108 



The Florists^ Review 



JuNB 24, 192« 



A. A. N. DEBATES ADVERTISING. 



Chicago Convention a Live Meeting. 



The year's experience with the asso- 

 ciation's advertising project provided 

 the chief interest at the forty-fifth an- 

 nual convention of the American Asso- 

 ciation of Nurserymen, held at the Con- 

 gress hotel, Chicago, June 22 to 24. The 

 problems opened by the adoption of a 

 broader policy for the organization a 

 year ago came up for keen and close 

 consideration. 



More attention than was expected has 

 been given to the publicity undertaken 

 by the A. A. N. Full evidence of the 

 breadth of the interest aroused was af- 

 forded by the placards which covered 

 the walls of the Florentine room and 

 the committee rooms at the Congress, 

 quoting excerpts from articles and edi- 

 torials in the country's leading agricul- 

 tural papers in regard to the policy and 

 publicity of the A. A. N. 



The attitude of the association in its 

 advertising has increased its effect upon 

 the association in other ways. The vigi- 

 lance committee is being called upon for 

 g'*eater activity, in order that charges 

 of unprofessional methods may be sifted 

 and proper action taken. The strength 

 of the association's advertising, it is 

 felt, depends upon the extent to which 

 the guarantee implied in the trade-mark 

 and indicated in advertising is main- 

 tained. To make this advertising ef- 

 fective in a permanent and valuable 

 fashion, the association is compelled, not 

 nominally but actually, to live up to 

 certain standards and to insist that 

 those who continue in its membership 

 do so. 



Expense Another Problem. 



That is one problem. Another lies in 

 the expense involved. The plan of as- 

 sessment adopted last June exacts a 

 large sum of money from large nursery- 

 men. Whether the proportionate benefit 

 is in accordance with the assessments 



is a question raised. The association 

 has done much with the money at its 

 disposal during the last year. That is 

 due partly to the reading space given to 

 the nurserymen's new stand. Many, in- 

 deed practically all, of the agricultural 

 papers have devoted space to this topic 

 and discussion in print regarding it has 

 been plentiful. Another year more ex- 

 pense will be necessary to produce equal 

 results. 



Question is raised, of course, whether 

 such expenditure is justified when nurs- 

 erymen have all the orders they are able 

 to fill this year and will be in the same 

 situation again next year. The answer 

 is that such conditions will not always 

 obtain, and when they cease the effect- 

 iveness of advertising done in the mean- 

 time will be great. 



Other Associations' Advertising. 



The advocates of association adver- 

 tising came prepared with figures. A 

 printed circular was distributed giving 

 the facts in three other industries. It 

 showed that the walnut growers from 

 1914 to 1917 doubled their output and 

 from 1917 to 1919 doubled it again, and 

 were able to sell all of this enormous 

 output without price-cutting as a result 

 of their association's advertising. The 

 raisin growers, the circular stated, sold 

 only 110,000,000 out of 140,000,000 

 pounds produced in 1913, but after an 

 association advertising campaign, pro- 

 duced and sold in 1917 a total of 326,- 

 000,000 pounds, increasing the per cap- 

 ita consumption of raisins from one and 

 one-tenth to three and two-tenths 

 pounds. The orange growers, it was de- 

 clared, at a cost of eight-tenths of one 

 per cent for association advertising, in- 

 creased the consumption of oranges per 

 capita 100 per cent, raising the sales of 

 growers from $7,124,377, in 1905, to $17,- 

 235,823, in 1912, and to $54,627,556 in 

 1919. 



Fellowship Banquet. 



At this convention the banquet, in- 



stead of providing recreation after busi- 

 ness, was set before the opening session, 

 so that the members might renew old 

 acquaintance and acquire the feeling of 

 good fellowship before the time for busi- 

 ness. Tuesday, June 22, in the Floren- 

 tine room of tluB Congress hotel, a splen- 

 did banquet was served at 7 p. m. About 

 200 filled the hall. After an excellent 

 dinner a serierof informal speeches cre- 

 ated a spirit of cohesion and unity that 

 showed its effect in later sessions. 



President J. Edward Moon, the capa- 

 ble chairman of the evening, opened 

 with a few well chosen words. Then 

 he called upon Dr. Frederick V. Coville, 

 of the Department of Agriculture, who, 

 after some brief remarks, stated that 

 more distinguished representatives of 

 his organization would speak at later 

 gatherings, so that he need speak but 

 little. 



Paul C. Lindley, of Pomona, N. C, 

 chairman of the vigilance committee, 

 spoke of the work of that body in a 

 way that foreshadowed more interesting 

 divulgences at business sessions. He 

 expressed the hope of a meeting in the 

 manner of an old-time Methodist revival, 

 when those present arose and confessed 

 their sins. 



P. S. Love joy, whose articles on the 

 A. A. N., its advertising and its trade- 

 mark, in the Country Gentleman, are 

 known to most nurserymen, spoke 

 clearly to the point after he had told 

 some tall tales with ironic reflection on 

 catalogue writers. He stated frankly 

 that nurserymen are "in wrong" with 

 the public. Evidence of this he cited 

 in the shape of adverse legislation with 

 which the trade is more and more en- 

 compassed, the product of the consum- 

 ers' dissatisfaction with trade practices. 

 He expressed himself as pleased with 

 the new policy of the A. A. N. and con- 

 vinced of the sincerity and purpose be- 

 liind it. 



L. W. C. Tuthill, whose agency fur- 

 nishes the copy for the A.A.N, adver- 

 tisements, spoke briefly, emphasizing the 



Fi\lowi\x\p Biaqj;t of th: A. A N. in Floreatine Room of the Congress HoteU Chicago, Tuesday Evening, June 22, 1920. 



