▲pbil 13, 1916. 



The Florists' Review 



41 



TIMELY TALKS ^ 



ON TRADE TOPICS 



HOW FLOBISTS ADVEBTISE. 



Improvement is Apparent. 



Ask any thoughtful man, not a florist, 

 what to him has been the principal 

 manifestation of progress in the flo- 

 rists' trade the last few years and he 

 will tell you that it has been in flo- 

 rists' use of printers' ink. While 

 there has been consistent improvement 

 in the varieties grown, in the quality 

 of stock produced and in the methods 

 of marketing plants and cut flowers, 

 still the improvement has been so 

 gradual that it has es- 

 caped the attention of 

 most of those outside the 

 business, but the man in 

 the street can see the im- 

 provement in florists' ad- 

 vertising. 



More and Better. 



The advertising of flow- 

 ers has improved in two 

 particulars: First of all, 

 there is more of it than 

 there used to be, and it is 

 a truism that "any ad- 

 vertising is better than 

 no advertising." In the 

 second place, there has 

 been marked improve- 

 ment in the character of 

 copy used. 



The day may not have 

 passed, but it is passing, 

 when a florist will feel 

 that he has advertised 

 merely because he gave a 

 solicitor an order for 

 space. It gradually is 

 coming to be understood 

 that a page of one publi- 

 cation may be like a page 

 of another, so far as di- 

 mensions are concerned, 

 but that there is a vast 

 difference when it comes 

 to circulation and a still 

 greater difference in the 

 matter of influence with 

 and upon the readers. 



Florists are buying 

 space more intelligently 

 every year, with less re- 

 gard for the fact that 

 the publisher may need 

 the business and more re- 

 gard for the pulling pow- 

 ers of the publication it- 

 self. And, having bought 

 space in a live publica- 

 tion, they are filling it 

 with better copy. 



Cooperation. 



One of the popular and 

 profitable methods of 

 flower advertising is the 

 cooperative plan that has 

 been employed so exten- 

 sively since The Review 

 suggested it as a means 



of boosting Mothers' day. Reproduced 

 on this page is an advertisement that 

 occupied six full columns of a Detroit 

 newspaper last Easter. It is typical of 

 this class of advertisements — a striking 

 cut, a little general talk that must 

 necessarily be vague and lack in selling 

 power because of the many intereste 

 represented, and the names of the sub- 

 scribing florists. In spite of the limi- 

 tations imposed by this method of ad- 

 vertising, it has been found generally 

 successful and satisfactory. It will be 

 used in many cities for Easter, for 

 Mothers' day and for Memorial day. 



r > l l i<|lli mmd fnmodt i\ iidur oitraa «M a F/owmiw Hmt m a Bmitm ml CW Mlatn at Ftifjl Thmt WaM 



nousT iTireMAPM BEuvatr savra 



A Co-operative Easter Ad Employed by Fourteen Detroit^rs. 



Copy CaJls for Study. 



The average florist, just beginning to 

 advertise, is not a proficient copy 

 writer. The tendency is to fill the 

 space with too much picture, too much 

 talk, too little description and too few 

 prices. Where space is cheap the florist 

 frequently does as did the Kansan 

 whose advertisement is reproduced with 

 this article: He bought a full page be- 

 cause it did not represent a 'large ex- 

 penditure of money and then he adver- 

 tised Easter instead of the flowers he 

 had for sale! It's a common mistake. 

 By way of contrast, 



note the advertisement of 



Penn, the Bostonian, 

 whose advertisement 

 faces that of the Kansan 

 on the two following 

 pages of this issue. Each 

 advertisement is repro- 

 d u c e d photographically, 

 much reduced in size. 

 The Boston advertise- 

 ment, in the original, was 

 only half the size of the 

 Kansan 's, but it will not 

 take great analytical pow- 

 ers to detect the superior- 

 ity in the matter of sell- 

 ing quality. 



"WIU It SeU?" 



It never should be for- 

 gotten that the reason 

 for advertising is to sell 

 the florists' merchandise. 

 To inspire a desire for the 

 things we have for sale 

 we would better restrict 

 the space given to pic- 

 tures of the Ascension and 

 Br'er Rabbit and thereby 

 gain opportunity to pic- 

 ture our plant's, to de- 

 scribe them attractively 

 but accurately, and to 

 state the prices. 



The preparation of 

 copy is one of the most 

 important details of ad- 

 vertising. It should be 

 thought out with care, if 

 the maximum result is to 

 be obtained. First of all, 

 the lay-out or display 

 should be such as to catch 

 the eyes of the greatest 

 possible number of read- 

 ers. Second, the opening 

 sentences at the top of 

 the ad should be such as 

 to inspire a desire for the 

 things advertised. Third, 

 and perhaps most impor- 

 tant of all, the plants and 

 cut flowers offered should 

 be described in terms that 

 will be intelligible to the 

 public. Where immedi- 

 ate, direct sales are aimed 

 at, prices should be 

 quoted. You will know 



