, 1926-12-22
PROBLEM FOR MERCHANTS

The present day merchant who is at all justified in the
hope of making a success of his business is already well "sod"
to the idea that he must do at least a reasonable amount of
newspaper advertising in attracting patronage to his store.
His real problem is to decide just what percentage of his
gross business should constitute his apportion for use in buying
his city and trade territory and how this appropriation may be
advertising space in the newspapers which are distributed in
his city and trade teretory and how this appropriation NAV be
used to the best advantage.
This problem is presented with particular force at the
opening of the holiday season when largely increased buying
may De anticipated and when each merchant is particularly
anxious to- attract the attention of prospective buyers to his
store and to the lines of seasonable merchandise which he is
showing.
Without a doubt, there is a danger of some merchants going
further in the use of newspaper advertising space than they are
justified in doing on the basis of reasonable expectation of gross
business during any certain period. This danger is encountered
as a result of either a failure to give sufficient thought to the
subject or to falling a victim of the high pressure methods
employed by some co-caled advertising men" in attempting to
sell the largest possible amount of advertising space without
studying the merchants real needs and offering such sugges-
lions as might be really helpful in the mapping out of an adver-
Using campaign.
There are times when the full-page advertisement or the
double-page spread" may be the very thing that is required
in directing attention to some extraordinary selling event, but
it is more frequently the case that the day-after-day CONSTANT
use of smaller space with well-prepared copy, attractively dis
played, will go much further in securing the desired reader
response, than will the large expense involved in carrying oc-
casional page-ads, followed by days of retrenchment in order to
equaGze on the total apporionment.
1t is doubtful if any Cody merchant is justified in allowing
a single issue of the newspapers of his city to be distributed
among their readers without containing his advertisement in
some form, even if it be in small space, as memory is a rather
tickle thing and patronage is much inclined to go where it is
being invited by newspaper advertising.
The Enterprise goes each week into hundreds of the homes
IN this city and vicinity which are not reached by any other
newspaper. Two-thirds of the buying power of this community
is represented by the homes into which The Enterprise is well
coined and carefully read each week. The direct response
attainabe through Enterprise advertising is not questioned by
advertisers who have been consistent users of space in this
newspaper.
1t is the sincere wish of The Enterprise that it be of real
service to the merchants of this city in offering suggestions, if
desired, and cooperating in securing the best possible results
from the money invested in advertising in this newspaper but
it is far from our wish that high-pressure selling methods be
employed in an effort to overseI any merchant beyond his real.
publicity requirements or to the extent of having q N unstahiiz-
ing effect on his finances.
1t may be assumed that every merchant operating in this
city knows his own business best and may be trusted not to fall
a victim of being over-sold by some ambitious space salesman