The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-08-21
ADVERTISING AS
MENT,

$3.50
MENT.
There are several things a man
must consider when contemplating a
campaign of advertising in connection
with any legitimate business.
The first thing to get fixed in your
mind is that money judiciously spent
in advertising is an investment, and
not an expense.
That the benefits derived from ad-
vertisipg a legitimate business or
article are cumulative-the money in
vested today builds business that will
come back to you in profits tomorrow,
next week, next month and next
year.
1t will not all come back in a bunch
any more than the money you invest
in q plant for the manufacture of
goods. You may invest a hundred
dollars in a plant that will turn out
the best goods in the world, but If
you don't sell the goods, or enough of
ment is practically lost. It will not be
all lost because there is a certain value
to machinery, etc., that you will not
lose entirely. 1t will bring a price as
old iron, if nothing else.
If you own a good plant and manu-
~facture a good article, and you should
spend twenty-five thousand dollars for
good advertising, it would be absolute
Ily impossible for you to lose all your
money. If your goods are good and
your advertising is good you will es.
tablish a call for your article that will
eventually pay back your Investment.
If by chance it does not pay 1t all back
you could not possibly lose as much as
you would upon q plant which for
some reason failed to make itself pay
out.
All concerns who advertise are not
successful. Neither are all successful
concerns advertisers. But at the pres
ent day, when competition is 80 fierce
and the average run of goods are sold
almost exclusively upon price, and the
price so low that at times the manu-
facturer does not get back the actual
cost of his goods, there is little salts
faction in carrying the risk and the
worry of a manufacturing business.
However, advertising rs practiced
today, offers to some n or two con-
Germs in a line the opportunity to
break away from the mass of cutters
and. 30 establish the call for his goods
that the element of competition is
practically eliminated. He can set bis
price far enough ahead of the average
| of the market 20 that he can afford to
put his goods out in more attractive
style; he can give the dealer a better
profit than he can make on other
goods; he can make q surer and better
profit for himself; he can win back al
most any reasonable amount spent In
advertising, and besides can add q
value to his plant that 1t would not
have otherwise if he stayed in business
for a hundred years.
Every manufacturer who makes a
Legitimate line of goods will get q GER
tain amount of business anyway. And
if his goods are a little better than the
average, or if his regular business
methods are q little better than others,
his trade will probably increase q lit
tie every year whether he advertises
or not.
Many q man takes a condition of
this sort as an indication that his par
ticular business does not need adver-
Using. This may be true. This con-
dition may be entirely satisfactory to
him. 1t certainly is a happy condi-
ton.
But 20 man can deny that these
same conditions are a sur and unques-
tionable indication that If business
was !properly advertised it surely
would grow much faster, and in nine
ty-nine cases in a hundred the goods
manufactured would bring a higher
price and consequently a better
profit.
One of the thoughts that occurs to
most men when considering an adver.
tisement proposition for the first time
is that they would be willing to invest
in advertising all of the the profits
made upon their goods for the first
six months or year. That Is all very
we'll. 1t is a liberal thought. But in
advertising it Ia the same as in estab-
blishing a pufacturing business.
Before you can begin to make goods
you have to have a plant. This means
an investment of anywhere from one
dollar to one million OF more dollars
before the first article can be turned
out for the market.
If the conditions are right the out
put of the plant begins to pay off the
investment in email installments at
once and to pay interest on the invest
ment in the way of dividends to the
stockholders. But the investment
in the plant is a necessary fore.
runner to the profits.
The same with advertising. An in
vestment must be made before q pro.
fit can be realized. The amount of
the investment and the time that Is re-
CURED must necessarily vary with the
conditions. In advertising strictly
legitimate lines it is possible in some
cases to make the advertising begin to
show a profit inside of three months.
In other cases it will take ak months
or a year and sometimes longer.
The element of time is always regu-
lated by the amount and kind Of ad.
vertising done, the desirability of the
goods advertised, and the magnitude
Of the advertising competition In that
particular line.
lIf you w~ere,goiug to markedly gener
al advertising an article that already
had two or more advertising Compel
itors, for instance, rolled oats, soap
baking powder, etc., you would be up
against a very hard proposition. One
that would take a large amount Of
capital and a very uncertain length
of time. You would have to start In
as a tailender and fight for everything
you wanted. This would be true even
Though the your article possessed un-
doubted advantage over everything OF
the kind on the market. In this case
the situation is simply that you have
to wait a longer time for your adver-