The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1911-04-13


WSW ress during the past two
HNyX decades than advertising.
Formerly there was little
in the business to develop
or utilize talent of high order or to
command especial respect from the
public. The modern successful adver-
tising man is an influential factor in
Business and even In public life and
receives salary commensurate with
his ability The managers of the sales
departments of the largest business
concerns are but the highest type of
advertising men and upon their direct
efforts rests the prosperity of such in
stitutions. Governments, even, have
use for the ad. man and do not hest
tate to give him ample remuneration
for the results he obtains by means of
stimulating popular interest
There is no occupation your boy
could choose that offers brighter pros
poets if only he exerts himself and all
his talent and energy and is deter
mined to get to the top. 1t is not es-
sential that he should possess excep-
tional qualifications for the work. AS
in most kinds Of life work, hard work
and study will carry him to the de-
sired end-in this case loftier pin
nacle than may be attained in most
business careers.
Assuming, then, that your boy
wishes to make stir in the world
as director of publicity, that he is 16
or so years of age and has had the
usual schooling, his first step will be
ITO go to one of the large advertising
agencies and ask opportunity to begin
at the bottom.
AS in other beginnings, his first job
will be that of office boy, and his pay
IS or so a week. However, he will be
given work right at the beginning that
is the very foundation of all advertis-
ang. He will be shown that advertis-
Ing measurement and cost are based
on the agate line, and will be set to
figuring up the space taken in various
publications by different advertisers,
all of which is put into tables for fu-
lure reference. There are IA agate
lines to an inch. The length of the
line is the width of the column. The
cost is estimated at the rate Of so
much an agate line
Through the business handled by
his firm he will become familiar with
the writing of advertisements, the
charges made by different publica-
lions, the field covered by them, what
their circulation is, what special class
of advertisers patronizes given maya
zines or other publications, what pub
locations are best adapted to facilitate
the sale of various articles, what form
and size of advertisement to use, ex-
ercising his artistic and publicity
sense by becoming familiar with the
display value of various kinds of type,
etc.
AS he advances in knowledge of all
these things, and thereby becomes of
greater value to his employer, your
boys pay will steadily increase until,
after a couple of years, he will prob
ably be getting $40 or so week, and
will be on fair road to higher and
more rapid advancement.
Advertising agencies are firms that
place the advertising and publicity
work for companies or individuals
that do not maintain their own adver-
Using departments. Thus John Doe
& Co., wholesale hardware merchants,
conclude that this year they will
spend $4,000 in advertising; so they
ARRANGE with an agency to distribute
this money for them, the agency Sc
lecting the publications or other
means and apportioning the outlay
where 1t will do the most good. For
this work the agency receives COM
mission of 10 to Is per cent, not from
the hardware firm, but from the pub
lications.
Therefore, the principal soliciting
done by the agency is to get these &C.
counts from advertisers. AS the
agencies themselves are solicited by
magazines and other publications,
your boy becomes familiar with both
sides of the game.
Your boys advancement to the po-
,sition of solicitor will depend entirely
upon himself. Naturally he will have
ito possess pretty good knowledge of
the business, so as to meet all argu-
ments and objections from persons
who also are we'll informed, and he
must present an appearance that will
beget confidence. Probably he will
not be competent to do all this until
he has been with an agency for sew
eral years. but all this time he will
|be improving himself in the Office and
becoming an authority on advertising
generally. He will be earning from
315 to $40 or even more week by the