How Not to Advertise.

Patea Mail, 2 March 1882, Page 3

How Not to Advertise.

An illustration of the value of advertising, and of the proper choice of a medium, came before the County Council yesterday. Tenders had been called for carting clay to place around the foundations of the County Hospital, and for some fencing. A new paper had offered to advertise County notices at one-fourth the usual price, and the County Council accepted the offer. This work required at the Hospital was accordingly advertised in the new paper, and what was the result ? Only two parties sent in tenders for the carting, one of the tenders also including the fencing. So that for a piece of fencing there was only one tender, whereas there would ordinarily be at least a dozen if the work had been properly advertised. The carting of clay -also is a work for which there would usually be many parties tendering. Works like these are not plentiful at present, and there are too many laboring men unemployed about the district, as anyone can see. Councillors expressed surprise that so few tenders were received for these works.

The Council having accepted a low offer to advertise County notices in a new paper of small circulation, and not read by County ratepayers outside the town, (he question arises whether a reasonable publicity is thereby given to County notices. The Mail was invited last month to tender for County advertising, against a paper which has not a dozen subscribers, among County ratepayers, outside. Patea. This invitation would be. usually interpreted thus:—“ Unless the Mail’s price for advertising is lower than the other, we will give our notices to the now paper. If that paper is not read by County ratepayers, we can’t help it. The lowest price is everything.” We are now pleased to hear that this was not the meaning intended by the Council in inviting tenders for advertising. But that is the usual meaning, and therefore the Mail did not tender; for it is the local practice to accept the lowest tender in all cases, unless there is known to be something wrong. Thus the circulation of an established paper with nearly 600 copies a day would be treated as of no more value than a new paper which keeps up the appearance of a circulation by giving most of its copies away. It is not pleasant to be forced to say tins, but it is a fact which can be proved at any time. Perhaps the following test will be enough. The Mail has lost only three subscribers who are known to have taken the new paper, and their names would amuse the public. The Mail has, since that paper started, received more newfsubscribers in town and country than at any previous period. If the Mail served the whole newspaper public in the district before that new paper started, the Mail continues to serve the whole public still. What, therefore, can be the number of genuine subscribers to the new paper ? People don’t take two evening papers in the same town. The old paper has more than maintained its ground. The new paper has not got a footing, and only keeps up appearances by giving copies away, and by inserting advertisements that are not ordered.

The value of the Council’s advertising, under the present contract, will be less than five pounds a year. The. amount paid to the Mail last year, with the County twice its present size, was about £25. The contract for this year, taken by the new paper, is about one-fourth of the previous price, and the advertisements may be hardly two-thirds in number for the smaller County. Perhaps four pounds is the total value of this year’s advertising contract—say one and ninepence a week. What is the use of inviting the Mail to tender against one-and-ninepence a week ? The money is not worth bothering about, but the principle of giving proper publicity to County notices is important, as it affects every ratepayer who has a right to be informed of what the Council are doing, while the Council ought to recognise the reasonable claim of an established paper which goes to nearly every house in Patea County, and far beyond.

The proprietor of the Mail asked the Council yesterday, by letter, to give to the Mail a reasonable share of advertising ; and stated that in lieu of tendering for advertising at the previous meeting, he had attended personally to make an offer of a reduced rate of charge to meet the low state of County funds, leaving the Council to advertise in other papers if they wished. Although he attended nearly all day, the

matter of advertising happened to be disposed of in his absence. He therefore asked the Council now to recognise the Mail as an advertising medium which would ensure proper publicity for notices among the great majority of County ratepayers ; and to recognise also that ratepayers have a right to see the County notices.

Councillors said it was unfortunate that the Mail had not tendered, as it was not intended to accept the lowest price in such a case, because Councillors were quite sensible of the difference in value between a small circulation and a large one.

Mr Houghton said he could not tender on the specification, because it treated both papers as having the same value. He was not aware that the lowest tender would not be preferred. Nor did he wish to exclude any other paper from getting a proper share of the Council’s advertising. The state of County funds required some concession in price, and he therefore asked the Council now to advertise in the Mail as usual, at a reduced price as stated in his letter. Mr Bridge and Mr Horner said the only difficulty was that the Council had made a contract for the advertising. That difficulty might be got;over, however, and the question would come up again. Mr Bridge said there could be no question about the Mail’s position in his part of the district, jand Be thought the County notices should still appear in the Mail. Mr Morgan said: it was desirable that the Mail should have the -County notices, for the convenience of readers in his district.

The matter dropped, on the understanding that it can be considered when any other notice has to he advertised.