Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-28
THE NEWSPAPER I'D"
AND THE AUTOMOBILE
The Press as a Factor in the
UpbuiIding Of the Gigantic
Auto Industry.


organization. over night came out Of the
legal fight between the EMF Company
and the Studebaker Automobile Company
less than two years ago. and 1t Is q mon
ument to the efficiency Of the daily news
paper.
The situation was this. The EMF
Company, manufacturers. had contracted
to sell their entire output through the
Studebaker Company. Came September,
with the usual falling of Of demand at
that season. The Studebaker Company
refused to take the cars, and we awoke
to find ourselves with q million dollars
worth Of automobiles on hand and an
other million dollars worth Of parts in
the process Of manufacture, and obliga-
lions aggregating nearly a million dol
lars q month which could not be stopped
When it is considered that only twenty
months previous the EMF Company
had started with q total capital OF but
500, 600 1t will he readily understood that
we could not carry this tremendous load
very long.
AS soon as the Studebaker Company
refused to take the cars, Mr.. Flanders,
president of the EMF Company, with
his usual promptness, Cancelled the con-
tract over night.
Now. that a big legal battle must ensue,
we ali knew. The usual way would have
been to fight the matter out in the courts.
This we did perforce-but We first fought
out the real battle in the court OF public
opinion.
prise the entire country through an open
letter to the Studebaker Company that
he had Cancelled the contract. He had
hardly done SO when minority stockhoid-
ers asked for an Injunction on the ground
that their interests were jeopardized be-
cause the EIM-F Company had no sales
organization and could not market its
product except through the Studepaker
Company.
We knew the court might grant It on
the following morning at Q o'clock. IT
was necessary, therefore. to sell the
product before o'clock-that is, to notify
every dealer in the United States that
we were ready to sell him automobiles
direct Mr. Flanders told me to 90 Il ,I
can reach q few cities. but we cannot
reach the Pacific coast in less than four
days-and that is the one big market a
this season of the year"
what about the telegraph" he asked.
We spent $500 in telegraph tolls, and
before 8 o'clock the next morning every
dealer in Los Angeles and Boston, In st.
Paul and New Orleans know that he
could buy our cars direct.
San Francisco. Fully fifty others wired
or wrote for the agency. But these six
realized that time was the essence. and
they all arrived on the same train and
take our line. but begging for 1t and put
ting forth the best arguments he could
to show us why he should have II.
We built sale organization over night
And within ten days, when the suit final
ly came to trial. we placed In the judge 8
nineteen million dollars. on every one OF
which there was a substantial deposit
from the dealer.
Godfather Of Auto Business.
I do not know Of any other. media
through which such positive and such in
Simultaneous results could be obtained as
we obtained In that instance.
The daily Newspaper. in fact. Is really
godfather to the automobile industry.
The daily newspaper adopted the automo-
bile industry even before the daily news
paper itself or We who are more vitality
concerned, knew that It was an industry.
To the liberal amount OF publicity that
has been given the automobile BY the
daily newspaper columns we owe most Of
the great success Of that industry.
Today the automobile industry IL the
largest buyer OF Newspaper space In the
world. The show business comes next.
And 80 per cent Of all the automobile ad-
vertising goes into the daily newspapers.
the other 10 Per cent bsing diyided
obtain all the figures covering all local
campaigns as well as the national. but
the figures VIII BE- found to be sub
stantially correct.
recall very wildly that some SIX
put the first automobile campaign into
the dailies, the head OF the agency who
was handling our account went to the
general manager OF the company and
knows nothing about automobile advertis-
ing, can give It to you: he 10 going "a
use daily papers, and even the Hearst
papers"
Dsfly and Sunday Papers Only.
cannot say that automobiles cannot
be sold through magazines Or through
other media. for do not know. II Just
happens that my own methods are. or
seem 20 mo to be- better adapted to the
daily newspaper than to other media.
During my entire experisnoe In adver-
sins satomoDMss ... havs ne :y .:sd
and Sunday papefs. made slight ex-
ception for one excursion into the bill
posting held, when We spent some $1,000,
with results 80 stnan % to be unnouce-
1AlOs .&AScVsss~A AsSSA0 rVAA0A0ASAA0 HuSO
theater programs and other similar me-
dia. Always we have come back to the
The use OF the daily nswspapsr for
selling automobiles came about acci-
dentally. About six years ago, when I
was advertising manager Of the Ford
Motor Company. our Chicago branch was
running far behind. IL was losing money
heavily, despite the faot that No were
spending q liberal amount Of money IN
media Of general circulation.
The general manager asked mo what
ought to DO done In tho mA&teR. ana.
after thinking It over. told him the only
way / could see would be 70 ooncen-
trate on Chicago. ana the only way to
concentrate on Chicago was % do 10
throVKi, daily newspapers. We were
covering the whole country IN . scattering
sort OF way; developing Inquiries In many
places where we could not take care Of
Them. What we wanted was business
for the Chicago branch, and We wanted
IL quickly. He was . man quick to de-
eide. and, despite the opposition o1 the
Advertising agency. sert
with 5000 TO be expended IA o Wee1e-oe
less--if It could be done.
Arrived there. stated my miogio0 -
1.-The branch manager, much 70 his con-
steruation.
Of . small salary and . percentage" ~
protested, and ! azn AlreAdy $500 -