The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-04-02
A MERCHANTS VIEW OF ADvER.
Using

The following is taken from the Pub.
fishers Auxiliary:
1t Is always interesting to know
what the really wide-awake merchant
thinks about newspaper advertising.
Seldom, however, do we find a bust.
ness man who Is able and willing to
present the views of the merchant ad-
vertiser in such a virle, thorough way,
as did Mr.. s. B. Nelson of Luverne,
Mimi, in his address before the Sec
ond District Minnesota Editorial Asso-
citation at Winnebago recently.
Mr.. Nelson Is a member of a firm
which believes SO implicitly in the
efficacy Of country newspaper publicity
that a full page advertis ement Is car
ried in the local paper. the Rock Coun.
ty Herald Of Luverne, every week
throughout the year. Mr.. Nelson
spoke in part as follows:
Advertising Is a short cut to the
wide spread distribution or sale of a
product. Advertising men put girdles
of products-never heard Of previous.
ly-across continents in a few weeks.
In a few months they set a nation to
eating or wearing or using something
that a short time before 1t did not
know existed. Not all advertising men
or concerns that employ them, achieve
these results. however. Many con.
Germs In attempts to attain them, have
uselessly sQuandered fortunes. Why
is this! There are many reasons. This
article points out one reason. II you
were starting an advertising campaign
tomorrow would you resurrect an
Egyptian mummy, II you could, and
set him to writing copy in his ancient
hieroglyphics? Don't laugh! Wait!
Hear me out! To do this-to publish
copy written in old Egyptian Ian
guage dead for 1000 years-would be
idiotic. Why? Simply because II
would not be understood. Yet thous.
ands Of advertisers do this every day
Advertising copy is written to dis
play facts or ideas about goods, should
be SO clearly and simply written that
the reader will forget that words.
phrases and sentences r before him
he should look straight through
them to the meaning behind them. No
reader Of an advertisement is obliged
to read 1t. He is not paid to read 1t.
The act il purely a voluntary one on
his part. The minute you make him
work to get your meaning you are apt
to lose him as a reader.
The importance Of newspaper ad.
vertising for every class Of business
needs nc EXTENDED argument. 1t occu.
pies relatively the same place in bust
ness economy as a sales force. the pur.
pose of both being to make a sale. 1t
is generally conceded legitimate to
spend 2 per cent of gross sales for
newspaper advertising and that will
buy a goodly number Of newspaper
to tell the people how good our
merchandise Is. No successful mer-
chant can afford to neglect his adver-
Using. We can cooperate with our
newspaper In telling the public that we
have such and so at this and that
price and we car in our w way get
the confidence Of the people II we just
let them know that we really want
their business. and the weekly news
paper Is the most valuable advertis-
ing medium we have for doing this.
Consider carefully the merits of
your local paper. II 1t does not come
ND to the scratch and the editor or the
proprietor 10 . dead one" take small
space but . II every week and
change copy for each issue. II the
paper IL alive and has the confidence
OF the people and Q proper circulation
use It literally. inserting good sized
ads every week. Common ad.
vertising does not mean merely 80
much space used in the telling about
the business. II doesn't mean alto.
gethsr : carefully arranged display Of
white npace. No. not for . minute. A
sense advertisement means
telllng the people something Of inter
ct abeut what ron have to ofer.
thiues you know about your merchan-
1iso to- thsy should know. things
~ know Vim interest them In order
y nahs advsrtisins Nv.