White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1927-05-13
THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ADVER-
Using IN FOREIGN TRADE
By Frederick Sturgess !

TOW many of us in viewing San
Il Francisco and other Pacific Coast
ports as foreign trade centers, world
cities, key-ports to the United States,
or seeing the ships that pass by day
and by night, realize what each one
means to our own business, our pay
roll, our profits, and in turn what
credit do we give to that very impor-
tant item that is so much factor in
the individual, community and nation
al life of all? speak of advertising.
To do more than merely approach
this important subject in our CONNER
cial intercourse with the rest of the
quite impossible, and to go into the
matter in any length of detail touch
ing on domestic and foreign advertis-
ing comparisons, their field, scope,
functions and actual results, could
only be accomplished, not in minutes
but in hours; to touch on publicity
methods in South America, advertis-
ing plans for India, or suggestions as
to how to merchandise oranges in ST.
IBERIA, for instance, is not my mission
at this time; but in order to render as
great a service as possible in a short
period, l will touch on the matter
purely from the point of view of its
fundamental or cardinal principles.
Even to the casual observer it is
obvious that advertising has under
gone great changes in recent years.
The volume, the type, the form, the
style, and even the purpose. of adver-
Using have altered in order to con-
and standards in all countries as we'll
as the United States.
Advertising is as necessary to trade,
both domestic and foreign, as steam is
to an engine. It used to be said that
competition was the life of trade"
but now it is recognized by all stu
dents of modern method that the life
Of trade is advertising"
Good publicity is vital to all foreign
business. In other words, itsis the
pioneer that goes ahead; the herald
that proclaims his champion; the ar
tillery. handled easily and rapidly by
the directing minds behind that clears
the way and removes distractions for
the advance of the soldier-"produc-
tion.'
Advertising like science, commerce
and transportation follows an evolu-
tionary process. In earlier days when
our forefathers walked, or relied on
horses as a means of transportation;
when they made their own clothes,
lived in small communities, and when
none but few adventures went far
af1eld, the chief advertising medium
was the town or village crier, a long
whiskered gentleman with braided
coat, who announced his news after
calling attention to himself by the
loud changing of bell which he car
ried in his right hand. During the
intervening period, advertising has I'm
dergone many changes, until in our
present time we are using wireless,
radio, motion pictures, aeroplanes,
and the later products of scientific re-
search as the framework of our selling
and advertising structure.
From the fundamental point of
view of foreign economics, advertis-
ing is the bridge used to help estab-
lish the contact of mind with mind,
upon which the whole organization of
the marketing process is based. In
export trade, it is therefore absolutely
necessary to thoroughly know the de-
sires of the foreign mind in order that
the bridge of advertising may rest on
a sound foundation. Sometimes 1t
seems that the element in our foreign
economics on which we are apt to
place too low an estimate, is the true
understanding of exactly what the for
eigner really wants.
The goal of all advertising is to es-
tablish demand, and its function in
the complete selling process is to re-
duce sales resistance by actually Gre
ating desire, or demand, for a service
or merchandise.
During a recent visit in the North
west, leading manufacturer stated
to me that what he required was