Exercise 270Oral
In talking on any of the following subjects be sure you know just what you are going to say before you begin, and then say it clearly and convincingly. Don't say too much and don't say too little. Just exactly how much you should say no one can tell you. You must watch your audience. If they look puzzled, give more details; if they look bored, try shorter, more concise sentences, or bring your talk to a close. After you have explained all your points, sum them up briefly at the end. Remember that your talk must, first, attract attention; second, hold the interest; and third, create enthusiasm and desire to buy.
To supplement what facts you get from observation, study advertisements and catalogues to get material for (9) to (20) below:
1. Get up a talk to persuade a freshman or a group of freshmen to subscribe to the school paper.2. To persuade girls to contribute to a fund to be used to buy suits for the football team.3. To induce particularly uninterested freshmen to buy tickets for a school activity; for example, a debate.4. As a real estate agent induce a classmate to establish a home in your neighborhood.5. Try to sell the manager of the baseball team a new line of athletic goods.6. Try to sell a set of Dickens' (or any other author's) works to a boy who is not fond of reading. You must enjoy the books that you recommend.7. Try to sell the class or the teacher a new kind of loose leaf note book for science or English work.8. As an agent for the publishers try to sell this text book to your English class or to your English teacher.9. You are trying to sell an automobile to a farmer. By means of concrete examples develop the following items into a talk:a.The business opportunities to be gained.b.The social opportunities to be gained.10. Get up a talk to sell a runabout to a physician who has a small practice. Suppose that he owns a horse and a buggy. Be tactful.11. You are a salesman for an automobile house and are trying to sell a gasoline car to a man who is partial to an electric car. Meet the objections to the gasoline car and put forward its advantages.12. You are trying to sell an electric runabout to a woman. Develop the following into a talk:a.Ease of operation.b.Noiselessness and comfort.c.Elegant appearance.13. You are trying to sell the manager of a local express company a motor truck. Gather all the data you can and present it in a talk on why he should replace his horses and wagons with motor trucks. Be as specific as possible.14. Get up a talk showing why a man with considerable means should trade his two year old car as part payment for the latest model.15. Get up a talk to sell a phonograph.16. To sell an electric washing machine.17. To sell a piano.18. To sell a vacuum cleaner.19. To sell a subscription to a magazine.20. To obtain an order for groceries or teas and coffees. The offer of premiums might add to the effectiveness of your talk.
1. Get up a talk to persuade a freshman or a group of freshmen to subscribe to the school paper.
2. To persuade girls to contribute to a fund to be used to buy suits for the football team.
3. To induce particularly uninterested freshmen to buy tickets for a school activity; for example, a debate.
4. As a real estate agent induce a classmate to establish a home in your neighborhood.
5. Try to sell the manager of the baseball team a new line of athletic goods.
6. Try to sell a set of Dickens' (or any other author's) works to a boy who is not fond of reading. You must enjoy the books that you recommend.
7. Try to sell the class or the teacher a new kind of loose leaf note book for science or English work.
8. As an agent for the publishers try to sell this text book to your English class or to your English teacher.
9. You are trying to sell an automobile to a farmer. By means of concrete examples develop the following items into a talk:a.The business opportunities to be gained.b.The social opportunities to be gained.
10. Get up a talk to sell a runabout to a physician who has a small practice. Suppose that he owns a horse and a buggy. Be tactful.
11. You are a salesman for an automobile house and are trying to sell a gasoline car to a man who is partial to an electric car. Meet the objections to the gasoline car and put forward its advantages.
12. You are trying to sell an electric runabout to a woman. Develop the following into a talk:a.Ease of operation.b.Noiselessness and comfort.c.Elegant appearance.
13. You are trying to sell the manager of a local express company a motor truck. Gather all the data you can and present it in a talk on why he should replace his horses and wagons with motor trucks. Be as specific as possible.
14. Get up a talk showing why a man with considerable means should trade his two year old car as part payment for the latest model.
15. Get up a talk to sell a phonograph.
16. To sell an electric washing machine.
17. To sell a piano.
18. To sell a vacuum cleaner.
19. To sell a subscription to a magazine.
20. To obtain an order for groceries or teas and coffees. The offer of premiums might add to the effectiveness of your talk.
Exercise 271
The following paragraph was adapted from William C. Freeman'sAdvertising Talks.
George Washington's Cherry Tree Story has served a good purpose through all of these years. "I cannot tell a lie" is a phrase that has been used in every schoolroom in America to impress upon young minds the importance of truth telling. The phrase is also serving its purpose outside the schoolroom. In all professions and in all kinds of business, men know that in order to make good they must tell the truth. There never was, in all the history of the country, a greater movement than now toward universal truth telling. There is not even that winking at "white"lies that used to prevail. The man who does not make a direct statement, who does not earn a reputation for being honest, has no chance of succeeding. Time was when the trickster was regarded as shrewd and was accepted in the community as being right both socially and commercially. To-day the man who has money without a reputation for integrity is a bankrupt, as far as real friends and public opinion are concerned. The expression "I cannot tell a lie" has been changed to-day to "I will not tell a lie even if the lie seems more expedient than the blunt truth." So George Washington's Cherry Tree Story is as good to-day as it ever was.
George Washington's Cherry Tree Story has served a good purpose through all of these years. "I cannot tell a lie" is a phrase that has been used in every schoolroom in America to impress upon young minds the importance of truth telling. The phrase is also serving its purpose outside the schoolroom. In all professions and in all kinds of business, men know that in order to make good they must tell the truth. There never was, in all the history of the country, a greater movement than now toward universal truth telling. There is not even that winking at "white"lies that used to prevail. The man who does not make a direct statement, who does not earn a reputation for being honest, has no chance of succeeding. Time was when the trickster was regarded as shrewd and was accepted in the community as being right both socially and commercially. To-day the man who has money without a reputation for integrity is a bankrupt, as far as real friends and public opinion are concerned. The expression "I cannot tell a lie" has been changed to-day to "I will not tell a lie even if the lie seems more expedient than the blunt truth." So George Washington's Cherry Tree Story is as good to-day as it ever was.
Prepare paragraphs on the following suggestions, expanding each by examples:
1. As a salesman, be honest with your customers.2. Cultivate tact.3. Cultivate a conscience.4. Learn to avoid friction.5. Acknowledge your mistakes.6. Don't criticise.7. Don't procrastinate.8. Don't boast.9. Don't buy your clothes on time.10. Don't borrow from fellow clerks.11. Don't think your employer can't see whether you are working.12. Don't sell a merchant a larger order than he can move.13. Study the duties of the man ahead of you.14. New ideas count with your employer.15. He can who thinks he can.
Exercise 272Written
1. A request has come in from your territory for your automobile catalogue. Write a letter to accompany the catalogue, inviting the inspection of your cars. Make it as personal as possible.2. You have just been talking with a prospective buyer. Drive home some of the strong points of your car in a letter exploiting strength, reliability, and speed. Use the following as a basis of your letter: The Up-to-the-minute car breaks the record fromNew York to San Francisco, making the trip in ten days, fifteen hours, and thirteen seconds.3. You have just shown your motor truck to a business man. Strengthen the impression you made on him by writing him a letter summing up the important advantages of the motor truck. Use the following extract from a letter:"It has not missed a single trip since I have had it, and it takes the place of three wagons and twelve horses. My route from Waltham is so long that a pair of horses going over it one day has to be laid off the next.""This truck makes three trips each day. I have had it on the road nearly four months and have covered over four thousand (4,000) miles with no expense for repairs."4. A prospective customer has lost interest. Try to arouse him once more by telling him of a particularly good sale recently made, or of a new model just received, or of a new device lately perfected. Your object is to get him to inspect your cars again.5. Write a letter to a wealthy man who bought one of your cars two years ago, offering him half of what he paid for the car in exchange for a new model. Make him see that it would be to his advantage to accept the offer.6. Write an advertisement to appear in a local newspaper asking for an automobile salesman.7. Answer the advertisement, telling why you think you could sell cars, although you have had no experience.8. Write a letter to a friend telling him you have been offered the agency for the Up-to-the-minute car. Ask him to be your partner, and try to show him why you will succeed. He will be expected to bear half the office expenses, and he will get half the commissions.
1. A request has come in from your territory for your automobile catalogue. Write a letter to accompany the catalogue, inviting the inspection of your cars. Make it as personal as possible.
2. You have just been talking with a prospective buyer. Drive home some of the strong points of your car in a letter exploiting strength, reliability, and speed. Use the following as a basis of your letter: The Up-to-the-minute car breaks the record fromNew York to San Francisco, making the trip in ten days, fifteen hours, and thirteen seconds.
3. You have just shown your motor truck to a business man. Strengthen the impression you made on him by writing him a letter summing up the important advantages of the motor truck. Use the following extract from a letter:
"It has not missed a single trip since I have had it, and it takes the place of three wagons and twelve horses. My route from Waltham is so long that a pair of horses going over it one day has to be laid off the next."
"This truck makes three trips each day. I have had it on the road nearly four months and have covered over four thousand (4,000) miles with no expense for repairs."
4. A prospective customer has lost interest. Try to arouse him once more by telling him of a particularly good sale recently made, or of a new model just received, or of a new device lately perfected. Your object is to get him to inspect your cars again.
5. Write a letter to a wealthy man who bought one of your cars two years ago, offering him half of what he paid for the car in exchange for a new model. Make him see that it would be to his advantage to accept the offer.
6. Write an advertisement to appear in a local newspaper asking for an automobile salesman.
7. Answer the advertisement, telling why you think you could sell cars, although you have had no experience.
8. Write a letter to a friend telling him you have been offered the agency for the Up-to-the-minute car. Ask him to be your partner, and try to show him why you will succeed. He will be expected to bear half the office expenses, and he will get half the commissions.
Exercise 273—Suggestions for Debates
1. The mail order house ruins the trade of the country merchant.2. The giving of free samples does not attract desirable purchasers.3. The use of trading stamps should be abolished.4. The motor wagon is more advantageous for the average grocer than the horse and wagon.5. All manufactured food products should be sold in sanitary, sealed packages.
1. The mail order house ruins the trade of the country merchant.
2. The giving of free samples does not attract desirable purchasers.
3. The use of trading stamps should be abolished.
4. The motor wagon is more advantageous for the average grocer than the horse and wagon.
5. All manufactured food products should be sold in sanitary, sealed packages.
Exercise 274Oral or Written
Prepare paragraphs on the following:
1. A merchant must know his neighborhood before he buys his stock.2. Selling by weight rather than by measure benefits dealer and consumer.3. Giving short weights does not prove profitable.4. The price of a certain kind of goods, or of an article, that is going out of style should be reduced to move it quickly.5. If merchants did not deliver purchases, goods would be cheaper.6. Hard work and patience spell the merchant's success.7. The middle man gets the bulk of the profit.8. The telegraph is a great aid to the business man.9. There is a difference between day and night telegraphic rates.10. Money may be sent by telegraph.11. The night letter is very useful to the merchant.12. The parcel post is a great help to the farmer.13. The parcel post tends to increase the business of the mail order firms.14. The object of an automobile exhibit is to sell cars.15. The five-and-ten-cent stores have succeeded because ——.
1. A merchant must know his neighborhood before he buys his stock.
2. Selling by weight rather than by measure benefits dealer and consumer.
3. Giving short weights does not prove profitable.
4. The price of a certain kind of goods, or of an article, that is going out of style should be reduced to move it quickly.
5. If merchants did not deliver purchases, goods would be cheaper.
6. Hard work and patience spell the merchant's success.
7. The middle man gets the bulk of the profit.
8. The telegraph is a great aid to the business man.
9. There is a difference between day and night telegraphic rates.
10. Money may be sent by telegraph.
11. The night letter is very useful to the merchant.
12. The parcel post is a great help to the farmer.
13. The parcel post tends to increase the business of the mail order firms.
14. The object of an automobile exhibit is to sell cars.
15. The five-and-ten-cent stores have succeeded because ——.
Exercise 275
Prepare paragraphs on the following:
1. The importance of transportation facilities to the farmer.
2. The importance of transportation facilities to the manufacturer.
3. The steamship in international trade.
4. Transportation before the days of the railroad.
5. The influence of the railroad in the advance of civilization.
6. Electrifying the railroads.
7. Speed, the cause of railroad accidents.
8. The observation car.
9. The care of food in the refrigerator car.
10. The work of the railroad repair-shop.
11. The advantage of railroad transportation over water transportation.
12. The advantage of water transportation over railroad transportation.
13. Why the larger railroads in our country run east and west.
14. The advantages of the pay-as-you-enter car.
15. The importance of the interurban electric railroads in country trade.
16. The disadvantages of the elevated system in large cities.
17. Congestion in the business district of a large city.
18. The underground system as a solution for congested traffic.
19. The work of a transfer company.
20. The motor truck decreases the business of the express companies.
21. The automobile decreases railroad suburban business.
Exercise 276
Topics for Investigation and Discussion
1. The work of the Interstate Commerce Commission.2. How railroads control other railroads.3. Railroad earnings.4. Different kinds of railroad traffic.5. The relation between the express companies and the railroads.6. Railroad rates and rebates.7. Government ownership of railroads.8. The influence of the Panama canal in the growth of business in the southern states.9. The influence of the canal in the growth of business in the central West.10. The influence of the canal in the growth of business in South America.11. The deep water way.12. The parcel post zones.
1. The work of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
2. How railroads control other railroads.
3. Railroad earnings.
4. Different kinds of railroad traffic.
5. The relation between the express companies and the railroads.
6. Railroad rates and rebates.
7. Government ownership of railroads.
8. The influence of the Panama canal in the growth of business in the southern states.
9. The influence of the canal in the growth of business in the central West.
10. The influence of the canal in the growth of business in South America.
11. The deep water way.
12. The parcel post zones.
Exercise 277
Books that will Suggest Topics for Talks
Bolton, S. K., Successful Women.Chamberlain, J. F., How We Travel.Drysdale, W., Helps for Ambitious Boys; Helps for Ambitious Girls.Fowler, N. C., Practical Salesmanship; Starting in Life.Hale, E. E., What Career?Higinbotham, H. N., The Making of a Merchant.Laselle, M. A.andWiley, K. E., Vocations for Girls.Lundgren, Charles, The New Salesmanship.Lyde, L. W., Man and his Markets.Mallon, I. A. S., The Business Girl.Manson, G. J., Ready for Business.Marsden, O. S., The Secret of Achievement; The Young Man Entering Business.Mitten, G. E., The Book of the Railway.Moody, W. D., Men Who Sell Things.Reed,et al., Careers for the Coming Men.Rocheleau, W. F., Transportation.Rollins, F. W., What can a Young Man do?Stockwell, H. G., Essential Elements of Business Character.Stoddard, W. O., Men of Business.The Vocation Bureau, Boston, Vocations for Boys. (Pamphlets onThe Grocer,The Machinist,The Architect,etc.)White, S. J., Business Openings for Girls.
Bolton, S. K., Successful Women.
Chamberlain, J. F., How We Travel.
Drysdale, W., Helps for Ambitious Boys; Helps for Ambitious Girls.
Fowler, N. C., Practical Salesmanship; Starting in Life.
Hale, E. E., What Career?
Higinbotham, H. N., The Making of a Merchant.
Laselle, M. A.andWiley, K. E., Vocations for Girls.
Lundgren, Charles, The New Salesmanship.
Lyde, L. W., Man and his Markets.
Mallon, I. A. S., The Business Girl.
Manson, G. J., Ready for Business.
Marsden, O. S., The Secret of Achievement; The Young Man Entering Business.
Mitten, G. E., The Book of the Railway.
Moody, W. D., Men Who Sell Things.
Reed,et al., Careers for the Coming Men.
Rocheleau, W. F., Transportation.
Rollins, F. W., What can a Young Man do?
Stockwell, H. G., Essential Elements of Business Character.
Stoddard, W. O., Men of Business.
The Vocation Bureau, Boston, Vocations for Boys. (Pamphlets onThe Grocer,The Machinist,The Architect,etc.)
White, S. J., Business Openings for Girls.
Exercise 278
Write the following from dictation:
1
Transportation is a great business as well as manufacturing or farming. History tells us that very early people did not have a settled home, but, when the grass began to give out in one part of the country, several members of the community, perhaps whole tribes, took their belongings on their backs and sought for a new place to settle. It is reasonable to suppose that they wished to keep up some sort of intercourse with their friends. At once difficulties arose, since hostile tribes lived between them and their old home. It was a brave man, indeed, who ventured to encounter the dangers of the trip between the settlements. Such a set of men arose in the peddlers, who set out alone or in caravans with articles of produce or manufacture and braved the dangers even of a desert to exchange what they carried for the produce of the old home. This is the earliest form of transportation. Compare this simple form with the modern railroad, steamship, and express service.
Transportation is a great business as well as manufacturing or farming. History tells us that very early people did not have a settled home, but, when the grass began to give out in one part of the country, several members of the community, perhaps whole tribes, took their belongings on their backs and sought for a new place to settle. It is reasonable to suppose that they wished to keep up some sort of intercourse with their friends. At once difficulties arose, since hostile tribes lived between them and their old home. It was a brave man, indeed, who ventured to encounter the dangers of the trip between the settlements. Such a set of men arose in the peddlers, who set out alone or in caravans with articles of produce or manufacture and braved the dangers even of a desert to exchange what they carried for the produce of the old home. This is the earliest form of transportation. Compare this simple form with the modern railroad, steamship, and express service.
2Capturing the Latin American Trade
No empty iteration of the Monroe doctrine, no reservation of canal privileges, will capture the trade of Latin America. This will be accomplished only by efforts to produce and to sell those countries the kind of goods that they want; measured, labeled, and packed their way; offered in the language that they understand; and, moreover, sold at attractive prices. Our consuls abroad report that in all these essentials American dealers are deficient and that British, French, and German manufacturers fill the South American markets.To these rivals must be added another, for, in spite of old South American prejudices against Spain and Spanish goods, the Spaniards are quietly regaining their footing in those republics of whose trade a century ago the home country enjoyed the monopoly. Her advantages, we know, are a common language and familiarity with the ways of life and the tastes of the buyers. Spain produces just the kind of wine, olive oil, and canned goods that South America wants; she turns out the kind of paper, the patterns of cotton goods, the styles of tools and implements, the clothing, shoes, and weapons used in Latin America; and the result is that she gets the trade. One-sixth, at least, of her entire exports goes to her former possessions.
No empty iteration of the Monroe doctrine, no reservation of canal privileges, will capture the trade of Latin America. This will be accomplished only by efforts to produce and to sell those countries the kind of goods that they want; measured, labeled, and packed their way; offered in the language that they understand; and, moreover, sold at attractive prices. Our consuls abroad report that in all these essentials American dealers are deficient and that British, French, and German manufacturers fill the South American markets.
To these rivals must be added another, for, in spite of old South American prejudices against Spain and Spanish goods, the Spaniards are quietly regaining their footing in those republics of whose trade a century ago the home country enjoyed the monopoly. Her advantages, we know, are a common language and familiarity with the ways of life and the tastes of the buyers. Spain produces just the kind of wine, olive oil, and canned goods that South America wants; she turns out the kind of paper, the patterns of cotton goods, the styles of tools and implements, the clothing, shoes, and weapons used in Latin America; and the result is that she gets the trade. One-sixth, at least, of her entire exports goes to her former possessions.
3
South Africa has been successfully operating an agricultural parcel post. By its instrumentality gold, diamonds, minerals, wool, feathers, saddlery, boots and shoes, confectionery, fruit, plants, seed, butter and eggs suitably packed, and other farm products are transported, and the producer and consumer have been brought together. From the report of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs we learn that the scheme has worked well, is a recognized and popular feature of the postal system, and is entirely feasible. The sparse settlements and widely scattered population have not operated to bar its success, as was feared at the time of its introduction.
South Africa has been successfully operating an agricultural parcel post. By its instrumentality gold, diamonds, minerals, wool, feathers, saddlery, boots and shoes, confectionery, fruit, plants, seed, butter and eggs suitably packed, and other farm products are transported, and the producer and consumer have been brought together. From the report of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs we learn that the scheme has worked well, is a recognized and popular feature of the postal system, and is entirely feasible. The sparse settlements and widely scattered population have not operated to bar its success, as was feared at the time of its introduction.
4
The duty of applying the remedy for wrecks rests, primarily, with the railroad managers. And what is the remedy, and how is it to be applied? It would seem that there can be but oneanswer: there must be stern discipline for taking risks. There must be thorough instruction as to what risks are and how to avoid them, just such instruction as the "safety first" movement is leading up to, but extended to every man in every department of every road. In addition, the promise that no engineman will be censured for losing or not making up time or for not running fast when it is not considered safe to do so must be changed to the positive, unequivocal statement that there will be a substantial penalty for every case of running fast when it is not safe to do so.—Railway Age Gazette.
The duty of applying the remedy for wrecks rests, primarily, with the railroad managers. And what is the remedy, and how is it to be applied? It would seem that there can be but oneanswer: there must be stern discipline for taking risks. There must be thorough instruction as to what risks are and how to avoid them, just such instruction as the "safety first" movement is leading up to, but extended to every man in every department of every road. In addition, the promise that no engineman will be censured for losing or not making up time or for not running fast when it is not considered safe to do so must be changed to the positive, unequivocal statement that there will be a substantial penalty for every case of running fast when it is not safe to do so.—Railway Age Gazette.
5
More and more attention, each year, is being given by the railroad managers to the locating of new kinds of industry along their lines. The roads in the West and the South nearly all have efficient industrial departments, land departments, or immigration departments. Their men seek out new industries, meet the steamers to tempt immigrants into their region, arrange for the purchase or rental of lands, and get together reports of the soil, the products, and the advantages of any desired location. Perhaps the greatest effort, however, is bent upon the location of new factories along the route. In one year one southern railroad induced more than seven hundred men to establish industries along its lines, after the railroads had made complete and painstaking investigation of all the conditions that would confront the prospective manufacturers.
More and more attention, each year, is being given by the railroad managers to the locating of new kinds of industry along their lines. The roads in the West and the South nearly all have efficient industrial departments, land departments, or immigration departments. Their men seek out new industries, meet the steamers to tempt immigrants into their region, arrange for the purchase or rental of lands, and get together reports of the soil, the products, and the advantages of any desired location. Perhaps the greatest effort, however, is bent upon the location of new factories along the route. In one year one southern railroad induced more than seven hundred men to establish industries along its lines, after the railroads had made complete and painstaking investigation of all the conditions that would confront the prospective manufacturers.
ADVERTISING
Advertisingis one of the most vital forces in the problem of distribution. Every advertisement is a salesman and is written and sent out with the idea of doing the work of one. It may bring in actual orders or it may merely do "missionary work"; that is, it may introduce a certain article or product and educate the people to see its advantages so that when next they desire that particular sort of article, they will order the one that they have seen advertised.
Many an article that has had practically no sale has by means of an effective advertising campaign been brought to a point of wide distribution and ready sale. How many safety razors would the manufacturers sell if they had never advertised their product? Very few. But when day after day, everywhere a man looks—in street cars, newspapers, magazines, and on billboards—he sees staring at him a reason why he should use a safety razor, he soon comes to feel that he needs one. It is just the same as though the country were covered with salesmen who were constantly after every one to get him to see the advantage of the safety razor. The advertised articles may in themselves be no better than the unadvertised brands, but advertising has created a demand for the one over the other. The secret of selling success is creating a demand.
The importance of advertising is demonstrated by an experience which the city of Chicago had on Wednesday, March 2, 1911. On the afternoon before, a dispute arose between two newspapers and their printers, ending in a temporary strike of the printers. As a result, all paperspublished on March 2 contained only four pages each, in contrast to the usual twenty-four, because they contained not a single advertisement. Fortunately, the strike lasted only one day, as the local printers were at once reprimanded by the International Typographical Union. But the losses that newspapers and retail business men suffered on this one day convinced them of the power of advertising. Street cars, downtown streets, and department stores were almost empty. To be sure, billboards still proclaimed their wares, but, as soon as newspaper advertising ceased, the great mass of shopping stopped.
Exercise 279Oral
1. What are some of the advertising methods used in a retail business?2. What are some of the advertising methods used in a wholesale business? Where are the advertisements published?3. What is the principal advertising medium of the mail order house? Explain why it is effective.4. What is classified advertising? Why are newspapers anxious to increase it? Name several reasons.5. What is "display" advertising as distinguished from classified? What is the principal medium of this kind of advertising?6. Give several instances of advertising by means of the distribution of "novelties," such as calendars. Is such advertising effective?7. Is the distribution of samples good advertising? Be specific in your answer.8. Is it a good thing to have a trade-mark? Name some trade-marks that you think are good advertising.9. Is a bargain table good advertising? What is its advantage in a retail store?10. What class of advertising is done in the classified columns of a newspaper?11. What class of articles and products is advertised in the street cars and trains? Expensive or inexpensive? Things you use every day or not?12. Are articles advertised by billboards usually widely advertised articles or not?13. What kind of articles would you advertise in:1. The newspaper rather than the magazine?2. The magazine rather than the newspaper?3. The street car rather than on the billboard?4. The trade papers rather than the newspapers?14. Suppose you were bringing out a new soap and you could use only one of the following mediums: (1) newspapers; (2) local and trade magazines; (3) street cars; (4) billboards and posters. Which would you choose and why? Would your answer be the same if you had real estate to sell? A new machine? If you were producing a new play?15.News Item.—The University of Wisconsin has issued a bulletin, stating that of all the money spent for food, shelter, and clothing 90% is spent by women. Would the following be good advertising for a magazine: "The women of the country read this paper"? Give reasons for your answer.16. Do handbills suggest cheapness to you?
1. What are some of the advertising methods used in a retail business?
2. What are some of the advertising methods used in a wholesale business? Where are the advertisements published?
3. What is the principal advertising medium of the mail order house? Explain why it is effective.
4. What is classified advertising? Why are newspapers anxious to increase it? Name several reasons.
5. What is "display" advertising as distinguished from classified? What is the principal medium of this kind of advertising?
6. Give several instances of advertising by means of the distribution of "novelties," such as calendars. Is such advertising effective?
7. Is the distribution of samples good advertising? Be specific in your answer.
8. Is it a good thing to have a trade-mark? Name some trade-marks that you think are good advertising.
9. Is a bargain table good advertising? What is its advantage in a retail store?
10. What class of advertising is done in the classified columns of a newspaper?
11. What class of articles and products is advertised in the street cars and trains? Expensive or inexpensive? Things you use every day or not?
12. Are articles advertised by billboards usually widely advertised articles or not?
13. What kind of articles would you advertise in:
1. The newspaper rather than the magazine?2. The magazine rather than the newspaper?3. The street car rather than on the billboard?4. The trade papers rather than the newspapers?
14. Suppose you were bringing out a new soap and you could use only one of the following mediums: (1) newspapers; (2) local and trade magazines; (3) street cars; (4) billboards and posters. Which would you choose and why? Would your answer be the same if you had real estate to sell? A new machine? If you were producing a new play?
15.News Item.—The University of Wisconsin has issued a bulletin, stating that of all the money spent for food, shelter, and clothing 90% is spent by women. Would the following be good advertising for a magazine: "The women of the country read this paper"? Give reasons for your answer.
16. Do handbills suggest cheapness to you?
Exercise 280Oral
Discuss the value of each of the following as forms of advertising:
1. Location.2. Furnishings of the office or the store.3. Letter headings.4. Window displays.5. Electric (or other) signs.6. Moving electric signs.7. Colors (especially reds, greens, and yellows) as against black and white.8. White lettering on a black background.
Exercise 281
Fundamentally, the same principles apply to the advertisement as apply to the sales letter (Seepage 230). First of all, you must look at your goods from the standpoint ofthe user; see his gain in buying rather than your profit in selling. Your products, then, will probably fall into one of the following general classes:
1. Something entirely new for which you must create a demand by showing its advantage to the buyer, arousing his sense of need and, consequently, his desire to possess.2. Something new but filling a long-felt need—"Just what you've been looking for"—the value of which will appeal to the buyer almost as soon as the product is explained. Comparison with the article that now imperfectly fills the want suggests itself.3. A new brand of an old staple, like crackers, of which the superiority must be dwelt upon to induce buyers to ask for it. Even after the article is selling well, continuous advertising is necessary to keep the name before the public.
1. Something entirely new for which you must create a demand by showing its advantage to the buyer, arousing his sense of need and, consequently, his desire to possess.
2. Something new but filling a long-felt need—"Just what you've been looking for"—the value of which will appeal to the buyer almost as soon as the product is explained. Comparison with the article that now imperfectly fills the want suggests itself.
3. A new brand of an old staple, like crackers, of which the superiority must be dwelt upon to induce buyers to ask for it. Even after the article is selling well, continuous advertising is necessary to keep the name before the public.
A paying advertisement appeals to a large class of people or, better still, to several classes. For a moment let us analyze a few of the appeals to which almost every one responds; let us consider the reasons back of our purchases. Why do we buy one article and not another? We buy it first, perhaps, because we need it or think we need it; second, because we think it will taste good or be comfortable or good-looking or because it will afford us amusement; third, because we think it is better, though possibly more expensive, than any other brand on the market, and our pride or our desire to emulate responds to it; fourth, because we think it is good for our health or our safety; and, fifth, because we shall save money or make money thereby. Summing up, we may say that the motives to which appeals may safely be made are:
1. Need, conscious or unconscious (usefulness, quality, or durability).2. Comfort, amusement, or appetite.3. Pride, desire to emulate, or vanity.4. Safety (of health or personal possessions).5. Economy or gain.
Clip from magazines and bring to class good advertisements that appeal to the motives named above. Try to find those advertisements that make an appeal to only one motive in one advertisement.
Exercise 282
The following catch phrases have been taken from advertisements in various places. Tell (1) whether their appeal is general; (2) whether they induce one to buy; and (3) if they do, which of the motives given above have been used by the advertiser. Frequently more than one motive is used in one advertisement.
1. For a delicatessen store: Good things to eat.2. For a chewing gum: The taste lasts.3. For a motor washer: Two cents a week pays your washing bill.4. For a refrigerator: Are you poisoning your family?5. For a summer drink: It's wet.6. For stockings: Wear like 60, look like 50, cost but 25.7. For a shaving soap: Comfort for your face, economy for your purse.8. For a liniment: Don't rub—it penetrates.9. For a hair tonic: What does your mirror say?10. For a clothing store: Exclusive styles for exclusive women.11. For an inexpensive scouring powder: Why pour money down the sink?12. For canned goods: When company comes.13. For a varnish: Water won't hurt it.14. For bread: The human hand never touches it.15. For a fountain pen: It can't leak.
1. For a delicatessen store: Good things to eat.
2. For a chewing gum: The taste lasts.
3. For a motor washer: Two cents a week pays your washing bill.
4. For a refrigerator: Are you poisoning your family?
5. For a summer drink: It's wet.
6. For stockings: Wear like 60, look like 50, cost but 25.
7. For a shaving soap: Comfort for your face, economy for your purse.
8. For a liniment: Don't rub—it penetrates.
9. For a hair tonic: What does your mirror say?
10. For a clothing store: Exclusive styles for exclusive women.
11. For an inexpensive scouring powder: Why pour money down the sink?
12. For canned goods: When company comes.
13. For a varnish: Water won't hurt it.
14. For bread: The human hand never touches it.
15. For a fountain pen: It can't leak.
Exercise 283
Bring to class two advertisements containing catch phrases that you think are good. To which of the motives given above does each appeal?
Exercise 284
Bring in two advertisements of articles that have suggestive names. What is the value of a suggestive name?
Exercise 285—Good and Bad Headlines
A good headline has the following qualities:
First, it should be short. Professor Walter Dill Scott determined by experiments that the average person can ordinarily attend to only about four visual objects at the same time—four letters, four words, four simple pictures, or four geometrical figures. As the headline of an advertisement is intended to be taken in at one glance, it should, therefore, be not longer than four words—preferably less, provided the interest of the phrase is the same. Short words, too, can be taken in more readily than long words.
Second, the best headline is a command. People instinctively obey a command, unless it is so worded that they rebel against the manner of expression.
Third, a good headline is suggestive. It touches upon the things that the reader is thinking about. It shows that the article that is offered for sale has a close connection with the interests that absorb the reader's mind. It is a direct answer to his thoughts, feelings, hopes, or worries.
The following headlines were taken from the advertisements in one issue of a magazine. Judge of their effectiveness, using the three principles given above as a basis for your decision:
1. Get That Job!2. Foot Comfort.3. Ventilate, but Don't Catch Cold!4. A New Filing Cabinet.5. Are You Open to Conviction?6. Low Priced Envelope Sealer.7. Shave for 1c Without Stropping.8. What a Wonderful Trip!9. Save 30% on Your Furniture.10. You Have a Right to Independence.11. Just Out!12. Get the Dust Out of Your Home—It's Dangerous.13. The Easiest Riding Car in the World.14. Our Seeds Grow.15. That Raise! (Sub-heading in smaller type: What Would a Raise in Salary Mean to You?)
Exercise 286
Some advertisers choose headlines merely for the purpose of attracting attention, forgetting that the headline should suggest what the following illustration and text explain. A few years ago a well-known automobile company ran an advertisement with the headline$1000 Worth of Folly. The headline was followed by a picture of the automobile. The advertisement was intended to convey the idea that, as this car might be bought for $3000, any one paying $4000 for an automobile was foolishly squandering $1000. As a matter of fact, the only suggestion that the reader got from the advertisement was that any one who paid $1000 for the illustrated car would be a fool.
1. Bring to class an advertisement in which the headline has no connection with the rest of the advertisement, being used merely to catch the attention.2. Find an advertisement in which the headline suggests the opposite of what the advertisement is intended to convey.3. How might either advertisement be improved?
1. Bring to class an advertisement in which the headline has no connection with the rest of the advertisement, being used merely to catch the attention.
2. Find an advertisement in which the headline suggests the opposite of what the advertisement is intended to convey.
3. How might either advertisement be improved?
Exercise 287
Still-life advertisements are not interesting. The picture of a furnace, or a typewriter, or a house attracts less attention than the same objects with human beings represented moving in the picture.
Bring to class two advertisements of the same kind of article, in one of which a still-life illustration is used and in the other of which human beings are used to center the attention upon the article that is offered for sale.
Exercise 288
Bring to class (1) an advertisement that is not good because it contains too much—lacks a center upon which the attention naturally focuses; and (2) an advertisement that is good because it has a definitely defined center of attraction.
Exercise 289
Bring to class an advertisement in which the principle of balance is used to advantage, two illustrations, one on each side of the text, being used to convey one impression.
Exercise 290
In writing the following, try to embody the principles that have been brought out in previous exercises:
1. An entertainment is to be given in the school hall. Write an advertisement to appear in the school paper.2. Write an announcement of the same entertainment—to be posted on the bulletin board.3. Write an advertisement for a debate.4. For a football, baseball, or basket-ball game.5. For an inter-class contest.6. You have permission to secure advertisements to be printed in the program of the entertainment spoken of above. Suppose that you are to write the copy for the different advertisements. Use one-eighth, one-quarter, one-half, or one page, as you wish.Advertise a grocery.7. A meat market.8. A dry goods store.9. A candy store.10. A bakery.11. A bank.12. A tailor's shop.13. A photographer's studio.14. A barber shop.15. A drug store.
1. An entertainment is to be given in the school hall. Write an advertisement to appear in the school paper.
2. Write an announcement of the same entertainment—to be posted on the bulletin board.
3. Write an advertisement for a debate.
4. For a football, baseball, or basket-ball game.
5. For an inter-class contest.
6. You have permission to secure advertisements to be printed in the program of the entertainment spoken of above. Suppose that you are to write the copy for the different advertisements. Use one-eighth, one-quarter, one-half, or one page, as you wish.
Advertise a grocery.
7. A meat market.
8. A dry goods store.
9. A candy store.
10. A bakery.
11. A bank.
12. A tailor's shop.
13. A photographer's studio.
14. A barber shop.
15. A drug store.
Exercise 291
1. Write a handbill announcing a 20% discount sale to run three days in your dry goods store.2. Describe a chair, table, or other article of furniture in your own home. The description is to form part of an advertisement to appear in a mail order catalogue.3. You are advertising a new brand of coffee in the street car. Write the card. Would you use an illustration? If so, of what kind?4. As in (3) advertise a new brand of pork and beans.5. As in (3) advertise a shoe sale.6. Advertise a well-known brand of soap in a magazine. Use your own idea. Would you use an illustration?7. How would you advertise an automobile which has proved its merits? Remember, your object is to keep the name before the public. How would you advertise a new make of automobile? How much space would you use in either case? Write both advertisements.8. A half-page advertisement by the Hudson Cereal Company, 110 Hudson St., New York, of their Nervo-Cereal Coffee contains the item: "Can you thread a needle, holding the thread one inch from the end? If you cannot, you are nervous. Is coffee to blame?" Exploit the aroma and flavor of the cereal coffee.9. The Central Packing Company is running a series of advertisements of their Premium Extract of Beef. This one is to appear just before Thanksgiving. Entitle it "Four Delicious Dishes for the Thanksgiving Dinner," and then in as attractive a form as possible give four recipes, making a point of the necessity of using Premium Extract for the right flavor. At the end sum up the merits of Premium Extract and mention the silver premiums given with the certificates under the metal caps.10. The Bay City Mill Co., Bay City, Mich., sells fine finished lumber suitable for making furniture at home. Prepare an advertisement to show how simple it is to make tables and chairs at home with their plans and their specially cut lumber. Illustrate by giving the plans and working directions for making a useful table, showing how easy it is with their specially cut lumber. Set an attractive price on the lumber necessary to make this table. Sum up by exploiting a book of plans, which may be had for the asking.
1. Write a handbill announcing a 20% discount sale to run three days in your dry goods store.
2. Describe a chair, table, or other article of furniture in your own home. The description is to form part of an advertisement to appear in a mail order catalogue.
3. You are advertising a new brand of coffee in the street car. Write the card. Would you use an illustration? If so, of what kind?
4. As in (3) advertise a new brand of pork and beans.
5. As in (3) advertise a shoe sale.
6. Advertise a well-known brand of soap in a magazine. Use your own idea. Would you use an illustration?
7. How would you advertise an automobile which has proved its merits? Remember, your object is to keep the name before the public. How would you advertise a new make of automobile? How much space would you use in either case? Write both advertisements.
8. A half-page advertisement by the Hudson Cereal Company, 110 Hudson St., New York, of their Nervo-Cereal Coffee contains the item: "Can you thread a needle, holding the thread one inch from the end? If you cannot, you are nervous. Is coffee to blame?" Exploit the aroma and flavor of the cereal coffee.
9. The Central Packing Company is running a series of advertisements of their Premium Extract of Beef. This one is to appear just before Thanksgiving. Entitle it "Four Delicious Dishes for the Thanksgiving Dinner," and then in as attractive a form as possible give four recipes, making a point of the necessity of using Premium Extract for the right flavor. At the end sum up the merits of Premium Extract and mention the silver premiums given with the certificates under the metal caps.
10. The Bay City Mill Co., Bay City, Mich., sells fine finished lumber suitable for making furniture at home. Prepare an advertisement to show how simple it is to make tables and chairs at home with their plans and their specially cut lumber. Illustrate by giving the plans and working directions for making a useful table, showing how easy it is with their specially cut lumber. Set an attractive price on the lumber necessary to make this table. Sum up by exploiting a book of plans, which may be had for the asking.
Exercise 292
The following paragraph is taken from Professor Scott'sTheory of Advertising. What is the subject of the paragraph? Is there a topic sentence? By what plan is the paragraph developed?
Many of those who use illustrations for their advertisements follow the philosophy of the Irish boy who said that he liked to stub his toe because it felt so good when it stopped hurting. Many of us are unable to see how the boy had made any gain after it was all over, but he was satisfied, and that was sufficient. The philosophic disciples of the Irish boy are found in advertisers who have certain things to dispose of which will not do certain harmful things. First they choose an illustration which will make you believe that what they have to sell is just what you do not want, and then in the text they try to overcome this false impression and to show you that what they have to offer is not so bad after all. Most of us are unable to see how the advertiser has gained, even if he has succeeded in giving us logical proof that his goods are not so bad as we were at first led to think. We are not logically inclined, and we take the illustration and the text, and we combine the two. The best that the text can do is to destroy the evil effect of the illustration. Of course, when we read in the text that the illustration does not correctly represent the goods, we ought to discard the illustration entirely and think only of the text, but, unfortunately, we are not constructed in that way. The impression made by the illustration and that made by the text fuse and form a whole which is the result formed by these two elements.
Many of those who use illustrations for their advertisements follow the philosophy of the Irish boy who said that he liked to stub his toe because it felt so good when it stopped hurting. Many of us are unable to see how the boy had made any gain after it was all over, but he was satisfied, and that was sufficient. The philosophic disciples of the Irish boy are found in advertisers who have certain things to dispose of which will not do certain harmful things. First they choose an illustration which will make you believe that what they have to sell is just what you do not want, and then in the text they try to overcome this false impression and to show you that what they have to offer is not so bad after all. Most of us are unable to see how the advertiser has gained, even if he has succeeded in giving us logical proof that his goods are not so bad as we were at first led to think. We are not logically inclined, and we take the illustration and the text, and we combine the two. The best that the text can do is to destroy the evil effect of the illustration. Of course, when we read in the text that the illustration does not correctly represent the goods, we ought to discard the illustration entirely and think only of the text, but, unfortunately, we are not constructed in that way. The impression made by the illustration and that made by the text fuse and form a whole which is the result formed by these two elements.
Write paragraphs on each of the following:
1. Advertising is essential in modern business.2. Advertising helps the housewife economize.3. The study of advertisements saves the shopper's time and strength.4. Advertised goods cost more than the unadvertised brands. (Give the reasons.)5. Trade-marked and advertised goods have increased the cost of living.6. Increased advertising causes the styles to change quickly.7. Every advertisement must catch and hold the attention. Some accomplish this object by causing a laugh. (Describe one such.)8. Some advertisements hold the attention because they appeal to our love of the mysterious. One such is —— (describe it).9. Some advertisements succeed because of their clever color scheme. One such is ——.10. Every successful advertisement contains a convincing argument.11. Mouth to mouth advertising is the best and the cheapest.12. Advertised goods are better because they have to be.13. The consumer pays for all the advertising.14. The cost of advertising is paid by the competitors who do not advertise.15. Advertising tends to create uniform prices.16. The advertising expert is a student of men.
1. Advertising is essential in modern business.
2. Advertising helps the housewife economize.
3. The study of advertisements saves the shopper's time and strength.
4. Advertised goods cost more than the unadvertised brands. (Give the reasons.)
5. Trade-marked and advertised goods have increased the cost of living.
6. Increased advertising causes the styles to change quickly.
7. Every advertisement must catch and hold the attention. Some accomplish this object by causing a laugh. (Describe one such.)
8. Some advertisements hold the attention because they appeal to our love of the mysterious. One such is —— (describe it).
9. Some advertisements succeed because of their clever color scheme. One such is ——.
10. Every successful advertisement contains a convincing argument.
11. Mouth to mouth advertising is the best and the cheapest.
12. Advertised goods are better because they have to be.
13. The consumer pays for all the advertising.
14. The cost of advertising is paid by the competitors who do not advertise.
15. Advertising tends to create uniform prices.
16. The advertising expert is a student of men.
Exercise 293
Give your opinion as to the effectiveness of the following advertisements:
1
A department store that was anxious to increase its trade on Mondays and Wednesdays included the following coupons in its circular advertisement one week:
A department store that was anxious to increase its trade on Mondays and Wednesdays included the following coupons in its circular advertisement one week:
THIS COUPON AND 19cMonday onlygood for6 Spools J. & P. Coats'Best 6 Cord MachineThreadRegular 30c valueTHIS COUPON AND 50cWednesday onlygood forMisses' or Children'sWhite Canvas Pumps2 strap model, heavy or light soles,trimmed with dainty bow onvamp. All sizes up to 2.$1.50 value
2
$10,000 in Cash to Charity
We ask our customers to decide by their votes the 250 institutions that shall receive this amount. Each ten cents' worth purchased entitles the purchaser to one vote.
We ask our customers to decide by their votes the 250 institutions that shall receive this amount. Each ten cents' worth purchased entitles the purchaser to one vote.
3
The following appeared in the center of a page otherwise blank. On the opposite page appeared the advertisement of a well-known article.
The announcement on the following page is so important that we have decided to leave this page blank.
The announcement on the following page is so important that we have decided to leave this page blank.
4
The following was part of a circular:Following our annual custom we will again this year give away absolutely free a beautiful silk flag to every customer making a purchase of $1 or over, Tuesday and Wednesday, July 2 and 3.
The following was part of a circular:
Following our annual custom we will again this year give away absolutely free a beautiful silk flag to every customer making a purchase of $1 or over, Tuesday and Wednesday, July 2 and 3.
5
The following appeared in a newspaper:A Word of AppreciationWe have now been in our new location somewhat over a month. Our business has been all that we expected; in some departments, indeed, there is an increase, notably in the neckwear, ready-to-wear clothes, hats, and tailoring departments.Naturally, we had an abundance of faith in our new location; nevertheless, we must confess that there were times when we had anxious moments. We discovered, however, that our moving was at the "psychological moment"; we soon learned that in the minds of the people there was but one thought—success for Michigan Avenue.We have always felt that there was a closer bond of sympathy between our customers and us than is usually the case between buyer and seller. The unusual interest taken in our new store and in our success has more than confirmed us in this impression. Our experience during the last forty days has really made life worth living.The minds of hundreds of our customers have reverted to the beginning of our business in our old Dearborn Street store, twenty years ago, and they have made comparisons between that and the wonderful establishment we now possess; they have done it in a way that would almost suggest that it was their businessthat they were talking of rather than ours. It made us feel that, although we have made our mistakes, nevertheless we must have served the public well, and we insert this article in the hope that a few of our well-wishers may read it and understand that we appreciate and are grateful.
The following appeared in a newspaper:
A Word of Appreciation
We have now been in our new location somewhat over a month. Our business has been all that we expected; in some departments, indeed, there is an increase, notably in the neckwear, ready-to-wear clothes, hats, and tailoring departments.
Naturally, we had an abundance of faith in our new location; nevertheless, we must confess that there were times when we had anxious moments. We discovered, however, that our moving was at the "psychological moment"; we soon learned that in the minds of the people there was but one thought—success for Michigan Avenue.
We have always felt that there was a closer bond of sympathy between our customers and us than is usually the case between buyer and seller. The unusual interest taken in our new store and in our success has more than confirmed us in this impression. Our experience during the last forty days has really made life worth living.
The minds of hundreds of our customers have reverted to the beginning of our business in our old Dearborn Street store, twenty years ago, and they have made comparisons between that and the wonderful establishment we now possess; they have done it in a way that would almost suggest that it was their businessthat they were talking of rather than ours. It made us feel that, although we have made our mistakes, nevertheless we must have served the public well, and we insert this article in the hope that a few of our well-wishers may read it and understand that we appreciate and are grateful.
Exercise 294
Books that will Suggest Topics for Talks
Balmer, Edwin, The Science of Advertising.Bellamy, Francis(ed), Effective Magazine Advertising.Bridgewater, Howard, Advertising, or The Art of Making Known.Calkins, E. E.andHolden, R., Modern Advertising.Cherington, Paul T., Advertising as a Business Force.Deland, L. F., Imagination in Business.De Weese, Truman A., Advertising (The Business Man's Library, Vol. vii).Edgar, Albert E., How to Advertise a Retail Store.Fowler, N. C., Building Business.Scott, W. D., The Theory of Advertising.