',<''<Z' ■' 



DIGGING OUT OF 



THE DEPRESSION 



That florists have suffered less than oiket merchants in the btisiness 

 depression of the last eighteen months is partly due to circumstances which 

 favor this trade, hnt the especially: satisfactory records of many are due to 

 their own determined fight for sales. Here is how Horgan got his. 



ERHAPS you are located 



"W"^ in a community which has 

 ^ L^ passed through the period 

 I of business readjustment 



L without serious setback to 



xj^ its merchants. A number 

 of florists in various locali- 

 ties throughout the coun- 

 try report that conditions 

 have been thus kind to 

 them. But more likely, during the last 

 year and a half, you have had reason 

 to note with apprehension the unwilling- 

 ness of the public to spend money with 

 the liberality that it did the two season*-^ 

 before. Doubtless you have been seek- 

 ing a way to meet the situation as it 

 has confronted you, in order to main- 

 tiiin profits at a satisfactory level. In 

 this case you will be particularly intcr- 

 <\sted in this article, for it relates the 

 way a florist of the south — a section 

 hardest hit by the depression — put forth 

 efforts to increase his sales to make 

 up for the economical trend of his old 

 customers. 



Dan C. Horgan is well known south 

 of the Mason and Dixon line and the 

 name of his firm, the Idle Hour Nurs- 

 eries, is familiar to florists all over the 

 ■oiintry. He put the situation this way: 



Conditions Not What They Were. 



"No one can fail to appreciate the 

 fact that conditions are not now what 

 tlipy were, a fact particularly true in 

 this section. Eight in the center of the 

 • otton belt, we are in a section that 

 >eems to have been worse hit and has 

 suffered more than any other part of the 

 '•iiuntry I know of. You doubtless know- 

 that 'old man boll 



weevil' got all of our . 



etitton this year, which 

 leaves our customers all 

 i'l pretty bad shape." 



"In such a condition 

 'f affairs," said Mr. 

 Itorgan, "one might 

 •hink a florist foolish 

 put money into ad- 

 vertising. If the pub- 

 lic cannot buy, it would 

 ■ieem to be throwing 

 iJioney away to urge it 

 to do so." 



But that was not the 

 ^ay Mr. Horgan looked 

 •It the problem. 



"We fignre that the 

 worse conditions are 

 and the duller things 

 get, the more one is 

 uecessarily compelled 

 to advertise. We also 

 '■'gure that people read Typical, in Size and Style, of Mr. Horgan's Small 



Dan C. Horgan. 



advertisements more when conditions 

 are bad, for the reason that they are 

 continually hunting bargains in the 

 newspapers, and while they are hunting 

 for and reading the bargain advertise- 

 ments, they are bound to take in the 

 florist's advertisements also. For this 

 reason if the florist does not get any im- 

 mediate results in the way of business 

 from the bargain-seeking persons, he at 

 least is hammering his name into their 

 heads. They are unconsciously soaking 

 it in. so to s])0!ik." says Mr. Horgan. 



If my heart 



Was made of flowers 

 I would gladly 

 Send it, too. 

 But you have 



My heart already. 

 So I send 

 These flowers to you. 

 Valentine Flowers delivered 

 to any address in the Uftited 

 States ov Canada througli 

 CUV telegraphic connection 

 with florists everywhere. 



Idle Hour 

 Niirseries 



Quality Plus Service 



How strongly Mr. Horgan backs up 

 lijs beliefs with action is indicated by 

 his statement: "I do not mind telling 

 you that since this depression set in so 

 strongly with us, about October 1, we 

 have spent for advertising, during the 

 four months of October, November, De- 

 cember and January, the total amount 

 of $4,199.32." 



When St. Valentine's day approached, 

 Mr. Horgan saw in it the opportunity 

 to move the flowers that were becoming 

 more and more plentiful. A short time 

 before February 14 he began placing 

 small advertisements in the daily news- 

 papers of Macon and gradually worked 

 up to a large-sized advertisement at St. 

 Valentine's day. The early advertise- 

 ments were small, occupying only two 

 inches in two columns or five inches in 

 one column. The first ones were simply 

 reminders. One, for instance, was 

 headed with the slogan, "Say It with 

 Flowers," and beneath it offered only 

 the suggestion,.." Flowers are the most 

 delicate, intimate and appropriate offer- 

 ing for a valentine." 



Another small one read: "Flowers 

 for your valentine. Is there a better day 

 than February 14 to interpret one's sen- 

 timent? Aren't flowers — glorious, ra- 

 diant jewels of nature — symbols of sen- 

 timent, affection, devotion? Rely on this 

 sagaeious florist to 'fix up' the precious 

 St. Valentine boucjuet with flowers fresh 

 cut daily frojn our own greenhouses." 



St. Valentine's Day Opportunity. 



Other small advertisements carried 

 similar ftiessages. One talked about the 

 appropriateness of flowers for St. Valen- 

 tine 's day and the 

 (|uality of those from 

 the Idle Hour Nurs- 

 eries. One suggested a 

 corsage as a valentine 

 for tlie young lady go- 

 ing to a St. Valentine's 

 day party. Still an- 

 other suggested to the 

 young man that he 

 ' 'tell her with flowers" 

 on St. Valentine's day. 

 vThe first two mentioned 

 in this paragraph are 

 reproduced on page 22. 

 Most important was 

 the attractive appear- 

 ance of these small ad- 

 vertisements. Small 

 sketches of appropriate 

 subjects appeared in " 

 each one, serving to at 

 tract the eye and im- 

 mediately show the 

 point of the advertise- 



Ads. 



