The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-08-09
CUSACK'S VIEWS
ON ADVERTISING
He Is the Biggest Billboard
Man In the Business.
FEEDERS FOR NEWSPAPERS.
Advertisers Use the Billboards to Call
Attention to Their Wares and Then
Turn to the Newspapers to Tell tho
People Why They Should Buy.

iuTH " tle newspapers TO ell tn6
People Why They Should Buy.
1t hasn't been so many years since
the billboard men and some of the
newspapers were sworn foes, but all
this has changed, according to Thomas
Cusack of Chicago, who is said to be
the biggest billboard man in the coun-
try, which means in the world. 1t is
said of the billbOerds owned and op-
Grated by Mr.. Cusack that placed end
to end they would form a fence twelve
feet high running all the way from
Salt Lake City to New York, and he
employs 100 men. Some OF them
according to Mr. Cusack, have taken
prizes in art institutes in Chicago and
elsewhere, and not few have been
graduated into illustrators and cover
page designers for the magazines.
Mr.. Cusack was one of the pioneers
in the billboard business and has been
at it thirty-siX years. There was n
time, Mr.. CuSack said, when he trav-
eled over the country printing the
signs himself.
"The newspapers, at least many Of
them, used to think the outdoor adver-
tising came into competition with
them," said Mr.. Cusack. "On the other
hand, it has been proved that there is
no actual competition. Instead, one
helps the other. The Chicago newspa-
pers of late have begun to recognize
this, and some of them are among our
biggest customers.
How II Works Out.
at works out this way. The man
who has big proposition to put before
the public must make campaign of
advertising The proportion of it the
billboard men could hope TO get would
be small-not more than IS or % per
cent at the most. Now, when l went
into business l used to hold that the
newspapers We're not effective as
means of advertising have changed
my mind, and now hold that they
rank first They are bound to get the
biggest share of the advertising, and
the magazines nowadays come next.
We rank third or fourth
1--WE are feeders for the newspapers
The small dealer, the clothier, the lit
tie collar and cuff manufacturer who
wants W bDblll lis IOCdI Is likely
TO begin with us. When he has seen
the value of advertising he goes fur
ther and takes it up in the newspa-
pers. We really create with him de-
mand for newspaper advertising.
Take the case of what is now one of |
the biggest collar and cuff manufactur-
ing concerns in the country Thirty |
years ago l did practically all its ad-
vertising work with the billboards. |
Then it went into the magazines and |
then into the newspapers, and nova
days it uses the two latter vehicles !
almost exclusively. It's advertising was |
created and developed by the paint peo- |
pie
'Then up TO a few years ago a cele- |
brated brand of tobacco was entirely |
advertised by painters. 1t has since |
become a great newspaper and maga-
zine advertiser. / regard our business |
as the greatest auxiliary newspaper |
advertising has.
Cover the Country.
"Our method is used by one set of |
advertisers who wish to localize their !
displays. Then, of course, there are !
big advertisers whose wares we make |
known widely. We cover this cOun-
try outside of the immediate east, and |
we have 1900 bulletin boards fifty
feet long and ten feet high on rail
roads.
Formerly the newspapers used to
fight these on the Civic federation
and city beautiful plan, but now they
are realizing that they are an asset.
"Our work is now recognized as a
necessary part of almost any we'll con
Quoted advertising campaign. It is
entirely different from newspaper ad-
Vertising. We can simply show pic
ture or an eXhortatiOn. There is no
space to tell why the man who reads
should buy. He is told that the arti-
Gle is to be had or perhaps what it Is
for.
IF the advertiser wants TO tell peo-
pie why they should buy his goods he
must use the newspapers. An illus
tration OF what | mean may be found
in political advertising. Out In the
west painted billboards are coming in
TO general use in political campaigns.
Yet all these can show are short Do
litical slogans, for the most part-a
short catchy sentence that attracts the
eye in the second it flashes past. The
man who would learn more must go to
the newspaper.
billboard advertising is on the in
crease all the time, just as is newspe-
per advertising.
1--WE are large subscribers to news
papers and magazines. 1 suppose our
bill for subscriptions amounts to at
least $4,000 a year. In the Odd days
you did not have 10 pay a farmer If
you wanted to put up a billboard ON
his land. Nowadays he has come to
realize that that privilege is worth
something"