who wants
TO make a success OF his business
cannot ignore it.
Good advertising doubles, triples,
quadruples and multiplies indefinite
ly the profits Of any business in the
proportion to its pulling power. Adj
hitting that advertising pays such
large dividends, why is it that the
average dealer who plies his wares in
the press and public thorOughfares
does not seem to be getting rich any
too quick? There are several reasons
The principal one Is that few adver-
tisers know how to advertise. There
two kinds OF observation-disclosures
and poor. Alas, the vast majority
are poor, weak and ineffective.
We hope our readers will no be
offended when we assert that a large
percentage OF the advertisements for
which the dealer pays III good, hard
cash are read by only a very few
people. You cannot expect advertise
ments, which have not one item OF
human interest in them, to be read.
Your advertising must say some
thing OF interest. Mere talk won't
sell goods. Facts, those cold, stub
born things, are what people want.
Don't say you have the best store in
town. Tell them why it is the best.
Don't say you are selling goods that
can't be beat. Tell them why they
should have those goods. In other
Np4AoF ihNOGA VIA N'N nav :" NNAA
with a value in the minds OF the buy
ing public. Arouse desire, and then
offer an easy way TO satisfy that
desire. But the best, most effective
argument that YOU can offer in your
advertisement is Price. That one
word price" when accompanied by
an enticing description has sold more
goods than all the other schemes for
advertising ever tried.
The above extracts from the article
only go to prove that trade journals
throughout the land are opponents of
advertising, and that they are con-
stantly advising their readers to adver-
tise and do it intelligently. Experts
are placed upon the staff for no other
reason than to show the retail mer-
chants how to advertise and get results
and yet there are merchants, and
right in Bookings too, who have the
idea that all the heavy advertisers are
fools. There is another side to the
question that is rarely touched upon
by the men who urge the merchants
W duFeftIst. anu tudt ls-Lle man
who habitually reirains from adver-
Using his wares is a dead weight upon
the town or city in which he lives.
In other words, he goes on the sup
position that there are enough other
merchants in the town who will adver-
.ise and spend their good money,
bringing the people in and then like
the Hebrews OF Green street New
York, they who have absolutely moth
ing, can 90 to the doors OF their stores
and drag in the Country-men and
thereby reap the benefit OF the pro-
gressive merchants money spent in
advertising his wares and at the same
time the town. The sooner such
short-sighted and penurious mer-
chants realize the error OF their way
the soone will Bookings forge to the
irOnt as a trading point.