~ JcLT 29. 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



15 



PUBLICITY THAT PAYS 



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EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING. 



For Selling Flowers. 



Florists are indeed fortunate in hav- 

 ing one of God's most beautiful gifts 

 to sell and a service that is of inesti- 

 mable value to mankind. If we but 

 think of the impressive sentiments that 

 prompt one to "Say It with Flowers," 

 we cannot but realize the possibilities 

 that are awakening and beckoning to 

 us to harness them into potential agen- 

 cies of sales value. 



The business of selling flowers and 

 floral service has been one of our biggest 

 problems. Production may be increased 

 greatly, but to turn this production into 

 profitable channels requires an organ- 

 ized system of merchandising and mar- 

 keting which will involve advertising. 

 In the old sense of the word, advertis- 

 ing was merely intended to bring notice 

 through public print to some article or 

 service offered for sale or trade. Today 

 it has a different meaning. The modern 

 1920 ob.iect of advertising is not merely 

 to give publicity to flowers, but to 

 create a demand for flowers and a desire 

 for our flowers when that demand is real- 

 ized. The climax to this- thought, in- 

 ducing the buyer to be sufliciently in- 

 terested to want your flowers, can only 

 be produced by the tactful application 

 of skillful advertising that will intro- 

 duce your proposition, forcefully recom- 

 mend your flowers and service, inspire 

 confidence and accomplish action. When 

 this objective is obtained, we have suc- 

 ceeded in producing effective advertis- 

 ing, because the actual sale is the main 

 object we are attaining, but when our 

 advertising is reinforced with good pub- 

 licity, the campaign will be more effec- 

 tive and will result in increased good 

 will and increased volume of sales, with 

 decreased proportionate overhead ex- 

 penses and selling cost. 



Expense or Investment? 



Some say that advertising is expen- 

 sive. Whether it is an expense or a 

 good investment depends materially 

 upon your ability to use it correctly. 

 When we stop to think that the Coca- 



The address of E. W. Elchllng, sales manager 

 for Kerr the Florist, Houston, Tex., at the 

 convention of the Texas State Florists' Asso- 

 ciation at Fort Worth, July 21, 1020, on "Effec- 

 tive Advertising." 



Cola 'Co. invests $1,000,000 in advertis- 

 ing annually and consider the remark- 

 able demand for its product, we need no 

 further proof that judicious advertising 

 is profitable. To produce maximum re- 

 turns on our investment, a concrete plan 

 of action is necessary. An appropria- 

 tion of five per cent of the gross annual 

 sales has been accepted by many as 

 being the proper amount. There are 

 several good media in which this ap- 

 propriation may be used to advantage, 

 among which may be mentioned., daily 

 newspapers, catalogues, etc., window dis- 

 play, outdoor display, picture slides and 

 miscellaneous advertising used in vari- 

 ous school and church publications and 

 organization journals. 



Selecting Media. 



The selection of your media, while of 

 importance, can only be secondary to the 

 absolute necessity of making the entire 

 campaign one of supreme -coordination, 

 with each timber in the structure carry- 

 ing its apportioned load and having a 

 vital relation to the other and the policy 

 of your business. We should not con- 

 sider one medium as a unit of great 

 value, but only as driving our message 

 to the individual and not to the people. 

 Here is where the fascination of ad- 

 vertising lies — its personality — making 

 it an art of unlimited possibilities, so 

 elastic that there is no rule that can be 

 applied to reduce it to a science. One 

 method may differ from another, yet 

 both may be effective. I have closely 

 studied the relative merits of media ap- 

 plicable to our local retail floral ad- 

 vertising and have found the daily news- 

 paper our most valuable medium. We 

 spend one-half of our appropriation 

 with the daily newspapers and the re- 

 sults accomplished have been gratifying. 

 One-fourth of this appropriation is ap- 

 plied to direct advertising and the bal- 

 ance for window display, picture slide 

 and miscellaneous advertising. 



The newspaper has greater circula- 



tion, affords flexibility, quick response 

 with rapidity of turnover and, com- 

 pared to results, is the cheapest medium, 

 but direct advertising is just as im 

 portant and more effective in making "a 

 direct appeal to the individual who is a 

 known flower buyer. It is virtually a 

 personal appeal and can be controlled 

 to reach your prospect at the psychologi- 

 cal time. We have used the advertising 

 service of a well known Chicago service 

 company during the last two years, 

 changing the text to conform with our 

 needs, and have found this service to be 

 a business builder of great value. How- 

 ever, the foundation of any direct cam- 

 paign is your mailing list; it must not 

 contain any waste circulation. Fre- 

 quent revision of your mailing list is 

 essential. Prospects move, die, or are 

 not responsive after reasonable appeal. 

 If there is no oil where you're drilling, 

 move the rig A direct appeal, just 

 prior to special days, such as Christmas, 

 Easter and Mothers' day, will be pro- 

 ductive of surprising results. Do not 

 lose an opportunity to have every piece 

 of mailing matter for local or near-by 

 country delivery carry a small folder or 

 stuffer, calling attention to some special 

 offer or service. In fact, every piece of 

 printed matter, including letter station- 

 ery, statements, invoices, checks and all 

 other matter that will eventually find 

 its way to a prospect, should carry a 

 slogan or other selling argument. 



The Layont. 



I touch only on the essentials for a 

 good layout. Begardless of the me- 

 dium, the attractiveness of finished 

 copy lies in display — that balanced com- 

 bination of illustration, text, border and 

 signature. It should be our object to 

 make the advertisement stand out in 

 relief" and attract attention. Good il- 

 lustration will multiply the power of 

 your advertisement. Concentrate your 

 text to fit the space and remember that 

 blank space is cheap if properly used. 

 Popularity of your flowers cannot be 

 gained by the use of the obsolete rep- 

 lica of the old business card in the 

 town paper twice monthly. You'll have 

 to make it snappy now, because the 



at Fort Worth, July 20f Half as Many More Arrived for the Convention of the Texas State Florists' Association. 



