The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-06-04
THE COUNTRY MER-
CHANTS ADVERTISING
Again speaking of advertising.

HEbIH SDedhlHS VI
In discussing this subject several
weeks ago we said there were many
phases of advertising. We now desire
to discuss just one class of advertis-
ing-that class which concerns more
especially a small community such as
this, farming community. In other
words, advertising directed to the
farming community through the farm
papers and what arises or might arise
from it.
In the first place, how does this class
Of advertising effect the merchant in
the small town?
The country merchant largely feels
that this class of advertising draws
trade from the local merchant to the
mail order houses and he sees no way
to combat it. There is no question
but that it does just what it is ac-
cused of to greater or less degree.
But it need not necessarily do this
at least to so great an extent-and
will not do it where the country mer-
chant will take advantage of the ad-
vertising done in these farm papers
and other magazines that enter the
homes of the community.
Farmers and farmers wives and
farmers sons and daughters are con-
tinually reading in such papers as the
Michigan Farmer, Michigan Business
Farmer, Successful Farming, and
other farm publications, the adver-
tisements of National advertisers.
These advertisements appeal to a
greater or less degree to them. That
is just what they are designed to do.
Let the small town merchant take a
lesson from this.
While much of this advertising is
direct advertising to the consumer, on
" fraction of what might be termed
strictly mail order advertising. A
very large portion of advertising car
ried in these mediums is destined 70
help the local merchant who handles
these nationally-advertised products.
Therefore it is very evident that the
merchants of the smaller towns who
do not take advantage of the benefits
to be derived from this national adj
vertising are in reality throwing away
very valuable asset. The country
merchant could spend no time more
proftably than by making a careful
study of national advertising.
These national advertisers have a
reputation to uphold, and while the
claim is made by competitors who do
not thus advertise that they give the
consumer the advantage of lower
price because they spend no money in
advertising, the claim is not founded
on fact. When the matter is looked
into from an economic standpoint we
find the result something like this:
The National advertiser usually has
a larger output and thus a reduced
production cost which more than over
comes the difference between the ad-
vertised article and the article that
is not advertised And again the
merchant handling non-advertised
goods usually receives larger per-
centage of profit on these goods than
on the advertised goods which gives
him his excuse for pushing the non
advertised goods, whereas, he would
make as much profit if he handled as
far as possible only nationally adver-
tised goods and had larger turnover.
We have made study of country
merchandising for more than two
years both in observation and in read
ing and have come to this one conclu-
tion among others. The conclusion we
mention we have not seen in print but