OCTOBBB 13, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 





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I 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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BETAXL ADVEETISING. 



A Substitute for Crepe Chasing. 



"Advertising is a peculiar proposi- 

 tion — the more you do of it the less you 

 think you know about it — but in busi- 

 ness today one simply must advertise 

 or drop behind; either that or chase 

 crepe. ' ' 



The epigram was coined by H. P. 

 Knoble, but epigrams never are to be 

 taken literally. Mr. Knoble did not 

 mean the remark to be applied to any 

 particular case, or individual — it wasn 't 

 personal; it was just his attention-grip- 

 ping way of saying that if one doesn't 

 advertise he has got to work all the 

 harder, by some other method, to keep 

 up with the procession. 



Knoble Bros, started their retail 

 flower store in Cleveland four years 

 ago, adopted advertising as the readiest 

 means of reaching the public, and who 

 have been consistent advertisers ever 

 since, 



A Task for Strong Minds. 



This is the time of year that retail 

 florists are preparing to put into effect 

 their plans for booming business this 

 fall, and with an increasing number 

 these preparations include at least a 

 little advertising in the leading local 

 paper. Florists have been slow to take 

 up adve»-tising, but it never is too late 

 to commence — it's like turning over a 

 new leaf: you don't need to wait till 

 New Year's, except that it gives you 

 an excuse for not yet awhile doing 

 yourself a benefit that calls for the ex- 

 ercise of a little of your own mental 

 power. For advertising, no matter how 

 easy it is to say "yes" to the solicitor, 

 or how much easier to say, ' ' No, I 

 won't consider it," really requires some 

 little actual thought if it is going to be 

 worth the money it will cost. 



Because so many retailers are inter- 

 ested in advertising, Mr. Knoble 's plan 

 will be of value as affording a basis for 

 a beginning by those similarly situated 

 in other cities. 



An All-Season Plan. 



"In the autumn we start out with 

 sales on Boston ferns and other plants 

 for the home. Then come some Hal- 

 lowe'en suggestions, followed by a gen- 

 eral talk on good mums, with a cut of 

 some. This leads up to the Thanksgiv- 

 ing ads that aim to show the incom- 

 pleteness of the flowerless dinner table. 

 After Thanksgiving we start the Christ- 

 mas advertising, running cuts and text 

 on immortelle and boxwood wreaths; 

 later we cover other lines of the holi- 

 day stock. In January we got up a 

 series of flower talks — fifteen in all — 

 each devoted to some one suggestion 

 for the use of flowers and pointing out 

 the ease and satisfaction of ordering 

 flowers from Knoble 's. In February 

 we broke into the series of flower talks 

 with some successful ads on corsage 

 bouquets, showing them up as without 



equal aq valentines, and, say, how they 

 did sell! March we devote to adver- 

 tising Easter goods, usually running 

 plain type, no cuts. After Easter we 

 talk boxwood trees for lawns, etc. Then 

 a digression for Memorial day, and 

 after that wedding bouquets for the 

 June brides. 



"Up to this year that ended the sea- 

 son, but during July and August of this 

 year we ran the spray ad, to see if the 

 flower business had become an all-the- 

 year-round occupation. We conclude it 

 has." 



So much for the plan. You see, Mr, 

 Knoble has it all figured out in ad- 

 vance; he doesn't go at it spasmodic- 

 ally, advertising only when some so- 

 licitor asks him to, and neglecting it 

 otherwise; not he; he knows what time 

 he has to cover and how far his money 

 will go. This is what he says about 

 the "to be a good fellow" kind of 

 advertising: 



The One Best Paper Is Enough. 



' ' We started in business four years 

 ago, and have always advertised a little, 



that's like going after big game with a 

 shotgun. ' ' 



Mr. Knoble didn 't form his conclu- 

 sion hastily; it represents four years of 

 costly experience that ought to be of 

 real money value to others. After try- 

 ing everything that came along, "just 

 to oblige the solicitors," he says, "we 

 went to the other extreme and did noth- 

 ing at all except in the city directory 

 and the telephone directory. We paid 

 the extra price of preferred space, but 

 soon found that we could do better if 

 we changed our copy more frequently. 

 Next we tried the largest daily paper, 

 only going into it every Friday, with 

 a space that ran all the way from four 

 inches single column to six, or even 

 eight, inches double .column. From this 

 we got good results; it was the real 

 beginiiing of our advertising. 



What Experience Taught. 



"As our business grew, of course, our 

 appropriation for advertising grew, so 

 we went in twice a week, on Tuesday 

 and Friday evenings. Next we took up 

 the best Sunday paper and have since 

 been in it every Sunday. Since last 

 June we have been running in another 

 daily evening paper, but somewhat, 

 against our better judgment, and since 

 October 1 we have gone in on the sec- 

 ond largest Sunday paper, but only on 

 trial. Our firm belief is that the one 

 best evening paper and the one best 

 Sunday paper reach all the buyers we 

 need, without going into anything else. 



"You don't double the number of 

 buyers reached when you double your 

 expense by taking on another paper — 

 far from it. 



.V-V- 



THIS OUT SHOWS 

 KNOBLE'iS $3.00 SPRAY 



A. bcauttful toVen o1 sympatby and irspect' to a 

 lost friend or relative. Junt the rlffht alae. Pkonc. 

 W« deliver everywhere and ship oat of town. 



KNOBLE BROTHERS, FLORISTS 

 1836 West Twenty-fifth Street 



Central B71S 



PHONES- 



-West 78 



Newspaper Advertisement That Proved a Big Money Maker. 



right from the beginning. At first we 

 went into everything that came along, 

 but we soon found that it was only a 

 good way to spend money — it didn't 

 bring returns. Now our firm belief is 

 that the best evening daily and the 

 best Sunday paper can't be beat; it 

 gives sufficient circulation without go- 

 ing into anything else, and when you 

 confijie your advertising to the one best 

 paper you have enough money tf> make 

 a show and keep going steadily. It's 

 a lot more impressive to lump your 

 expenditure into one good ad than it 

 is to split it up into a lot of little ones; 



"The biggest paper — the one that 

 carries the most advertising — is the one 

 that has the greatest advertising value. 

 It's so in Cleveland, and it's so every- 

 where else." 



The Cost of Advertising. 



A lot of retail florists look on news- 

 paper advertising as expensive, but it 

 isn't so in Cleveland, and probably it 

 isn't so in other cities of that size; in 

 fact, it's cheap when you compare the 

 cost with the service. For instance: 



"The Cleveland Press, the evening 

 paper, prints 160,000 copies, and its 



