Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-09-05
Importance and Necessity
OF Persistent Advertising
In War Urged BY CLoper

| For example, I have no doubt that
even under the normal pre-war con-
! ditions, thousands of persons~who did
not possess q musical instrument were
sold on, say, the Chickering piano.
They might be without means for the
time being to carry out their deter
mination to own a Chickering, or
their might be other deterring reas-
ons-for instance, q family might be
planning removal to q new home, n
therefore disposed to postpone pur-
chase. The underlying fact in each
such case Is, however, that the pros
pect had absolutely made up his or
her mind to some day own a piano
and had come TO the conclusion that
the piano when 1t Is purchased will
be a Chickering.
Such anticipatory sales may not be
precisely on a plane with transac-
tons where an initial payment has
been made, but certainly they do have
a real value, and are a part of the in
tangible assets of the business. For
the maintenance of such an asset,
however, it is essential hat there be
~reiteration and reminders in the form
of continuous advertising hat keeps
alive the interest and the conviction of
the prospect nee won. Otherwise a
competitor, with repeated well-told
selling talks. will effect the mental
sale anu nOlQ IT. 1t WOuiQ appear lAoJ
the opportunities for thus, in effect
making sales for future delivery must
be especially favorable during the
war;. when the barrier to immediate
contamination of the trade is likely to
be found not in lack of purchase price,
but in inability TO obtain delivery of
the goods.
Seemingly the prospect who is IN
verted by advertising under such
nfrn1ln m cts nQac fo 1ikdIU m he ocnar1QllU
firm in allegiance. I fancy I hear him
saying: II may not be able to get
Weesson's Oil now, but when / can
get it / am going to have it." The
more rapid turnover of money that
has come to a considerable portion of
the population incident to the war
period is bound to encourage the
that will be made in the future, when
stocks of goods again become avail
able. / imagine l al hear many a
citizen reasoning somewhat in this
wise: II have always wanted that set
of Dickens or that Pianola, but / put
off making the purchase, and now /
can't get them. However, you can
bet that as soon as we get out of this
war mess I am going TO act without
delay and before anything else oc-
ours to interfere"
There is scant justification, II would
seem, for the misgivings of the adver-
tiser who is prone to allow his invest
ment in goodwill to go by default
merely because he suspects that popu-
lar demand " the conditions of dis
tribution may undergo some radical
change after the war. If a business
maj is basing his expectations upon
an unworthy product he might as well
abandon 1t once and for ALL For the
manufacturer, however, who has faith
In his product there is every reason to
have faith in the future and every in
c~entive to take out insurance in the
form of advertising.
The form that this wartime adver-
Using can take to best advantage is a
question for the judgment of the ex-
perienced advertising men, who are
familiar with the business interests
whose goodwill is to be safeguarded.
The copy may take the form of good
will advertising, so-called. 1t may be
explanatory of the Government de-
mand, which, as in the case of bull
Durham" curtails civilian supply. Or
again, 1t might specifically aim at Gre
alton of after-the-war demand. If the
responsibility were mine I believe that
! would be tempted to try, in the pres
emit predicament, what might be
termed tantalizing copy-messages
that would provoke the Damn-the-
halSST Sentiment on the part OF
Americans temporarily deprived of ar
ticles on which they are, IL anything,
more solidly than ever before.
Dominating the minor considera-
lions of ways and means is the big
idea that an advertiser Is justified, in
the face OF suspended animation, COM
mercially speaking, in doing every
thing within his power to sustain his
commercial integrity and preserve his
commercial identity. Let the corpor-
alton with such an asset use its sur
plus, employ its undivided profits, or
even borrow money to protect, by
means of consistent and insistent adj
vertising, that invaluable, intangible
asset-good-will. which is the one
thing that cannot be bought out OF
hand after the war.
They told me when I was a Dung
ster that even the Lord can't make
a t~wo-year-old calf in a minute" Big
advertising spreads after the war win
meet equally big spreads. Business
win bid for public attention and in
terest on a bull market. The purpose
will be to put a punch into the good
will that has gone fabbY. The man
who goes into hat contest with q
public attention and interest which he
has never allowed to relax will go in
with his goodwill trained to the min
ute. He will win.