Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-31
THE NEWSPAPER AS AN AID


California Fruit Men How They
Can Enlarge Market.
Advertising is a matter of deep per-
sonal concern to the fruit growers, and
especially to the 5000 men who are
| directly interested in the orange and
lemon industry of southern California, ac-
cording to E. o. Mccormick of the Harri-
man lines. This industry has added $16
100000 to the national wealth during the
past year. and Mr.. Mccormick in an adj
dress told the members of the California
Fruit Growers Exchange at their con-
vention in Kansas City this month how
they can increase the use of their product
and make it even more important In the
markets OF the United States. Mr.. Nc
Cormick said in parts
at has ever been wonder to me how
it can be that men and organizations can
muster up the courage to put large sums
| of money into lands, factories, machinery
and materials: incur big payroll liabilities
and other obligations: then, when 1t comes
to the most important factor of all-that
of making the product known; or, in other
words. making the people want it; to hest
thing apart from the business-a some
thing to be or not to be done. dependent
on the judgment. or perhaps whim. of
some individual-or to think Of it as an
expense, or say a gamble. 1t seems to
be true, however, even in these days so
| full of precedent, that many manufacture
ers. merchants and dealers who are never
satisfied except they have the very best
procurable in machinery and men. loca-
ton and materials either fall down en-
i tirely. when it comes to advertising. or do
1t with such half-hearted interest and
doubt that such trials as they reluctantly
accede to are failures. Perhaps I should
| not term them failures in fact they are
not generally failures as far as they go
but rather failures because they don't
go far enough.
Advertising Is Commodity.
''Now. if can aid in dispelling doubts
which may be entertained by any of the
members Of this association, as to the
efficiency of advertising, for promoting its
MISUNDERSTANDING it where it is already
established, extending it into new regions
will be doing about the greatest service
| 1t is In my power to render you. To start
with, you must recognize advertising as
a commodity. 1t is imperatively neces-
sary that you get this truth fixed firmly
in your minds, before you can hope to
give it that broad consideration which it's
| Importance demands. Get away, at once
| and forever. from the idea that it is an
| expense. 1t is not an expense, 1t is
commodity; just as necessary commodi-
| ty in the selling of oranges, as business is
conducted today as are the oranges
themselves. l do not mean by this as
| sertion that you cannot go on selling
| oranges forever without any advertising;
but If I understand Alright, one of the
purposes of this convention is to see if
means can be devised which will increase
the consumption Of oranges and thereby
increase the sales of the product.
The Law Of Average.
1.-The Lord & Thomas Advertising
Agency argues strongly on the law of av-
erage. and claims that it Is the only thing
that is absolutely certain in advertising.
The point it lays stress on is: What one
man likes or wants forms no criterion.
| When thousand. at certain expense.
are led to spend certain amount you
have an absolute certainty. The millions
will do what the thousands have done
This appeals to reason.
This agency Is advertising its own
business by published announcements that
1t is paying a man LOCO week. AS
chairman of a committee of sixteen OF
its advertising experts he has the last
word in the determination Of plan and
scope Of campaigns. And the agency also
| advertises that this hiSh-salaried man
| is worth all 1t pays him. In conversation
with a mutual friend regarding this ex-
pert the former remarked: He doubled
| the Van Camp business 1t Is hardly
necessary to dig into verified statistics
before we assert that the most of this
increase In the Van Camp business is
from people not heretofore bean eaters.
l feel quite sure that those who have been
| won away from other preparations con-
| stitute but a small proportion of the in
crease.
There is no mystery or magic about
advertising-that is to say. no more mys-
| terry than attaches to doing any other
| thing well. 1t is not an experiment. Prop
! erly done it is simply good salesmanship.
1t does simultaneously in a thousand or
| million places what an individual can do
| only in one place at a time. Paradoxical-
| ~, 1t not only does not supersede the
| salesman. but is his greatest ally. The
better the advertising the better the ally.
/ 1t Is the advance agent OF the salesman.
1t predisposes the dealers and the public
and clears the route of the salesman OF
many of its thorns. Good craftsmanship
is the ability to induce people to buy your
things equally with or in place Of the
/ stuff that others have to SELL If judicious
| advertising will assist In creating a de-
mand for oranges 1t will add much to
/ the chances of the success Of the sales
man in his work. That it will do this may
be predicated on what it has done in other
fields. II you look for evidence Of the
I results of advertising you may pick it up
In the things you do every day.
Smoking Advertising"
al was much impressed by the remark
| of a character in a short story in re-
i cent magazine. In conversation regard
ing a rival establishment the author makes
| him say That stores stock is not as good
as mine; the customers smoke advertis-
ing The remark implied that the people
who get things at the rivals place thought
they were getting better articles because
| the advertisements of that concern told
| them so; and it was so to them-as long
| as they believed it. Why do people eat
| the modern breakfast foods? Is it be-
| cause the food is really superior to all
| others? Is 1t because you must have that
| particular brand: that you can't get along
| without It? Thousands of people now
wear nothing but Douglas shoes, other
| thousands none but Emerson, or some
| other make 1t is not In the least unfair
/ to either Of the firms mentioned to assert
| the material which has been most potent
| in securing and retaining this or that
| thousand persons Is the advertising.
| "You have already grasped the point I
| limit to the things that may be profitably
advertised Surely if the staff of life, and
| the graveyard can be promoted by this
/ means there Is chance for the orange.
| If this be true, then we have only to give
/ our serious attention to the how of the
| advertising; consider the character. and
Il search for the very best method. Just as