JCLT 29. 1920 



The Florists'^ Review 



15 



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PUBLICITY THAT PAYS 



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EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING, 



For Selling Flowers. 



Florists are indeed fortuniite 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 

 [irompt 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 

 lloral service has been one of our biggest 

 problems. Production may be increased 

 greatly, but to turn this j)roduction 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 intendeil to bring notice 

 through public print to some article or 

 service olTered for sale or trade. Today 

 it has a different meaning. The modern 

 lOl'O object of advertising is not merely 

 to give publicity to flowers, l)ut to 

 ■ reate 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 sutliciently in- 

 terested to want your flowers, can only 

 he produced by the tactful application 

 i>f skillful advertising that will intro- 

 liuce your proposition, forcefully recom- 

 mend your flowers and service, inspire 

 tronfidence and accomplish action. When 

 this objective is obtained, we liave 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 

 •;ood investment depends materially 

 upon your ability to use it correctly. 

 When we stop to think that the Coca- 



Tlip nrldrrRS of F. W. Kirlilinj:, n.iIps manner 

 for Kerr tlii' Klorist. lloiistiiii, 'I'fX., iit tlu' 

 convciitioii of till' 'I'exns State Florists' Asso- 

 <'iiitkiu lit Fort Worth, .July Ul, VXM. on "lOITti- 

 livo Advert isiiif;." 



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

 ing annually and consider the remark- 

 able demand for its jiroduet, we need no 

 further proof that judicious iidvertising 

 is jirolitable. To produce iiiiixiMium re- 

 turns on our investment, a concrete ])lan 

 of action is necessary. An appropria- 

 tion of five per cent of the gross annual 

 sales lias l)een accepted liy many as 

 being the jiroficr .'iniotiiit. There are 

 several good media in which this .ap- 

 propriation may be used to advantage, 

 among which may ])e mentioned liaily 

 newsjiapcrs, catalogues, etc., window dis- 

 play, outiloor 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 

 absidute necessity of making the entin- 

 campaign one of supreme coordintition, 

 with each timber in the structure carry- 

 ing its ap])ortioncd 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 maj' difTer from another, yet 

 both may be effective. I have closely 

 studied the relative merits of media a[>- 

 plicable to our local retail floral ad 

 vcrtising and have found the daily news- 

 paper our most valuable medium. We 

 spend one-half of our approjiriation 

 with the daily newspapers and the re 

 suits 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 miscellancfius advertising. 



Tlic newspaper lias greater eiri'tila- 



tion, atTords flexibility, ipjick response 

 with raj)idity t)f turno\or and, com 

 pared to results, is the cheapest medium, 

 l)iit direct advertising is just as im 

 portant and more effective in making u 

 direct apjieal to the individual who is a 

 known llower buyer. It is virtutdly :i 

 jiersonal appeal and can be controlled 

 to reatdi your {irospcct at the i)sychologi- 

 cal time. We h.ave used the advertising 

 service of ;i well known Chicago service 

 company during the last two ye.ars, 

 (diangiiig the text to confortn with oar 

 needs, and have found this service to be 

 a business builder of great value. How 

 ever, the foundation of any direct cam 

 jiaign is your mailing list: it must not 

 contain any waste circulation. Fre- 

 (pient 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 apfx'al, just 

 prior to special days, such as Christmas. 

 Faster and Mothers' d.ay, will be pro 

 ductive of surprising results. Do not 

 lose an oj)|/ortunity to lia\-e every piece 

 of m.ailing matter for local or near by 

 country dcdivery carry a small folder or 

 staffer, 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 Layout. 



I touch cmly on the essentiais for a 

 good layout. Kegardless of the me 

 (Hum, the attractiveness of finished 

 copy lies in disjilay — that balanced com 

 bin,;tion of illustration, text, border and 

 signature. It should be our object to 

 ni.'ike the advertisement stand out in 

 relief and attract attention. Good il- 

 lustration will multiply the power of 

 voiir ad\(^rtisement. 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 th^ oM business card in the 

 town pnfier twice monthly. You'll have 

 to m;il<e it snappy now. iK^cause the 



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



