INEFFECTIVE PUBLICITY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 405, 14 December 1932, Page 4

INEFFECTIVE PUBLICITY

An interesting point with re- ; gard to New Zealancl's overseas publicity and one which does not generally oecur to New Zealanders, is that raised by Mr. C. Herbert Lawton in the course of an interview published in the news columns of the "Morning Post" on Monday morning. Mr. Lawton expressed the opinion that the Maori motif was overemphasised abroad with the result that in Ameriea there was an impression that New Zealand was a species of South Sea island peopled almost entirely by | ! Maoris. It is possible that in en- | deavouring to play up the Maoris ( as a tourist attraction, the New ! Zealand Publicity Department j has overlooked the general and very exeusable ignorance of this | country in the United States and | in many other countries abroad. | New Zealand is at times prone j to overlook its comparative insignificance. and to forget that j in informing other countries of | its existence, it must start from j I the bottom up. In New Zealand, I J it may appear incredible that the [| j impression which Mr. Lawton | ! mentions should prevai/ but - j there are, after all, 117 millions z l of people in the United States of II | Ameriea and it is possible that 1 1 in their very natural preoccupa- | i tion with their own affairs, a j | very large proportion of that j | stupendous number has failed ] j to realise the existence of this 1 1 little community of one and a | j half millions, struggling along | J I "down under." It is, admittedly, j | a considerable task to educate 1 | even a proportion of this popula- | | tion to the attractions of New I I Zealand, but in these days of | wireless, cinematographs, a general and energetic press and all the other mediums of publicity, it is not an impossibility. The 1 point raised by Mr. Lawton will serve to illustrate the difficulty I : of the task which confronts New I j Zealand in its publicity, but it I, ! should also emphasise the ur- ! gent necessity for some more ef1 ' fective means of reaching the I | public abroad. There are, we are | i convinced, no more etfective j ! means than the printed and the | ! spoken word — the newspapers, ! the films and the radio. Leaflets^ | booklets "and posters are other ■ means but they are very liable to be left discarded and unnoticed. At the best, only a proportion of this type of matter ever reaches | its objective. At the present || time, the New Zealand Govern|j ment Publicity Department is A devoting a large proportion of its

attention and expenditure to this class of publicity. In our opinion, considerably better results would be obtained by concentrating almost entirely upon newspapers, the films, and broadcasting. The tremendous power of the film as a publicity medium should not be overlooked. It is recognised that at the present time funds are restricted and tha\t newspaper, radio and film publicity is expensive, but in spite of that, it is a matter of expending what funds are available to the best elfect. We emphatically disagree with the eonclusions of the National Expenditure Commission that all overseas publicity should be curtailed. On the contrary, were the funds available, a vigorous extension in the Dominion's publicity would be eminently justified. There is obviously a very grave weakness in the

methods pursued when it becomes necessary for private citizens to correct the Publicity Department's mistakes at their own expense. Mr. Lawton stated that he proposed taking a number of cinematograph pictures of New Zealand scenes which he will reproduce on his return to the States. If a private individual is prepared to undertake this work for the benefit of his country, it is time that the Publicity Department showed a corresponding vigour. We do not suggest that America's . misapprehensions with regard to this Dominion can be removed in a month or a year, but we do suggest that a radical change is necessary in the methods at present being followed.