August S, 1908 



H ORT1 CULTU RE 



167 



lion. Let us, therefore, first consider 

 the soil, or mediums. 



Judging from the way he spends his 

 advertising appropriation the average 

 and plant advertiser has in the 

 past plainly found it most profitable to 

 use the magazines and some other 

 periodicals, giving little attention to 

 either billboard, street ear or other 

 such forms of advertising. First in 

 the list are the papers which hold for 

 him somewhat the same place as the 

 trade papers do for the wholesaler and 

 the commission man. I refer to the 

 garden magazines with which you are 

 all familiar. The Garden Magazine, 

 Suburban Life and Floral Life are all 

 good; Country Life in America is a 

 unique proposition. Next after this 

 class we would name the women's 

 publications. McCall's Magazine for ex- 

 ample, Good Housekeeping, and many 

 others in a like class which seem to 

 appeal as particularlly helpful to the 

 women who "do things. " Of course 

 there is a long list, important among 

 which are tlw farm publications, with 

 the Farm Journal a good leader, some 

 of which will "win out" on certain 

 propositions and "fall down" on others 

 and this leads us to another very im- 

 portant matter, that of 



Tracing Results from Advertising. 



We understand that Burpee depends 

 upon a certain proportion of the people 

 answering his advertisements stating 

 in what periodical they saw the adver- 

 tisement, and in that way learns which 

 ones pay best. 



Where possible we believe it pays to 

 key every advertisement and cheek the 

 returns. We have here a schedule 

 showing the number of orders received 

 and the cost per order and cost per re- 

 ply to a certain list of papers from a 

 certain proposition for a certain period 

 of years, and you can readily under- 

 stand how helpful is this schedule in 

 selecting mediums for future adver- 

 tising. 



Space. 



The next quesetion will be, How 

 much space shall we use? Does it pay 

 to use a large space in a few mediums 

 or a small space in a great many? 

 Will it pay better to spend J4000.00 for 

 putting an advertisment on the back 

 cover of the Ladies' Home Journal for 

 example or to use the same amount of 

 money in buying full page space in 

 four of the leading monthly maga- 

 zines? Of course, there are extreme 

 cases, but the same principle applies, 

 and it is no easy matter to decide ques- 

 tions of this kind. We believe it pays 

 to take sufficient space to very cer- 

 tainly catch the attention of the 

 woman who is not likely to be inter- 

 ested, and to take that space in the 

 magazines of good standing and large 

 known circulation, and which you 

 know reach the class of people for 

 whom you are making a bid. 

 Copy. 



The question of copy is perhaps the 

 most fascinating of all. We know of 

 no easier way to waste money than to 

 buy space and to fill it but poorly. The 

 first question to consider may be, Will 

 you advertise directly for orders or 

 advertise for names? — or in other 

 words get people to send for your cata- 

 logue which can be depended upon to 

 make the sales. Look through the ad- 

 vertising pages of any current magazine 

 ad we will find samples of every type. 



Tompkin, for example, offers a beauti- 

 ful lace fern, free, tacking on the pro- 

 vision that four cents must lie sent to 

 pay cost of packing and postage; that 

 four cents is a good foil to keep off 

 mere curiosity seekers. It appeals to 

 the people who want much for little 

 but the advertisement is well handled 

 and also ought to appeal to the very- 

 best names. An advertisement of this 

 kind will undoubtedly get circulation 

 for the catalog. 



Another type that you are sure to 

 note is that of making a definite offer 

 of a collection or a novelty. There is 

 some risk as to whether or not such 

 offers will pull and this is the test for 

 the man who writes the advertisement. 

 Personally we have tried the free offer 

 plan, and have secured thousands of 

 names that have cost not more than 

 a penny apiece: we have tried the sec- 

 ond plan above referred to and have 

 got some orders to cost us not less 

 than J4.00 apiece, but after we had 

 sent on each particular proposition, 

 counted up the cost of the catalogs 

 and considered the returns from all 

 the sales made there was very little 

 difference in the net result. Count less 

 examples of this kind might be related 

 but all go to show that it is as impor- 

 tant to consider the quality of the 

 names thus secured as it is the cost to 

 get them. Cyrus Curtis, head of the 

 Ladies' Home Journal Company, once 

 said that if he got back one quarter of 

 what he put into his advertisements 

 he considered it was paying him very 

 well indeed, and it took six figures to 

 show the amount he was then expend- 

 ing each year. 



Catchy Schemes. 



There are a few things that may be 

 worth mentioning in connection with 

 display in advertising. Some artists 

 or some advertisers seem to have the 

 knack of getting up an advertisement 

 that will stand out strongly on the 

 page. Some years back white on black 

 advertisements were very much in evi- 

 dence and are still distinctive. You 

 will remember the excellent advertis- 

 ing done by the Greenhouse Construc- 

 tion Companies in the trade papers; 

 what splendid taste is displayed, at- 

 tractive ilustration, strong borders, 

 white space and well selected and well 

 arranged type, and best of all, good, 

 straight-from-the-shoulder talk. There 

 is a characteristic style in the- clean 

 appearance of Burpee's advertising, 

 from which for the most part illustra- 

 tions are eliminated, except in the way 

 of their trade-mark or their green la- 

 bel. When the term "Uneeda Biscuit" 

 was coined for the National Biscuit 

 Company, there was also adopted a 

 particular style of letter, and from that 

 day to this, whether on bill-board, box 

 or magazine, we think we are right in 

 saying that that particular style of let- 

 tering has always been retained. 



Advertisers have learned the value of 

 repetition. "Water dropping day by 

 day wears the hardest rock away." Re- 

 peated taps of the hammer will finally 

 break the stone. There is a little "ad" 

 that appears in the trade papers 

 most pleasingly distinctive, and I 

 daresay there is hardly a man 

 in this room who is not perfectly 

 familiar with the little label 

 pictured in the firm name of the Leedle 

 Floral Company. It is impossible for 

 one to think of the advertisement of 



that firm without picturing in his mind 

 the form of that little signature, which 

 shiius .ur boldly on the most crowded 

 page. A good trade mark can be ham- 

 mered into the consciousness of the 

 people you are trying to reach. With 

 it, il it be strong enough, you can 

 count upon gaining the attention of 

 every passer-by every time he comes 

 along, and very much oftener. and 

 very much more surely, than if your 

 "ad" was dressed up in the common 

 garb of ordinary type. 



Testimonials. 



Testimonials, it seems to us, are 

 worthy of mention, as being strong 

 arguments in advertising. They are 

 recovering from the violence done them 

 by the patent-medicine man. In the 

 first place they come from disinter- 

 ested, at least unprejudiced persons 

 and, in connection with catalog work 

 especially, if not with advertisements, 

 they add" conviction as to the pulling 

 power of the thing advertised. 

 Free Reading Notices. 



Many of you probably remember 

 how at a large reception given to Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt, in course of the naval 

 review in New York harbor, there was 

 a certain flower that figured conspicu- 

 ously in the decorations. Just how 

 much John Lewis Childs is responsible 

 for the Gladiolus America being used 

 for the President's reception we know 

 not, but it is very certain that the 

 amount of free publicity gained 

 through the press, as the result of this 

 gladiolus being used, would have cost 

 Mr. Childs many thousands of dollars 

 if paid for at regular advertising rates. 



Any one who has been reading the 

 trade" papers for the past few months 

 has surely had impressed upon his 

 mind the fact that there was a new 

 hydrangea on the market Because of 

 the discussion over a name that 

 hvdrangea has been advertised so 

 widely that it is almost as famous as 

 old H. panic, grandiflora, yet our 

 genial friend from Indiana, the fam- 

 ous introducer, we suppose has not 

 been charged a cent. 



Some people are trying to believe 

 that they are reducing the profession 

 of advertising to a science. They 

 claim certain conditions produce cer- 

 tain results, just as life insurance men 

 have their mortality tables. The most 

 successful advertisers, or the man en- 

 trusted with the expenditure of the 

 lareest sums of money, still advise, 

 and widely practice what they preach, 

 as follows: 



"Try out every scheme tno matter 

 how promising it may appear on its 

 face 1 thoroughly on a small scale. 

 First tabulate results, carefully watch 

 results and your correspondence, then 

 shape your course accordingly. 



Just one more thought I wish to 

 leave with you. When you advertise, 

 be ready to "deliver the goods." Do 

 not disappoint, or your advertising 

 campaign might just as well not have 

 been. Good stock, right prices, with 

 prompt, courteous attention to custom- 

 ers will win trade and create a con- 

 fidence that will be hard to shake. 

 This is by no means the least import- 

 ant. 



:n we repeat hold your customers 

 by .;nod service, because after all a 

 satisfied customer is your best adver- 

 tisement. 



