The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-04-15

The United States is developing the
quality OF nationalism. We are com.
ing to think of things in terms of our
nationality. Business men are inter
ested in what the nation grows. what
the nation produces, what the nation
consumes, what the nation exports
and imports.
II calamity befalls one Of our
states or cities, 1t is a national calam-
ity. We have established national
point Of view and are thinking with a
national mind Manufacturing Is be-
ing done on national scale, distribu-
ton studied on the same scope, and
national advertising has arrived.
Under these conditions, there is
need for the national advertising
agency, and such an agency may be
located in Philadelphia or Detroit, or
New York, or Kansas City or Denver,
provided that its activities are ma
tional, its experience national and it's
capacity to serve organized on a ma
tional basis.
This country is geographically so
vast, its population SO great, its range
of industries so wide, that no concern
may have correct national point of
view unless this national view Is made
up of segments OF sectional views. In
other words, correct national view
point may only be formed by an in
innate study OF the contributing local
facts and conditions.
Our business, which has for more
than quarter of century been the
largest of its character in the world,
has in the past few years undergone a
complete reorganization. This reor-
SANITATION has not been merely a
change Of men and methods: it has
bsen rather re-expression to suit
modern conditions OF the first fine
principles upon which the business
was established forty-six years ago.
For the past several years our rep
resentatives have visited on an aver
aa., of thirty.seven states per year:
We have made an average of six thou
sand business calls per year: we have
kept on file, closely scrutinized, check
ed and registered, whether we had an
advertisement in them or not, an aver
age OF fifteen thousand publications.
from all sections of this country.
We have developed to an unus ri
extent excellent information aid s.a-
tistics concerning many trades and
many localities. We have impreg-
mated our own organization with a
greatly broadened view of our nation
atty as expressed in business methods
and business necessities. We have
become national advertising agency.
Their are a great many advertising
agencies which designate themselves
as general" or national which ap-
Ill, - ha,r coll NO
qualification solely because they place
advertisements II publications of gen.
eral or national circulation. From our
point of view. the intelligent use OF
national publications is difficult until
the agency has had a very broad ex-
periance in the use of many forms OF
local ADVERTISING media, such as news
papers, bill posting, etc, in every part
and section Of this big country OF
ours.
That an advertiser and his agent
may plan to derive the full advantage
Of an advertising expenditure. there
must, in the first place, be broad
basic knowledge Of the situation. Ac'
tual conditions in each state should
be known This information should
be matched uD with the status Of the
advertisers business in each state.
This. in turn, should be considered
in connection with an analysis of the
circulation of national publications in
each state. Only by this process may
advertising be made to do its full part
in sales campaign.
Some Of the most remarkable ma
tional advertising successes have
started as local campaigns with ma
tional effort in view as work OF the
future
Too many thinly spread out, poorly
supported. so-called national advertis-
ing campaigns are started, and the
annual death rate is something ter
rife. Facts and figures are easily
available to every one, and need no
comment from us.
This scheme of spending a few
thousand dollars in a national publ
cation and then proceeding to blum
the trade in the line OF, merchandise
thus advertised. Is pretty well played
out. Helpful, Intelligent co-operation
with the trade is desirable. Retailers
should be responsible to the effort OF
honest advertisers to place goods on
their shelves, but in too many cases
consumer advertising is used only as
a club on the retailer, and the appro-
nriation is not of sufficient size, nor
the advertising effort sufficiently coz
tinuous to really accomplish mucn
with the ultimate consumer.
Our developing sense of nationality,
,nd the distressing conditions OF az