Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-06-16
THE
AID. MANS
CORNER
*<<<<<<*%*<<****~**A%++%A
LIFE INSURANCE ADVERTISING
(From Seattle Times. J

v Apih bNdbIlC l. lllHbS.
At the recent congress of Northwest
Life Underwriters held in this city, the
question of newspaper advertising of
life insurance was one of the prineipal
/ topics of discussion, discussion all tbe
more interesting to newspaper pub
Usher for the reason that it is a nev
phase of life insurance solicitation
Only within the last two years has the
matter of educational advertising in
newspapers been heard at these con-
ventions, the only use for a paper that
has met the approval of the Underwrit-
erS being the annual printing of finan-
cial statements.
10 the newspaper publisher, who is
an average type of business man carry
ing life insurance, there appears two
general reasons for the arrival of the
life insurance interests at a point where
the newspaper as a pulpit from whence
to preach their doctrines has become
acceptable. One of these reasons is the
fact that as statesmen of a certain def.
mite product, life insurance men have
seen financial institutions of all sorts
gradually making profitable use of
newspaper space, Savings banks, bond
houses, national banks and public ser.
vice corporations have in the last five
years used more and more newspaper
space, filling it with educational mes.
sages to the people and altogether with
profit to the purchasers of that space.
This is an object lesson to life insur.
ance statesmen, and it is the salesman
himself out on the firing line who has
begun this talk of newspaper advertis-
ing, and not the man in the head office.
Again, life insurance has been vast
ly improved in the last decade through
the progressive legislation of various
states, and through the gradual opera
tion of competition in the service of the
public. The life insurance companies
themselves are more substantial than
ten years ago, their policies offer a
wider range of protection than they did
ten years ago, and the investment and
savings bank features of the modern
policy are valuable
With this improvement and with a
constantly growing necessity for new
risks to write, life insurance company
is pushing its sales force and comes nat
urally to the problem of how best to
reach the average family.
Mr.. j. Fred Braid advertising man
ager Of this newspaper, was invited to
speak before the Seattle congress on
this matter of newspaper advertising
as applied to life Insurance. He dwelt
on the intimacy existing between pub
lie service corporations and the citizen,
an intimacy that could be brought into
existence between life insurance COM
panies and the people as a whole Life
insurance is not understood by the av-
erage man or woman. Newspaper space
would assist in making it so. In part
Mr.. Braid said
"Make your appeal to that high
priestess, to the Goddess Columbia, the
American Woman. She is the dynamo
that runs this wonderful, magical
wealth-producing and wealth .distribut-
ing agency known as Advertising. She
is often referred to as the Eternal In
terrogation Point, but in reality she is
the Eternal Reason Why.
"Why Woman; why art'-
Woman; why music, learning, books,
industry, commerce, religion, war, hell,
Heaven and clothes Woman.
"WHY INSURANCEl-WOMAN.
"Just notice the percentage of ad-
vertising in all lines directed to her at
tention; that alone will answer most
emphatically any question that might
arise in your minds as to the advisable
ity of using newspaper space through
which to give to her a full and intimate
knowledge of that policy which sooner
or later may protect her against want.
"The most casual observation will
convince you that she reads the daily
newspaper advertising columns with
a zeal born of a holy devotion to the
family circle else about 9S per cent Of
the advertising would not be there.
Business men who advertise do not
have to be educated as to the value OF
life and corporation insurance.
"The volume Of insurance business
is what it is in spite of the limited
amount Of misdirected publicity it has
received; to what immeasurable heights
it will rapidly rise under the coming
propaganda Of newspaper publicity,
bringing as it will an intimate knowl-
edge Of the cardinal features of insur-
ance to those most vitally concerned,
can hardly be imagined"
| A Worker Appreciates This.