1068 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



HONEY PUBLICITY. 



The Great Possible Value of the Honey-prc- 



ducers' League; Suggestions as to How 



this may be Accomplished; a Similar 



Case. 



BY STEPHEN N.' GREEN. 



As a student of advertising, the problems 

 that the Honey-producers' League have un- 

 dertaken are to me very interesting. The 

 first reading of the constitution, from an ad- 

 vertisers' standpoint, suggested some im- 

 provements, particularly in regard to a 

 trade-mark. Unless the Executive Board 

 has power to provide for a trade- mark the 

 League is making a serious mistake the 

 first year of its life; but I will speak of this 

 matter later. Being only indirectly inter- 

 ested 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 Publici- 

 ty," 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 partic- 

 ular, produces nearly all the raisins used in the United 

 States, and it is also a prolific producer of that much- 

 abused article, " prunes." 



Indirectly, the attempt of the funny man to have his 

 joke at the expense of the prune has cost the growers oj 

 California and Oregon much money. 



The joke about being "full «f prunes" has been no 

 joke to the growers. It has hurt the sale of their prod- 

 uct, 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 anoth- 

 er 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 adver- 

 tising. He will have to spend many dollars that may 

 apparently bring no return, yet all the time good is be- 

 ing done in educating the people up to the necessity of 

 using prunes. 



There are many examples of the class of publicity be- 

 fore the prune-growers. The Breakfast-Jood people 

 have demonstrated clearly and conclusively that adver- 

 tising 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-build- 

 ing, brain-restoring possibilities -and its wholesomeness 

 will send the food-crank to the grocer for " Alferina " 

 breakfast food just as quickly as he goes for H. O. buck- 

 wheat, or grape nuts that are not made from grapes 



The first step in prune publicity is co-operation. 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 direction 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 be- 

 ing 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 they 

 go out. 



We ivill all agree tliat any jood product, to be properly 

 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 tasted them before. 



Prunes go upon the market in an unappetizing condi- 

 tion. They look hard, and, to the uninitiated, moldy. 

 The man or woman who does not know how delicious 

 they are will be sure to pass them 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 appre- 

 ciate. 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 sight, 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 i-esult is seen in the millions of dollars sold an- 

 nually. 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 cra- 

 dle 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 " befoi e he 

 knows it. 



THE 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 innocent suffer. 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 ten good articles to make up for the 

 one bad one. Not only use the pound of 

 cure, but remember the ounce of prevention. 

 That statement to go into shipping-cases 

 should be well taken care of by every man- 

 ufacturer or producer. This kind of "free " 

 publicity costs but little, and is very effec- 

 tive. Use it to the limit. Get the new-ipa- 

 pers 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 ANY THING. 



Yes, if you can sell sawdust for breakfast 

 food why can't you sell honey by the mere 



