MODERN ADVERTISING

Shannon News, 1 November 1927, Page 1

MODERN ADVERTISING

Press "Finest Possible" Medium EXPERT'S ADDRESS TO ADVERTISING CLUB i _ The value of advertising was emphasised in an address given by Mr. Will Appleton, of Wellington, at a meeting-of the Canterbury Advertising Club in Christchurch last week. " One of the best instances of the economical value of advertising," said Mr Appleton, "is in connection with the motor industry. Advertising has created a demand which made/ volume production, volume selling, and standardisation of parts, possible. The result is that we can now get an immeasurably better car for considerably less' money than we could a few years ago. As a piece of high-grade machinery wherein technical skill and costly materials" were blended, it would be impossible to obtain the same relative value in anything else. Not only' has the cost of production been reduced, but advertising has pre-sold the output to a very great extent, thus reducing selling expenses. In this case all parties have benefited and there is no more striking example of the benefits of publicity.

"Smaller profits are .necessary on advertised goods because quicker turnover means reduced selling expenses,' 'said Mr Appleton. "It was on the private brand that the retailer had to (make a ' good margin, The manufacturer, again, who invests a considerable sum of money on advertising, dare not take liberties with his product. He has to maintain quality to protect his investment and in a sense confers,a bond on his product. This is not the case with the nondescript, unadvertised lines. The argument against. advertising that it makes people foolishly want things that they would bo just as well off without is more- o r less an ethical question and is purely a matter of opinion." ;

Mr Appleton drew attention to the advantages of press advertising. The daily newspaper had become so interwoven with their daily existence that it would be ahhost inconceivable to imagine our living without it. Many people would sooner do without their meals than miss the daily news-, paper. That was the reason why •th» press offered the finest possible vehicle for the dissemination of an advertiser's message. People were in a receptive frame of mind when they read the newspapers. There was conscious desire on their part to absorb the contents, and quite unconsciously they also took in the advertiser's story if it was attractively presented.

One of the great advantages, "of daily press advertising, said Mr. Apploton, was the time factor. In a matter of a few hours a national advertiser could reach 90 per cent, of the people of this country with his message by means of the press, whereas to try to get a personal message across in any other way would take weeks of labour in preparation, quite apart from the -extra cost. Then, too it would not carry the same conviction as if it were carried in the newspapers. Of all forms of advertising, press publicity had, been proved to be the most economical.