The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-02-22
Money Talks
Fruit Growers
Northwestern Fruit Exchange
No. Ia
Origin 0" "SkOokum'' Plan
To- FRUIT GROWERS:

g overs associations, which were
then marketing through the EX-
CHANGE, and put to them a PROPOSE
tion about as follows:
I'VE believe the time has come to
take a definite step forward in the
matter of advertising and exploiting
our best fruit, and particularly to edu-
cate the public-consumers and the
: trade-as to the merits and uses of our
leading commercial varieties. We be-
lieve that our object can be accom-
plished only through recognition of
certain fundamental principles as fol-
lows: 1st. There is no use spending
good money to advertise poor merchan-
disc; therefore, we should exploit only
those varieties which stand high in the
quality scale: Banana, Grimes, Jona-
than, Stayman, Spitzenburg, Rome
Beauty, White Pearmain, Delicious,
Arkansas Black, Ortley, Winesap and
Newtown, all of which have rating
OF or better in the pomological scale.
And further. that only the extra fancy
quality should be included in the brand
to be advertised. In this manner we
will turn out an article of the highest
quality and the brand will stand for a
definite standard. End. In order to
support really comprehensive, effec-
tive campaign, there must be volume,
greater volume, we believe, than any
one of you can ever hope to produce.
Therefore, we must apply the principle
of COOPERATION, as between vari.
GUS local associations, and create a
brand which all can use equitably.
Furthermore, in order to provide q
SUCCESSION of varieties that can
supply the consumer with the right
quality at the right time, it is neces-
sary for number of associations to
cooperate, as certain Of you specialize
in some of these varieties and certain
of you in others. In other words a
really comprehensive campaign neces-
sarily involves cooperation and inter-
community effort. Now. if you are
ready ito accept these principles, the
EXCHANGE is ready to assume the
responsibility of the work. If you
will authorize the EXCHANGE to use
of your money 10 cents per box-or up
to 10 cents per box-the EXCHANGE
will agree to keep strict account OF
every cent expended and submit to you
at the end of the season RECEIPTED
VOUCHERS FOR EVERY PENNY
EXPENDED, so that you may satisfy
yourself that not one: cent of the mon
ey has gone to the EXCHANGE, but
every cent has been spent for AD-
VERTISING YOUR FRUIT. The
EXCHANGE realizes that the work
organizing this campaign. working out
the many and intricate details and
managing it throughout, is going to
involve lot of additional expense for
itself, but that it will cheerfully con-
tribute to the cause. Furthermore, the
EXCHANGE realizes full well that this
campaign has GOT TO PAY ITS
WAY, AS 1T GOES; that the growers
are in no position to invest in futures !;
to lose money in an operation this year
with the expectation of getting it back
five years hence. The EXCHANGE
confidently believes that advertising
SKILLFULLY DONE is an invest
ment and not an expense, and believes
that it can make this operation finan-
cial as we'll as an operating success"
Well, the representatives of the five
associations, realizing the gravity of
the issue, gave mighty careful consd-
Grafton to the proposal. They realized,
as we did, that failure would mean
criticism, and possibly loss of member
ship. But they also realized that it
was their duty to leave nothing undone
that promised improvement in their
growers business, and SO, after grave
ly discussing the matter from every
angle, they authorized the EXCHANGE
to proceed. 1t was mutually agreed
by the EXCHANGE and those repre-
sentatives of the growers that we
would proceed at first very cautiously,
and only put up fraction of the en-
tire extra fancy output of the IL varie-
ties under the new brand. So much
decided, they proceeded to organize
the BOARD OF GOVERNORS, con-
sisting of one official representative of
each of the participating associations.
This board reserved to itself the
right to control the use of the brand,
to pass on the qualifications of appli-
cants for admission, to formulate the
rules and regulations under which the
operation would be conducted. Adver-
tisements were inserted in the daily
papers of the United States offering
substantial cash prize for the best
trade mark or brand name. Hundreds
of names were submitted and the
BOARD OF GOVERNORS themselves
selected the name "SKOOKUM.
The EXCHANGE then proceeded to
work out the details of the campaign.
The problem was a difficult one. The
entire SKOOKUM pack of 1918 only
totalled 3S, ,72l boxes. which, at the
| "a af IN hnv vxynt,lH y,raI,,na
a fund of only $3,872. 10 pitifully
small sum with which to finance so i'm
portant and far-reaching an expert
ment. However, the first step taken
was to assign two of the EX-
CHANGES official staff to make a
comprehensive study of a large num-
Der of different markets, with a view
of selecting the testing ground. We
realized that from the standpoint of
necessity, and also from the stand
point of conservatism and caution, it
was advisable to pick out one section
and concentrate the ammunition on
that rather than to scatter it over a
broad territory, so thin that it could
not possibly be effective. We had in
mind selecting some one of the smaller
cities of the middle west. We investi-
gated scores of markets in all sections
of the country, and spent weeks study
ing the proposition from every angle.
We consulted with many of the largest
advertising agencies in the country
and with authorities in every line. The
advertising agencies were rather ap-
palled at the idea of undertaking SO
important an operation with SO little
money, and when we finally, after
looking at the matter from every an
gle, decided to put the campaign on in
NEW YORK, some of them told US
we were crazy that New York was one
of the hardest markets to break into
in the world with new brandl that
New York was accustomed to half-mil-
lion-dollar advertising campaigns and
was hard to make ''sit up and take
notice." even q that, etc. Neverthe
less. we relied on our intimate knowl-
edge of the FRUIT BUSINESS, which
L IL FL Al