AuouftT 28, 1919. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



ing, which last year oost $89.75 and ad- 

 ditional for mailing, and our official 

 program for the convention, which last 

 year coet, with mailing, $158. 



The oost of the Journal for a year, 

 including mailing, editorial services and 

 other expenses, is approximately $3,000. 

 On one or two occasions we have been 

 obliged to run a few pages extra, main- 

 ly to expedite publication of the pro- 

 ceedings of the last convention, which 

 were published in serial form and com- 

 pleted in four numbers. We have also, 

 at times, increased the number of copies 

 printed, using the excess in our mis- 

 sionary work and with gratifying suc- 

 cess. In addition, the Journal has saved 

 us much in the way of printing costs, 

 as all our announcements, etc., are 

 printed in copies current, and thus dis- 

 tributed among our members practically 

 without cost for mailing and postage. 



An instance of savings effected is found 

 in the copies distributed at this con- 

 vention, containing the minutes of the 

 executive board meeting and the official 

 program, at a cost of about $24, against 

 the cost of separate printing and dis- 

 tribution of these, which would have to 

 be estimated at not lower than $300. 



Subscriptions of Life Members; 



As I have pointed out, there is no 

 advertising income from the columns of 

 the Journal, but it might be mentioned 

 that inasmuch as the post-office depart- 

 ment does not concede to us second-class 

 postal rates on copies of the Journal to 

 life members, we have been obliged to 

 set a minimum subscription rate of 50 

 cents per year and bill such members 

 accordingly, our form of billing having 

 to be passed upon by the postal authori- 

 ties. 



I am pleased to state that many of 

 our life members have cheerfully made 

 remittance of this small amount, some 

 covering a period of years, and those 

 who have not yet done so have neglected 

 through carelessness. With 710 life 

 members, our income from this source 

 should be $355, which may be deducted 

 from the annual cost of the publication. 

 Taken all in all, our Journal is a good 

 investment, and really indispensable. 



Wadilngton, D. C— The Florists' Club 

 of Washington will offer prizes to the 

 grade school children for the best es- 

 says on flowers during "Say It with 

 Flowers" week, in October. The club 

 will also award prizes for the best win- 

 dow decorations and interior displays. 

 The judges will be selected from the 

 members of the Window Dressers' As- 

 sociation. 



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OPPORTUNITY FOR FLOWER PUBLICITY 



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THE other day, in a conversation 

 with another advertising man, the 

 subject of national publicity in flowers 

 was introduced. This man said to me 

 that he had never before in his life 

 bought so many flowers as in this last 

 year, simply because the impulses to do 

 so had been so frequently aroused in 

 him. In other words, each one of the 

 national advertisements which passed 

 his vision proved to be sufficient re- 

 minder to cause him to realize how often 

 it is appropriate to "Say It with Flow- 

 ers." 



In selling almost any of the staple 

 commodities in daily use, the selling 

 appeal must be directed to the reason. 

 Arguments must be put forth demon- 

 strating economy, timeliness and qual- 

 ity. Competition must be met on every 

 hand from those who purvey to many 

 sides of human needs and desires. But 

 in selling flowers the sales resistance 

 powers of most commodities are elimi- 

 nated. Your appeal is directed to the 

 heart, rather than the head, and various 

 motives of human sentiment are set to 

 work in your favor. 



Up to several years ago, and for a 

 number of years before that, I expended 

 a terrific amount of energy in trying to 

 convince many retail florists that it 

 would pay them to advertise. Before 

 starting in on this work sufficient evi- 

 dence had come to my attention to prove 

 to me beyond any doubt that advertising 

 would on the average pay better for a 

 florist than it would in most other lines of 

 retail business. In reaching this convic- 

 tion I was perfectly aware of the fact 

 that to the success of many businesses, 

 particularly that of the metropolitan 

 department store, proper advertising is 

 indispensable. So I started out. 



^ Too Many Unbelievers. 



Almost the first thing that I discov- 

 ered was that a certain small propor- 

 tion of the retail florists' craft professed 

 to believe in advertising. Even this 

 small proportion amounted in the ag- 

 gregate throughout the country to 

 quite a large number of establishments. 



A paper bj Payne Jennings, western, manager 

 or the Metropolitan Magazine, read before the 

 Society of American Florista at the Detroit eon- 

 Tentlon. July 20, 1919. 



But I really believe that there were as 

 many different views on the proper ways 

 to advertise as there were florists who 

 said that they believed in advertising. 

 For the most part, each individual was 

 convinced that his way was the best and 

 that he had sufficient knowledge of the 

 subject to be superior to the assistance 

 of outside talent. 



* ' Yes, I am a great believer in adver- 

 tising and always advertise for Christ- 

 mas and Easter." "I believe in keep- 

 ing my name before the public. " " Yes, 

 it pays to advertise." These were typ- 

 ical of the remarks of wisdom which so 

 often greeted my efforts to introduce a 

 serious conference on the subject. Just 

 about the net of what I found was an 

 inclination on the part of these florists 

 to regard advertising as possibly good 

 for the other fellow, but as nothing to 

 be depended upon to help in his business. 

 It was a custom to use advertising now 

 and then, but without much faith. It 

 was, after all was said and done, re- 

 garded as something of a bother and not 

 nearly so important as numerous other 

 really minor details of their business or- 

 ganization. 



Obviously this was a discouraging at- 

 titude to encounter at first. In spite of 

 it, my efforts met with a bit of success 

 and arrangements were made with a 

 florist now and then for the starting of 

 a definite advertising program. Then 

 was encountered a second and more seri- 

 ous phase of the difficulties. Arrange- 

 ments entered into after much persua- 

 sion were thrown aside, as a straw be- 

 fore the wind, on even slight pretexts. 

 In other words, the arrangements would 

 not stay put and it seemed as though 

 most florists could never be persuaded 

 that advertising was a force which 

 should be woven into the fabrics of 

 their businesses. Because the florist was 

 persuaded that he could successfully ad- 

 vertise for Christmas business was ap- 

 parently no proof that he could also suc- 

 cessfully advertise for business on the 

 next following occasion of importance, 

 St. Valentine 's day. 



A Foresighted Florist. 



Even under the most discouraging 

 conditions, persistence often has its re- 



ward. Contact was finally made with a 

 florist whose business training was 

 gained from another line of business 

 and his natural endowment gave him a 

 real line of vision. He met sound ideas 

 more than halfway. He admitted the 

 legitimate place of advertising as a busi- 

 ness force and welcomed the opportunity 

 to carry out an advertising program on 

 what approached scientific lines. With 

 a definite appropriation determined log- 

 ically in relation to annual sales vol- 

 ume, advertising was purchased in ac- 

 cordance with a system which clearly 

 aimed for certain definite results. 



The experience of this particular flo- 

 rist advertiser has vindicated the ideas 

 which caused me to start upon this en- 

 terprise. The experience is one where 

 the apparently impossible has been ac- 

 complished. The success established in 

 a few short years takes rank with the 

 numerous amazing small and large suc- 

 cesses that belong to the romance of 

 American business. 



With a few such men of vision as the 

 one whose experience has been touched 

 upon, I believe that the idea of na- 

 tionail floral advertising had its concep- 

 tion. For a number of years prior to the 

 actual start of this movement, men like 

 Henry Penn, of Boston, Herman Knoble, 

 of Cleveland, and George Schulz, of 

 Louisville, had been showing the ac- 

 complishments actually possible through 

 intelligent publicity. Serving the pub- 

 lic with flowers of quality, ideas of 

 originality and correctness, these men 

 at the same time have been generating, 

 through their advertising, the good-wSl 

 of the great public which plays no fa- 

 vorites, but turns invariably to those 

 most deserving. 



Greater Possibilities. 



Though the possibilities of successfully 

 advertising flowers were amply proven, 

 the national floral advertising has made 

 the possibilities infinitely greater. Prior 

 to 191S each retail florist who adver- 

 tised was in the position of a pioneer 

 somewhat laboriously blazing his own 

 trail. For but a small portion of the 

 public were accustomed to the use of 

 flowers and the introduction of new 



[Con tinned un peKe 49.1 



