Oct. 26 1905 



rH£ AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



743 



4^ (£ontrtbuteb -f 

 Special (XvtkUs 



HONEY PUBLICITY 



The Great Possible Value of The Honey-Pro- 

 ducers' Leag-ue— Suggestions as to 

 How This May Be Accomplished — 

 A Similar Case 



BY STEPHEN N. GBBIEN 



AS a student of advertising, the problems that The Honey- 

 Producers' League have undertaken are to me very in- 

 teresting. The first reading of the constitution, from an 

 advertisers' standpoint, suggested some improvements, par- 

 ticularly in regard to a trade-maric. Unless the Executive 

 Hoard has power to provide for a trade-mark, the League is 

 making a serious mistake the first year of its life; but I virill 

 speak of this matter later. Being only indirectly interested 

 in the League, after first glancing over the prospectus the 

 matter slipped my mind until reading an article on a similar 

 project. The case of the honey-producer and the prune- 

 grower was such a striking parallel that I became again 

 interested, and have put some study on the subject. The 

 article to which I refer is "Prune Publicity," by Homer C. 

 Kratz, of California, in the August number of Ad Sense. I 

 am quoting the article practically complete. The italics are 

 mine to emphasize the points that I wish especially to enlarge 

 upon. 



The San Joaquin Valley, and Fresno County in particular, pro- 

 duces nearly all the raisins used in the United States, and it is also a 

 prolific producer of that much-abused article, " prunes." 



Jndirt'clly, the attempt of the fuimy man to have his joke at the ex- 

 penae of tlie prnne has eost the growers of California a?t(i Orego?t tnueh 

 juoney. 



The joke about being" full of prunes" has been no joke to the 

 growers. It has hurt the sale of their product, and will eventually 

 cause them to spend many more dollars to remove the impression that 

 the prune is a joke. 



We will agree that the prune is one of the most healthful and 

 delightful fruits grown. There is hardly another more beneficial to 

 the user. There is not another fruit with its keeping qualities and 

 its cheapness to the consumer; yet with all these advantages the 

 prune-grower does not make money. He never will until he begins 

 using persistent, logical, and convincing advertising. He will have to 

 spend many dollars that may apparently bring no return, yet all the 

 time good is being done in educating the people up to the necessity of 

 using prunes. 



There are many examples of the class of publicity before the 

 prune-growers. The breakfast -food people have demonstrated rharhj 

 <ind conelusivehj that advertising will sell any thing. 



I venture the assertion that I can take alfalfa— one of the staple 

 crops of Fresno County, in California — burn it, bake it, grind it up 

 into a breakfast food, advertise it by telling of its health-building 

 properties, and sell it by the thousands of tons. A nice little story 

 about its recently discovered nutritious qualities — its nerve-building, 

 brain-restoring possibilities — and its wholesomeness will send the 

 food-crank to the grocer for " Alferina " breakfast food just as quickly 

 as he goes lor H. 0. buckwheat, or grape nuts that are not made from 

 grapes. 



Thefrst step in prune puhlicity is co-operatio7i. No individual 

 grower can succeed in making the public use more prunes. There 

 must be an association of growers. There must be a fund for the 

 dissemination of prune knowledge. There must be intelligent direc- 

 tion of the distribution of these funds. The story of the prunes must 

 be told in an interesting way — the pictures should show the orchards 

 in all their beauty — the advertising should create a desire to eat 

 prunes, and, after being eaten, should make the eater feel that his 

 system is being built up. 



Glittering generalities won't sell prunes — the talk must be clear, 

 concise, logical, brief, pithy. Let the medical man tell his story. 

 First, get the health facts from him, build on that structure, and you 

 will build as the patent medicine and the breakfast food man does; 

 you will see the dollars come rolling in faster than tbey go out. 



We leilt all agree that any food prodiiet, to be property advertised, 

 must be known by a distinctive name, brand, or trade-mark. Whether 

 the prune is grown in Oregon or California, there must be a distinctive 

 title that the buyer will recognize and want. 



The advertising must appeal to women, as they do the buying: and 

 if they get interested, many a man will get prunes who never tiisted 

 them before. 



Prunes go upon the market in an unappetizing condition. They 

 look hard, and, to the uninitiated, moldy. The man or woman who 

 does not know how delicious they are will bersure topassthedi by. 

 Now, in addition to educating the public in the use of prunes. let us 



go a step further and give the public a package it will appreciate. 

 Why not put a brand of prunes on the market all ready for use- 

 already cooked— put up in glass jars, so that the clear juice and the 

 rich syrup may be seen. The tempting fruit will make itself wanted at 

 .light, and will bring a high price. If the housewife could get her 

 prunes already cooked, only needed warming, how much more would 

 she use? 



We have before us the examples of the meat trusts In putting 

 prepared food on the market. Ham, corned beef, chickens, turkeys, 

 horse-meat (and Oregon puts up some of the latter) , all go to the 

 consumer ready to use, and the result is seen in the millions of dollars 

 sold annually. I think canned dog might be put on the market under 

 another name, and, with persistent advertising, pass for a health food. 



Prune-growers should profit by the experience of those who have 

 grown rich giving the public the things they will buy. Establish your 

 brands and your trade-marks; ship none but good fruit; put up 

 prunes in an appetizing way, and tell the people your story every day. 

 Tell it to the women; the hand that rocks the cradle can fill the 

 prune-grower's pocket if it chooses. Woo woman into using prunes, 

 through the press; make her understand the value of prunes, and, as 

 I have written before, many a man will be " full of prunes" before 

 he knows it. 



An Attempt of the Funny Man to Have His Joke. 



The bee-keeper may gather one grain of comfort that he 

 alone has not been the only target for the arrows of the 

 " funny " man. That little joke of Mr. Wiley's, that he did 

 not label, is not the only one that has made the iniocent suf- 

 fer. Now, right here is where the League is doing a work 

 that alone justifies its being. When one comb-honey lie 

 appears it should get a retraction, and publish 10 good articles 

 to make up for the one bad one. Not only use the pound of 

 cure, but remember the ounce of prevention. That state- 

 ment to go into shipping-cases should be well taken care of 

 by every manufacturer or producer. This kind of "free" 

 publicity costs but little, and is very effective. Use it to the 

 limit. Get the newspapers everywhere to publish interesting, 

 truthful stories about bees and honey, and you get the people 

 to talking — just the best kind of advertising. 



Advertising Will Sell Anything. 



Yes, if you can sell sawdust for breakfast food why can't 

 you sell honey by the mere force of advertising? Honey pre- 

 sents, magnificent opportunities for ^oo(/ advertising. Why, 

 the great advertisers themselves use honey as a standard for 

 comparison. Does not " Nabisco " remind you of honey? and. 

 too, the National Biscuit people recommend its use with their 

 Uneeda Biscuit. The Rubifoam people tell you their denti- 

 frice is " as sweet as honey ;" and how the Karo-syrup people 

 did disgrace the fair name of honey to elevate their glucose 

 mixture! for who will forget " bettor than honey for less 

 money?" By the way, what has become of "Karo?" Let 

 me say right here that even advertising can not fool all the 

 people all the time ; but I will take up the matter of merit as 

 the foundation of advertising success later. 



Advertise Honey — Nothing Easier. 



What news the chemist can tell you ! and the doctor ! 

 and don't the children cry for it ? Is there anything more 

 delightful to the taste than good honey ? How many products 

 come in such a variety of forms, and can be put to so many 

 uses ? 



The First Step in Prune Publicity is Cooperation. 



Naturally the first step in honey publicity musi he co- 

 operation. The Honey-Producers' League is the way; but 

 the bee-keepers must furnish the means. Join the League. 

 Don't put it oiT. Don't wait for the other fellow to do it, and 

 you expect to get the benefit. Make this a personal matter. 

 If you don't get into line the League can not be the greatest 

 possible power. If bee keepers don't co-operate, the honey- 

 market will not pick itself up. If you don't cooperate you 

 will always get low prices, your product will be slandered, 

 your interests will be trampled on. Gei together—co-operate. 



Mu.st Be Known By a Distinctive Name, Brand, or 

 Thade-Mark. 



Right here is the only fault I have to find with the League. 

 I read the constitution once, then again. What ! no provision 

 for a trade-mark ? Have the founders forgotten a fundamental 

 principle in advertising? Well, they will some day see their 

 mistake, and it is easy to remedy, as the powers of the Execu- 

 tive Board are broad. Am I not right about this ? For in- 

 stance, can you name (?) an article successfully advertised 

 that has not a distinctive name, brand, or trade-mark, or uses 

 an apt catch-phrase ? Aside from the absolute necessity of 

 an article having a trade-mark, there is another side to the 

 matter. When the League overlooked a trade-mark, it also 

 overlooked a quality in human nature, and beo-keepers ar^ 

 human. Nearly every one expects direct returns from his 



