18 



The Florists^ Review 



Febhuauy 26, 1920 



half times as much. You may ask why 

 we can do this. In the first place, you 

 know the expenses of running a large 

 business are not proportionately larger 

 than running a smaller business. Then, 

 too, we are able to get lower rates 

 when we purchase in larger quantities. 

 We are able to get better discounts 

 when we can contract for larger 

 amounts of space in the newspapers. 

 And all along the line the cost of the 

 larger campaign is proportionately less. 



Nobody Pays for Advertising. 



If any florist thinks such advertising 

 is an expense to him, let him ask him- 

 self who pays for it. 



The grower doesn't pay. As a result 

 of his contribution of one-half of one 

 per cent the grower sells more stock; he 

 makes more money. So the cost of the 

 advertising does not come out of his 

 pocket. No, the grower doesn't pay. 



The wholesaler sells more stock and, 

 though he doesn't raise his prices, his 

 commissions are larger. The wholesaler 

 doesn't pay. 



The retailer does not have to pay any 

 more for his stock. He makes more 

 sales at the same prices as before and 

 pockets a larger profit from increased 

 business. The retailer doesn't pay. 



And since the retailer does not raise 

 his price to the public, but continues 

 to sell at figures he charged before he 

 began to advertise, the public doesn't 

 pay for the advertising. 



Who does? Nobody. The increased 

 sales pay for the advertising". The 



» 



■1IOnW»«BH«><W^»W^IW»«<H<HW<W«gMIH!W«1M>«*-a 



some extra bookkeeping necessitated by 

 this plan and for that reason the whole- 

 saler contributes no money to the fund, 

 but gives his services instead. From 

 trial we have found the added expeuM 

 to the wholesaler about offsets what he 

 would be asked to pay in money. 



The wholesalers remit their collec- 

 tions to the treasurer of the advertis- 

 ing fund at stated intervals. Thus the 

 job of collecting the money is auto- 

 matically cared for. 



In addition to these collections made 

 in regular customers' transactions 

 through wholesale houses, we found 

 ways to collect on purchases made in 

 all other ways. The plantsmen who 

 sold direct to the retailer were won 

 into our plan. The street peddlers had 

 to pay on their purchases, too. Ulti- 

 mately we think we got everybody pay- 

 ing. 



Directors Have Work. 



Of course, difficulties of various sorts 

 come up from time to time. They came 

 up more frequently at first than later. 

 Therein lies much work for the direc- 

 tors. 



The board of directors consists of 

 nine members — three wholesalers, three 

 retailers and three growers. Each in- 

 dividual has one vote. These nine men 

 not only pass upon all advertising prop- 

 ositions and appropriations, but they 

 also straighten out the kinks brought 

 to their attention by members of the 

 trade. The troubles of his constituents 

 may be taken before the board by a 



Say It With Flowers 



*i»W •( UWtel la Mllnd» FM Pna 



THE PRICE OF A FLOWER 



"Like a human lite, we adore their tran- 

 sient beauty, yet in passing they leave 

 fond menmries and cherished thought." 



■ .,:t^ .i: ^Ur.y..r:i.';:;.^g ;^-; fhe I«tc of ■ lid fer • fi»i mlt* nhwm tW aeiliaai lor ctrryin, iwwl. liknl f iprtMioo.. 





til ■)• tk* (nwiii llatr •( IV' •v>«iii|> W1iy< tk* 1*^ 

 4 t cwd airKkt^ rH4>ii| (ran •>•(»«' *•« ttiktr ~ 



Flowers hi the tickrooB tre Mle tuuhiot — If jou hive a tnile, sen4 it wi'k Flowers. 

 H this n not your pleasure — try ii from a di p oaatic poiat of'siew — Birihdays loo. 



Gives the {radoalc a thrill sinitar to that of a soldier rtcrtvioit the Croii de Goerrc 



A«« ««'■ (vft IM* taw bMrt *M M»clw4 «*n tta aU to«t 



•ki<k faa ■••• •!)«« Iwr »■) ii**- la* that ^tfi (k« aahl ■•*«• 

 ba Iu4 w>< ilM |H>t rtiaa ■• tm ca^KH 



Ah4 a^fen Sanalaf > lay i4 ila«« ^tr^ •#« % 



F!owtri carry • mt%int •! coadoltacc to ihow who moura (he Ifu ol • itu oat. K 

 I sootbioi iBes-a|c ibat there IS tlUI warmlh in Ihr wpr.d. 



The price is "the will to convey a thought." 



m<i ••■ tk( f^ai ml rkaaa llr»«r>* 



Wall iba umaaii >■!•* *ai aarip aiikiaal tW trua fntt *B 

 ■k« VIM •• <a**«f • ib»«|lti la*' tKftrwtni ikaat^* <l'aci M iM 

 ranpraal kai yaw •»■• will vrtfi.ftavdi iaa> 4irni ~Mn 5wi» 



My*^w-*Vtr!IU(!lL«'^i^^^Mr«.%T.^!!*C,'lt'^'! For exiMdi*Drir say it with Flowers — tboaiEhtt ol love. hope. joy. {fidnesa or sympathy are 

 'Z'^CLi!^^^:iS*l':!.'^^^:'^':!^^^ more poteot when accoapjatei with Flowers. 



I. kM aafh.^ 4^p„w r» HH..IH rt.a. rs, Rowrfs MTt Srowii m months, MM days. Patience and skill art necessary to growers, who 



>> ka fk* aMaiw af mattmg ■ tatf kaan karri iii*a ■ .-.'.■ I. L- it 



_ w»tch dav and ni»hl over maturm* crops, growtoj in glass houses, subiect to sudden 



...... ^. destruction by wind, heavy snows, hail. ecc. 



Tka «*«r> la laai ka»< tk.t niaakit»H>t 

 y» N* Baatk* aff*— h **r« raa' pfataai |ae4 (kau|k< 



rtnm an ika saa kaaaiir^ thn|i CM aiada Ha talDt*4 

 Ik^ *a «<>i1v. (a** Ikan *a ■■!* iltaiacarT aa^ kaa fwaa tkaia w 

 M ta a^a«aaily L>kt a kaataa kta. *a ••ora (kaar tiwtWaai baaarr 

 Tai 'a »a»ia| rtw, laa>i •■•« ■«— anr. an4 ikr'taka4 •*M>fki 



T« |i't ftavrft I* a« aBM<t<«k ^tau't •* limU cmKitiM Ta 

 racKaa iktm n ( tlaa»a| 



tiary M'HM laa alar4 lavan •«■ r«t r'"* <* '^ *'" 'a kcH 

 •km 



A ibbtlc part ol God's universe are Rowers — perishahlr. yel immortaL 



The reciprocity of Life is evident between those who fiive Flowers and those who receive them 





Initial Effort of Milwaukee Co-operative Campaign in Local Newspapers. 



cost comes not from any person, grow- 

 er, wholesaler or retailer, but is more 

 than made up by the greater business 

 each one does. 



Making Collections. 



Our collections are made through the 

 wholesale houses and the operation is 

 quite simple. When a retailer buys $10 

 worth of goods the wholesaler adds 10 

 cents for the advertising fund. When 

 the wholesaler remits to the gn'ower, he 

 deducts 5 cents as the advertising as- 

 sessment on the $10 worth of his stock 

 sold. The bill, with the extra one per 

 cent attached, is as easy to collect as 

 without it; the 1 cent added to each $1 

 makes no difference. There is, of course, 



director and there they will be thor- 

 oughly threshed out with the repre- 

 sentatives of the other branches of the 

 trade. 



The board of directors is also a shield 

 against solicitors for programs and such 

 things, which are so difficult for a florist 

 to turn down. Now a florist merely 

 says: "All our advertising is done by 

 the Florists' Advertising Club. If the 

 directors will pass favorably on your 

 proposal, they will give you an appro- 

 priation. ' ' But the solicitor cannot find 

 the board of directors and the florists 

 are rid of a nuisance. 



Confine Efforts. 



The directors have found that to con- 



serve their funds and give the trade 

 the best value for their contributions 

 they must confine the advertising to 

 mediums of wide and certain circula- 

 tion, such as newspapers, street-car 

 cards and billboards. If one begins to 

 spend money on the thousand and one 

 other things presented — concert pro- 

 grams, benefit programs, charity affairs, 

 etc. — he will have frittered away hun- 

 dreds of dollars and received nothing in 

 return. Our fund is not big enough so 

 that we can feel otherwise than that 

 wo must get 100 per cent — if not 110 

 per cent — in returns. 



We make it a rule also to advertise 

 just flowers, making our appeal big 

 and broad and sweeping. We use space 

 for special days, naturally, but we do 

 not stress one thing more than another. 

 Our whole object is to get the people 

 of Milwaukee to buy more flowers. 



In a campaign such as this, results 

 are not readily traceable. This is what 

 is termed general advertising, as 

 against specific advertising. If you 

 sell an article ordinarily at $1 and ad- 

 vertise it for a sale at 99 cents, you 

 can tell just what your return from 

 that advertising is by the amount of 

 the merchandise you sell at 99 cents. 

 But when you advertise a commodity in 

 general you cannot look for definite or 

 immediate return. It takes time. But a 

 campaign such as that in Milwaukee 

 will yield returns if you give it a little 

 time. There is no question of it. Not 

 in a week, or a month, or even a year, 

 will you get tlie results you will have 

 ultimately. But there is no reason why, 

 after several seasons' advertising, 

 when we have learned to handle our 

 mediums most effectively and have been 

 able to study conditions thoroughly — 

 there is no reason why we should not 

 at least achieve that perfect heaven of 

 the florists' business, a season without 

 a glut. 



Slight Expense. 



If one is going to consider the ex- 

 pense at the outset — though it should 

 not be called an expense, but an in- 

 vestment — there is no argument as to 

 the slight cost of the Milwaukee way 

 of advertising for florists. The amount 

 you pay for it in a year is insignificant. 



There is no doubt that a florist should 

 advertise. Advertisjng is as much a 

 part of your help as your store man 

 or your delivery boy. It ought, accord- 

 ingly, to have just as definite & pla<:e 

 on the florist's pay roll. And in the 

 live retail establishments it has just 

 such a place. 



A retailer who advertises regularly 

 makes an appropriation of four to five 

 per cent of his net business. This is 

 a small percentage, the least one can 

 set for the purpose and say he adver- 

 tises. Now, then, under the Milwaukee 

 plan the most anyone paid when we 

 started was not even one per cent of his 

 net proceeds, but one per cent of his 

 purchases. One could scarcely start 

 with less. In Milwaukee the percentage 

 was doubled after one year's trial. There 

 are some who already are willing to 

 double it again for next year. 



Little Bock, Ark. — Fire of unknown 

 origin destroyed the largest packing 

 house of Joseph W. Vestal & Son Co. 

 Friday, February 13. Because of the 

 weak water power, it was some time 

 before the fire was under control and 

 several thousand dollars' damage re- 

 sulted. 



