10 



The Florists^ Review 



Jolt 17, 1019. 



sprinklijig of florists from other states,- 



also 



Sonthem Organization. 



Thete was discussion of an all-BQuth- 

 ern organization by florists of other 

 states as well as of Texas. No action 

 was taken, however. One of the strong- 

 est pleas in its behalf was presented by 

 Thomas Joy, of the Joy Floral Co., Nash- 

 ville, Tenn. He said: 



"Can you think of a good reason why 

 the florists of the south should not or- 

 ganize? Some of the reasons and ad- 

 . vantages, as I see them, are enumerated 

 below: 



"In the first place, an organization 

 of Bonthern florists could be of great 

 help to the S. A. F. in that they could 

 more easily get in direct touch through 

 such an organization with its members. 

 There are also many southern florists 

 whom we could interest in a southern 

 organization who would eventually join 

 the mother body, the S. A. F., of which 

 our organization should be a part. 



"CSbset coSperaJibn of s(^ufh|ern flb*' 

 rists shoHild mean lefss bilying from 

 n'prthe^ florists; hence more pjrofits and 

 beHer credits', both of wliioh are highly 

 desii'able. More profits and better cred- 

 its mean better stores. Why shouldn't 

 our stores be the equal of any in the 

 north and eaf^tf 



' ' All of us are reaping the benefits of 

 the national publicity campaign and 

 should follow it up more closely. Use 

 the cuts and signs and, above all, sub- 

 scribe to the fund. Doesn't the sub- 

 scription list published by states make 

 you feel that the south is not bearing 

 its partf If you haven't already done 

 so, ease your conscience and mail John 

 Young a check for fifty per cent more 

 than you ieel you can spare. You'll 

 never regfret it. 



"We could learn many lessons in 

 store and oflice management by closer 

 cooperation. The most satisfactory 

 ways of conducting your bookkeeping 

 department could be easily arrived at. 

 Think it over and act now. ' ' 



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DOES ADVERTISING PAY? 



Two Noted Cases. 



"Does Advertising Pay?" Taking 

 into consideration the big concerns 

 throughout the country which have 

 built a wonderful business on advertis- 

 ing and service, figfuring their business 

 from the time of inception and before 

 an advertising campaign was launched, 

 and taking the records of their business 

 after many years of judicious advertis- 

 ing, it would seem to every florist that 

 it does pay. 



Let me take for illustration a few of 

 our '<wn florists who have built a large 

 business upon a judicious advertising 

 campaign. Henry Penn, of Boston, is 

 known to every florist in the United 

 States who reads the trade papers. His 

 record as an advertiser, I believe, stands 

 above all. I heard Mr. Penn make the 

 statement in Detroit at the F. T. D. con- 

 vention, that when he was tioing a $30,- 

 000 business he felt that he was doing 

 a pretty fair florists' business. Some- 

 one convinced him that if he would do 

 a little advertising in the local papers 

 he would increase his business. He put 

 on a small campaign and increased his 

 business. This worked so well that he 

 increased his appropriation and from 

 year to year he carried on this cam- 

 paign, until now I am informed that his 

 appropriation almost equals that of the 

 first year of that of the S. A. F. Three 

 years ago it was reported that Penn was 

 doing a $300,000 business, about $1,000 

 per day exclusive of Sundays. This is 

 only an average. This was also previous 

 to last year's business, which was a rec- 

 ord-breaker for all florists. I would not 

 doubt that Mr. Penn did a $400,000 

 business last year. Advertising, to- 

 gether with service, did this for Penn. 



Another florist, in New York city, 

 Max Schling, has demonstrated wonder- 



An address, entitled "Does Advertising Pay, 

 and What Is Judicious Advertising?" delivered 

 b7 Robert C. Kerr, of Houston, Tex., before the 

 Texas State Florists' Association July 9. 



ful results from advertising in the New 

 York papers. Mr. Schling is a.flrm be- 

 liever in advertising, and his business 

 now is one that is to be pointed to with 

 pride as a wonderful success, due largely 

 to advertising. We have other promi- 

 nent florists in Cleveland, Detroit, Chi- 

 cago and other large cities who by con- 

 stant advertising have increased their 

 business, and we can increase our busi- 

 ness tenfold within a short time. 



Publicity by Personality. 



There is another type of advertising 

 which is effective. It is not my inten- 

 tion to single out particular florists in 

 this article, but there are a number of 

 florists in the country who have devel- 

 oped a wonderful business by th^r won- 

 derful personality and their activity in 

 civic work, their liberality in the use of 

 flowers in public work. This is a won- 

 derful help to the florist. I refer par- 

 ticularly to our Washington representa- 

 tive, William F. Gude. Is there a bet- 

 ter known florist in Washington and the 

 United States than Mr. Gudet We feel 

 that his personality has contributed 

 largely to his success. This is another 

 phase that we must not overlook as we 

 review the various concerns throughout 

 the country which have made a success. 



I will say here that the florist who 

 does not advertise cannot attain great 

 success in the business. He may be able 

 to pay his rent and other bills and make 

 a good living, and possibly be satisfied, 

 but I say to you his future is limited. 

 He cannot attain great success without 

 spreading the gospel, "Say It with 

 Flowers. ' ' There are a great number of 

 florists who do not use advertising me- 

 diums, and they, I am sorry to say, are 

 in the majority. They will succeed only 

 in a small way, and some of them are 

 satisfled, but there is absolutely no hope 

 of these florists achieving great success 

 as long as they pursue this method. I 

 challenge anyone to point out any con- 

 cern throughout the country which has 



bvilt a large bnslness without adver. 

 tising. . '.-.. ;., .^' -:,• ■.;.'•„■ 



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Two years 'ago, in New York, we 

 launched a campaign to raise $5.(^,600 for 

 national publicity. Is there a single 

 man here who doubts that this eampaign 

 is of direct .benefit to every fljorist iu 

 the United States? ' ' Say It wii^ Flow- 

 ers" has been spread xthrou^hout the 

 country. It is a slogan that 6Very buyer 

 of flowers has recognized.; It is the be- 

 ginning of a great future for florists 

 throughout the country. This y6ar we 

 are raising $100,000 for this ca^npaign 

 and let me say here that I am Convinced 

 that within the course of a' few years 

 the sum will be raised to $500,000. If 

 we can increase our business by an ex- 

 penditure of $50,000, then it is good 

 business to raise the amount to $100,. 

 000; if we can increase our business by 

 the expenditure of $100,000, it U good 

 business to raise the appropriation to 

 $200,000, and so on. Just as the con- 

 cern which started with an advertising 

 appropriation of a few hundred ddllars, 

 increased it to thousands, so the S. A. F., 

 beginning with $50,000, will increase 

 this appropriation from year to year Un- 

 til it exceeds $500,000. I use this illus- 

 tration to convince you of the fact that 

 I am right in the ma:tter of the national 

 publicity campaign. If I remember 

 right, our first year's subscribers only 

 consisted of five per cent of the florists 

 of the country. The time will come when 

 every florist in the country will contrib- 

 ute to this fund; then we shall have 

 twenty times this amount for our na- 

 tional publicity campaign. 



Judicious Advertising. 



"What is judicious advertising?" 

 When I am asked what is judicious ad- 

 vertising for the florist, I am reminded 

 of the question, "How many hides has 

 a cow?" a nationally advertised phrase 

 coined by the Du Pont industries for the 

 purpose of advertising Fabrikoid. We 

 all know that judicious advertising is 

 careful advertising placed in media that 

 will bring the best results, but a thor- 

 ough knowledge of advertising as it 

 should be applied to one's own florists' 

 business can be obtained only through 

 experience, I would say that by judi- 

 cious florists' advertising is meant 

 truthful and seasonable advertising used 

 in proven media and written in concise, 

 well arranged, interesting language that 

 will present the points a skilled sales- 

 man would use in talking to a customer, 

 and having an individuality all its own. 



Before spending one penny for adver- 

 tising I would analyze the problem thor- 

 oughly. Advertising that is applicable 

 to one business often fails to produce re- 

 sults for another. There are many things 

 to be taken into consideration before 

 an advertising campaign can be judi- 

 ciously and effectively carried out: The 

 character of your establishment and 

 your reputation for fair or unfair deal- 

 ings; the quality of your stock and your 

 ability to execute orders satisfactorily; 

 courteous and prompt service; a liberal 

 policy; your location; the class of peo- 

 ple most desirable to reach; your ability 

 to write convincing and order-getting 

 copy. When these little problems are 

 satisfactorily solved, I believe the florist 

 who can present his message to the pub- 

 lic in a convincing manner and back it 

 up with real service will profit by in- 



