The Redwood gazette., 1936-10-01
The Greater Campaign

prizes which is slated for October 10, we
wish to express our appreciation of the splen-
did work done by some 80 candidates IN
every portion of the city's trade area and to
thank the thousands of old subscribers who
re-subscribed and the several hundred whose
names are new upon our list.
1t will be interesting to readers to know
that in the six year period in which The Ga
zette has had three campaigns, the circula-
tion has been multiplied by four. The circu-
lation figure which we will be able to an
nounce (and prove) at the end OF this cam
paign will be the largest any Minnesota
newspaper in a town the size of Redwood
Falls can offer. Incidentally, the advertising
rate also is the lowest.
Six years ago The Gazette had just an
average circulation for an average town OF
was not the average town. It's merchants
$500 to 5000 persons But Redwood Falls
were already reaching out past the area
served by it's newspapers. To do this they
found it necessary to resort to circulars and
to a community bargain paper which they
published and distributed at tremendous eX-
pense, then prayed for good weather in order
to make one day bargain occasion success
full.
1t was partly on the suggestion of mer
chants six years ago that the Gazette
launched it's first great expansion program
TO CIdC ClIHe ClTCuldIlOH COVeIdSe COlloiSI-
ed mainly of the city and it's rural routes,
with scattered circulation in communities
which did not have newspapers. When the
first successful campaign was ended, the
radius of the area in which the paper was
widely read had been pushed out from five to
ten miles in every direction, with scattered
papers in homes outside that radius
Scattered papers in communities on the
outer rim warranted hiring correspondents
in these communities and gradually resi-
dents came to know the paper from contact
with it. By 1884 the depression had lifted
sufficiently to warrant expansion and since
several good advertising contracts hinged on
getting 5000 subscribers, The Gazette
launched it's second major offensive. When
the two car prizes had been awarded the
gaps in the old area of influence had been fill
ed and the paper was a regular and welcome
visitor in much wider area, places that
hardly knew the name of Redwood Falls
newspaper four years before.
Still at considerable expense The Ga
zette pressed on with solicitors and minor
contests such as the dot counting event
year ago. That the solicitors might have
something to sell, new press capable OF
printing an eight column newspaper, new
type setting equipment and other machin-
cry to speed up production and give the COM
munity the news more quickly and complete
ly were added at considerable expense.
With this equipment it was possible to
print a newspaper fully so per cent larger
and containing more news. More CORES
pondents were hired to more completely COW
er the news of the territory. Each move
worked hand in hand with every other to
strengthen The Gazette's position in the
field.
A contest is not only an effective meth
cd of building circulation, when properly
conducted it is the best known method OF
protecting we'll established list and adding
to it. The manner in which the Gazette has
pushed out into distant communities to
make this third campaign the most success
full of the three in gross volume and in num-
Der of new subscribers has been a revelation
to the publishers far beyond any hope. 1t
has seemed to justify all the long hours of
hard work and the tremendous expense In
volved in building a newspaper worthy OF
the city and community it serves.
We are glad to be able to say that the
response of merchants to a greater adver
tising opportunity has justified the efforts
made on their behalf. Their commentator
and encouragement with each addition to the
staff and purchase of new equipment has
been more than welcome but their increased
advertising was even more important in
making possible the next stride.
we wish to stress that it is not the end of our
greater campaign to make the Gazette more
important in the life of Redwood Falls and
the entire community. That campaign is re-
newed with each new issue, it will go for
ward in proportion to the support and back
ing we receive It's slogan, with apologies
to Buick, when a greater Redwood Falls
newspaper is published, The Gazette will
publish it."
Speaking of movies, it is really amazing
the improvement made in morals and dia-
logue in the current cinema. And the public
has applauded the change not just verbally
but at the box office.
Of movies again, the greatest service
picture producers can give this nation is oc-
casional war pictures, particularly news
reels, which are honest about war and do
not show the glamor to the exclusion of the
real horror of commercial manslaughter.