NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5289, 20 June 1928, Page 1

NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

ADVERTISING AT HOME.

SOME EFFECTIVE SCHEMES.

It is generally agreed that advertising takes a. prominent place in successful marketing methods, and the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board has lately extended its activities in this field. In connection with the display of lambs in the big London departmental stores and on Smithfield Market the board’s London manager has extended displays to butchers’ shops in: the suburb's: of London, and also in the provinces.

But apart from these avenues, and also such work as the well-known presents of lamb scheme, the board’s London manager has been covering fresh ground and has: arranged for, a special series of advertisements setting out the merits of New Zealand pork, which is admitted to be the finest imported. These advertisements are brought specially under the notice of every retailer of meat throughout the United Kingdom, being inserted in journals which have a special circulation in the trade.

The board’s London manager, Mr R. S. Forsyth, has found the retail shops ready to co-operate in advertising our meat, and much advertising has also been secured through the work of the Empire Marketing Board. A recent Instance as to this was an advertisement which took the form of <a Lambs’ Calendar, and this .appeared in every large daily paper throughout Britain at the commencement of the lamb-eating season). Forty-two large daily papers took the advertisement, and as their circulation amounts to many millions this was a very valuable means of bringing prime New Zealand lamb unlder the notice of potential consumers. Last year Mi- Forsyth prepared a booklet specially addressed to the consumer, and hi it he stressed the points of veterinary inspection, cleanliness in handling, freedom, from disease in stock, and purity in freezing methods. Three-quarters of a million copies of this little book were distributed to the housewives through the retailers, and this form of advertisement has the added virtue of interesting the retailers in our cause.

Special exhibits, cookery demonstrations, distribution of pamphlets, etc., are also arranged for at important Empire exhibitions and Empire Shopping Weeks, held from time to time, as, for example, the British Industries Fair, which recently ran in London for a fortnight, and which was attended by nearly 200,000' people. The board bears part of the cost of the services of a special inforpiation officer from the New Zealand High Commissioner’s staff who attends all these exhibitions.

• Owing to the difficulty of having a refrigerated plant available to enable carcases of New Zealand meat to be displayed at a number of these exhibitions, the London manager arranged for some carcases of lamb to be modelled in wax. These were such a good hn/tation that several people in the meat trd.de were under the Impression that they were real carcases. With the co-operation of the publicity department of the High Commissioner’s Office, Mr Forsyth recently arranged for. a special display in the window: of that office. The wax carcases appeared in the foreground and by scenery of pastoral country, etc., and the whole exhibit attracted an immense amount of attention. As the window is in one of the most crowded thoroughfares in Londbn this is a very good advertisement.

The board has lately been co-operat-ing with the Government Publicity Department at this end in the preparagon of a further cinema film illustrative of our great frozen merit industry. Supplies of this film are now in the hands of the Board’s London manager, who has arranged for fix copies to be shown continuously throughout Britainu It is also intended to further develop this important advertising campaign by other meth, ods.