Norwich bulletin., 1922-04-13
ROTARIANs HEAR AUTHOR
 "sAY IT WITH FLOWERS"


 and nationally, was ably presented by Major P. F. O'Keefe, originator of the slogan, Say It With Flowers" who was brought here by Otto Ernst to speak to the Norwich Rotary club at the monday luncheon on Wednesday. Major OKeefe l is one of the recognized authorities on the value of advertising and has been 1 in the business for the past thirty years. seeing concerns made by advertising and go broke through the lack of it.
 l Major O'Keefe was introduced by MT. Ernst who explained that this was his busy season and he did not exactly have time to prepare any lengthy address on horticulture, but that MaJor O'Keefe, who | had through his slogan of Say It With Flowers" increased the florists business, | would talk to the club on advertising. MT. Ernst also took the opportunity humorously to get back at a few of his very good friends and his keen wit kept the club in a Continual uproar of laugh ter.
 OlIajcr OEeefdls underlying thdrglt- regarding advertising was to boost the ''old home town" and let the country in | general know that we were proud of 1t and that you believed your town was on the map. Modesty is virtue, but if you don't blow your own horn when it comes to boosting your town nobody else will. Major OKeefe admitted that he was the originator of the slogan Say It With Flowers" a slogan that has gone around the world, been copied in other lines of business and even furnished topic for the song writers. I did it, said Major O'Keefe, simply as a matter of business.
 The florists wanted to boost their trade and they came to me to help our. They had a long unwieldy commercial slogan which I saw would fall flat so simply said Say It With Folwers.' This slogan was catchy and as results have shown did boost the business. The fior- ists tell me that in the average the busi- ness has increased 25 per cent and MT
 Ernst tells me that his business has beer increased at least 50 per cent. since the
 slogan was first published. Not only has
 it increased business but it has ma1t people sit up and take notice and has created an interest in flowers. This fact
 was recently demonstrated at the Grand Central Palace where S4S,000 was paid 1T admissions alone to the internationa flower show. It was not for amusement
 that these people paid but for the beau ty to be derived from flowers
 So much for the slogan and now
 will say something about advertising iT
 general. Advertising pays as can b'
 readily seen in the progress of companie! l ludI nave put OH udllDlldl duNGILiSllle
 campaigns. We see the decline of thu concerns that once were widely advertis
 ed but having gained a reputation hay,
 thought they could get along withou
 advertising and today we hardly hear o
 them. You can remember back wheT
 soapiRe, a cereal or other nationally ad yertised product was considered the bes
 but today since those firms stopped ad Yertising you seldom hear of them. YoI , have got to keep reminding the peopl'
 that your product is still on the mar ket or they won't buy.
 Advertising is sin%sy the application o
 common sense to the selling prdblem
 For this application of common sense tn . up to date advertising agency employ , psychologists, statisticians, human inter est writers and in hundreds of othe
 ways dope out what appeals to the aver age person This costs money and make
 advertising cost an enormous sum. Doe
 1t pay? It surely does or the big man ufacturers would not gay out huge sum , for advertising each year. Take on , publication where a single page in one edl
 tion costs over S7,000 and is published 52 weeks in the year. If they were no
 getting results they would not be spend
 ing money.
 I want to say to the business men 0 l up and advertise New England Cities il the west are spending thousands of dal lars each year to put their towns befor I the public and they are getting results 2 Not only are they drawing people iron Q the east but they are drawing away th s business New England is back-sIdin
 business-wise. For example, twenr r years ago New England manufactured 2 s per cent. of the country's hosiery and 70 n day she manufactures only 10 per cent o She also manufactured 50 per cent. of tn = shoes in the country and today we ar c nowhere equalling that figure. This is tn e case with the other industries. New Eng :. land has the same facilities that she ha = always had but she is not making the mos
 of her opportunities.
 : The advertising is now turning to tn U foreign fields in view Of the building II a strong foreign trade in certain line:
 This foreign field is a growing field an
 one that can be highly developed
 You. people have wonderful city her Il but you should advertise it. C.: = some manufacturing plant here tha r will advertise Norwich all over the cour 6 try They tell me that Norwich is cal 7. cd the Rose of New England, but I hay s never heard of it. Advertise this fac l, and let the people know it.
 u Major O'Keefe was given a rising vol l. of appreciation for his most interestia
 and very inspiring talk. James l.. Gas e asked the major wh yhe did not mentio Il the Thermos Bottle company. whic T stamps the name of Norwich on ever B bottle that is put out. Major Okeei