Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-05-01
I Believe
By Roy Lee Yinger

The salesman selling newspaper advertising,
walked into the general store and accosted the
proprietor The conversation went something
like this:
''Mr Jones, have been wondering why you
haven't been advertising in our newspaper"
"Now look here, young man. Idont think it's
necessary for me to advertise at ALL have been
in business in this one spot for 80 years, and
don't believe there's a of the $1,000 people
who live here who don't know what sell. Adj
vertise? I'd just be throwing money away"
The salesman walked over to the door.
"Mr JONES'" said he, "come here"
Mr.. Jones walked over to the door.
The salesman pointed to a church across the
street.
Mr.. JONES'" said he, "has that church been
there 80 years?"
eyes, it has" said Mr.. Jones.
well" said the salesman, ''they still ring the
bell every Sunday, don't they?"
The aforegoing little story has always i'm
pressed me as being one of the strongest argu.
ments on the side of advertising For there is
little if any value, in sporadic fly-bynight adver-
Using. Consistent, unrelenting, day by day, week
by week. or month by month advertising is the
only kind which will eventually pay off.
| have always maintained that advertising is
the life blood of any business, no matter how
large or how small. And may be accused of
being prejudiced when I say that Of all the diff
ferent mediums of advertising there are - news
paper advertising, the printed word that lies still
= is the best of all. I am speaking, of course,
of that particular area which newspapers cir
culation covers. However, it is true that many
products of national distribution have gotten ex-
celent results through the medium of national
advertising
Eeven as advertising is the key to business
success (and who is there to say it is not) it is at
the same time the lifeblood of the newspaper
itself. No newspaper could exist without its adj
vertisers. Nor can a magazine The staid Readers
Digest found that out after many years of adj
herring to strict policy of not accepting adver-
Using. believe it is more interesting magazine
today, with the advertisements than it was be-
fore.
However, there are many things wrong with
newspaper advertising. First of all there is the
almost total lack of imagination on the adver
Using or copy writer's part. A lot of businesses
get up their own advertisements complete with
mats. Pick up any newspaper and you will be
sure to find full page somewhere that merely
lists lot of products for sale at Bargain" prices
Nobody reads this entire adj They could better
have taken the whole page and put an outstand
ing special in the very middle of it - thing
which almost everyone had to have = and they
would have gotten better results They would
have gotten more people into their place of bust
ness to buy this one thing and, while there they
would most likely have bought something else
An advertisement MUST bring people into your
place of business - If you can get them there
you've got it made
About year ago went into mems store
in the city Of Rockville. was looking for some
thing in nylons, don't remember exactly what it
was walked into the mems department, and
was Immediately impressed by the neatness, the
orderliness and attractiveness of the display of
mems clothing There was one clerk, a fine, hand.
some, obligng person whom Immediately felt
sorry for. The reason felt sorry for him was
because there wasn't another customer in that
store. was the only one, and he didn't have
what wanted, so actually there wasn't anyone
there for him to wait on.
That thing hit me like ton of bricks. Some
times II takes brick wall to fall on me, anyway,
before / wake up. Anyway. I hunted up the
owner of that store, 7 wanted to tell him how
attractive. his qnen's department was. l also
wanted TO tell him If I had that kind of a store,
I'd PACK the customers in.
We'll, Roy" said he, "how would you do it?"
BY newspaper advertising" said l.
But we do advertise in the newspapers"
said he
Il know you do" said l. "but you don't do It