The Coolidge examiner., 1933-08-25
ROADSIDE
MARKETING
By T. ]. Delohery
ADVERTISING BUILDS
BUSINESS

w S. d., finished selling his best
watermelOns to wholesalers, thou
sands still remained in the fields.
Pondering a bit as to how he could
sell them, he decided TO advertise
in local newspapers for 40 miles
around his farm.
Watermelon Day." screamed the
headline of his advertising. When
dusk settled over his farm that Sun
day. there wasn't a melon on the
place as large as mans head
More than 500 cars had visited the
farm and 5000 watermelons brought
$500. But that wasn't ALL Pota-
toes, squash, popcorn and a few
other such products were bought
freely from piles near the gate where
customers stopped to pay for the
watermelons they picked.
The way Watermelon Day took
hold was a revelation to me-" said
Mr.. Nash. Il never dreamed the
advertising we did would draw so
many people. 1t didn't cost much,
but ii surely paid big dividends. 1t
all goes to show that producing what
the people want is profitable. A little
time thinking what things will ap-
peal TO the public often gets you
more than months of the hardest
kind Of labor in the field"
E. A. Ikenberry of Independence.
Mo-, was a county agent until he
saw he could make more money
growing fruit himself than trying to
teach farmers. Now his orchards
produce $4,000 to 10000 bushels of
apples, and he has y acres in
grapes, Strawberries and blackber
ries. Ikenberry isn't on the main
road, but his roadside market is we'll
patronized, thanks to advertising.
Local advertising, good fruit and
a square deal for his customers
built up a business that not only
takes all of his fruit, but hundreds
Of gallons of cider and thousands of
dozens of eggs and countless dressed
chickens.
Good advertising is cheap" he
said. 81 don't need as much pub
licity as did when we started; but
l keep my name before the public
except on rainy days, when you can't
expect anyone to come out"
BARTON BROTHERS
Roadside Farm Market
Fruit-Vegetables
Fresh From the Fields
Coffin's Corner on Haddonheld Road
1t didn't take an expert to write
that advertising copy which the Bar
tons used in a three-inch space in
their local papers; but 1t was strong
enough to pull $500 worth of sales
in one day. The same amount of
produce, sold wholesale, according
to the terminal market quotations,
would have brought Barton Broth
ers about 500, and they would have
had to haul it to market. pay com
missions and other expenses.
V. A. Houghton, Maine poultry
man, will gladly testify to the value
of local advertising. During the
Matching season he sold eggs at $50
a setting. The price of table eggs
was As cents a dozen. A few dol
lars worth of publicity netted s4S
extra profit on the egg deal.
Il can't help but believe in adver-
tising," he explained. Here's an
other reason; spent 63 cents for a
classified ad after / had sold 10
large dressed cockerels for $1.20
each because the return was too
small. Local neighbors bought 80
males for breeding purposes through
the 21-word ad, paying me 500. |
could have sold almost a dozen more
If | had them"
F. C. Crocker, like many other Ne
braska pure bred hog breeders, held
two big auction sales a year. He
sells direct to the farmer now, find
ing it much cheaper and more profit
able. Advertising does the selling.
Markets patronized by people liv-
ing in nearby towns can often make
good use of newspaper advertising.
a medium which is especially help
full in moving surpluses at the peak
season." said G. H. Castor, roadside
marketing expert of the Michigan
State college. THE plan followed
by some growers, when confronted
with a surplus, is to reduce the price
on the product in question, making
1t a drawing card to get people to
come to the market. Satisfied Gus
toners buy other commodities and
come again. and. though the grow
ers may make little profit on the sale
of the featured product, he avoids
loss and is doing the thing which
will develop his patronage.
"The effectiveness Of newspaper
advertising depends, among other
things, upon the location Of the mar
ket, the kind of products offered
for sale. their quality and price.
and on the class Of people who read
the paper. These factors are so
variable that the only way for any
individual farmer to determine what