Febbuaby 13, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



i. Vi,'iri.vi.^'i,^n^''izt:Einiv i-viT^ri. 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING. 



As Applied to the Retail Florist. 



A close student of modern business 

 methods cannot fail to be impressed with 

 the wonderfully important position oc- 

 cupied by publicity in present day mer- 

 chandising. 



Publicity, in its modern and more fa- 

 miliar sense, is but another word for ad- 

 vertising. 



It is a synonym for business-getting 

 print. 



Of all modern forces in sales-making, 

 advertising is the most important and 

 the most potent. 



Advertising is as old as the hills. 



Its great modern force is the result of 

 careful study of the factors which make 

 for its development and best success. 



Advertising has become a business in 

 itself, a specialty — a profession. 



The growth of the advertising business 

 in all its ramifications has been stupen- 

 dous. 



No farther back than 1884 Harper's 

 Magazine carried only about twelve 

 pages of general advertising in a single 

 issue, and the makers of Pears' soap, 

 like other big advertisers, thought it nec- 

 essary to change copy only two or three 

 times a year. 



But a mighty development began about 

 1891, and the old commonplace efforts 

 gave way to high art and sensible busi- 

 ness English. 



Manufacturers of staples soon found 

 that, instead of selling the entire prod- 

 uct of a factory to jobbers at a close 

 margin of profit, they could acquire for- 

 tunes by ^Ivertising under a trade-mark 

 name and then compelling the dealer to 

 come to them and pay prices that not 

 only settled for the advertising, but left 

 an enormous profit besides. 



Extent of Modem Advertising. 



Over a billion dollars is annually spent 

 in advertising in this country, with a 

 steady increase each year. 



Manufacturers, wholesalers and retail- 

 ers, everywhere, in all lines of business, 

 are recognizing the real worth and im- 

 portance of advertising as a trade win- 

 ner, applying its force and receiving 

 large returns. Its effect is manifold and 

 manifest. 



For instance, in the western metrop- 

 olis, Chicago, there are two great mail 

 order houses, leaders in this branch 

 of business. One of them in the year 

 1904 did a business of more than $50,- 

 000,000, the other a volume of more than 

 $40,000,000, and not a single salesman 

 on the road for either house. 



There was absolutely nothing contrib- 

 uting to this gigantic total of $90,000,- 

 000 but adve'rtising in mail order jour- 

 nals, in magazines and newspapers. 



So vast and intricate have the details 

 of American advertising become that 

 great houses known as advertising 

 agencies have within a quarter of a cen- 

 tury come into being, and they now take 



rank among the most impo»tant modern 

 economic movements. 



One of these firms, during the few 

 years of its history, has placed over 

 $150,000,000 for clients, who were coun- 

 seled and advised by this agency in the 

 purchase of space and the display of 

 copy. 



When we get a glimpse of these tre- 

 mendous organizations, these combined 

 forces, all engaged in applying the idea 

 of publicity in the commercial world, it 

 becomes clear that it is a subject de- 

 serving the serious and careful study of 

 every business man who seeks the largest 

 measure of success. 



Old-fashioned Methods. 



During the last few years the retail 

 florists' trade has undergone a complete 

 revolution, including almost every phase 

 of the business. 



Competition is decidedly keea. 



And yet, in the face of these facts, 

 most florists continue to advertise in the 

 same manner as they did five years ago 

 — running a small card in the newspapers 

 the year round without a change. 



Such advertising, if it can be so called, 

 certainly can never meet the demands 



them, to be sure, but how much better 

 can you do with them! 



Today the question does not stand, 

 "Shall we advertise?" but "How shall 

 we advertise?" 



Advertising is not necessarily a sci- 

 ence, governed by certain fixed laws, 

 which if religiously followed will yield 

 pre-caleulated results. 



Neither is it a game of chance. 



It is essentially an art and, like all 

 good art, is founded upon scientific prin- 

 ciples, which are mostly psychological, 

 having reference to the mental opera- 

 tions of the average mind under vary- 

 ing circumstances. 



Therefore, while certain results from 

 advertising may always be obtained, the 

 greatest possible results can only be de- 

 rived from the exercise of good judg- 

 ment, backed up by experience in the 

 preparation of copy, and by a thorough 

 knowledge of human nature in all its 

 varied phases, a knowledge which must 

 be more or less instinctive — intuitive. 



Advertising is an appeal for business. 



It is salesmanship where the printed 

 page is used instead of oral solicitation; 

 its purpose is to persuade — to create 

 business. 



Compel Attention. 



In salesmanship the whole secret is to 

 persuade the prospective customer that 

 an article is desirable and worthy of 

 acquisition. The same is true with ad- 

 vertising. The approach should be care- 

 fully planned and the uninterested should 

 be compelled to take notice. 



Inertia and indifference are common 

 traits; hence the endeavor should be to 

 overcome these tendencies in the first 

 instance. 



WINTER BEAUTIES 



from the virorld of flcwers — radiant with color — 

 a delight to our eyes — bo satisfying to the most 

 delicate and refined of tastes. 



Magnificent Roses and Carnations with large 

 perfect blooms and long sturdy stems — Exquisite 

 Violets breathing out a mo.«it refreshing and re- 

 flped perfume — these we tnaku up into bouquets 

 of transcendent beauty. 



Out floral design.s have an artiptic individual- 

 ity, a general dlffercntness and superiority, if you 

 picas© — which dlfttingoishes them from all others. 



Phone orders receive our Immediate and best 

 attonuon. 



JACOB SCHULZ, 



644 Fourth Avenue. 



Both Phones-^23. 



An Example of a Good Advertisement for a Retail Elorist* 



of modern merchandising, which are ex- 

 acting to a degree. 



It is a noteworthy fact that the re- 

 tail florists' trade has been unusually 

 slow in recognizing the great value of 

 judicious advertising as a business 

 builder. This backwardness is undoubt- 

 edly due to the fact that florists them- 

 selves feel unequal to the task of pre- 

 paring effective copy. 



Advertising of some sort is as indis- 

 pensable to the success of any retail 

 florist's business as a typewriter or a 

 telephone. You may get along without 



The majority of people "read as they 

 run, ' ' and unless they are given a com- 

 plete thought in the first line, the adver- 

 tisement will probably not be read. 



The initial attack must be a success. 



Once having gained the attention, any 

 amount of terse, strongly written matter 

 may be interposed. 



Successful advertising is applied psy- 

 chology, and is an appeal to the senses, 

 the emotions and the intellect. 



In advertising a food delicacy, the ap- 

 peal is made to the sense of taste until 

 the mouth fairly waters from the luscious 



