VALUE OF PUBLICITY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 April 1938, Page 4

VALUE OF PUBLICITY

RESULTS IN GREAT BRITAIN. CHALLENGE TO AUSTRALIAN MEAT. Publicity given in Great Britain to New Zealand and Argentine meats made it 'increasingly necessary for Australia to advertise its products in the British markets, said the Trade Commissioner and Agent-General of South Australia (Sir Charles McCann) in a recent report from London. New Zealand, he stated, appeared to be pushing her chilled beef just as keenly as she did her lamb. A display was staged the week in which he wrote, and, as usual, created considerable interest. Following soon after a previous exhibit, it showed how keenly the New Zealand Meat Board officials were bringing Dominion beef directly under the notice of buyers. CHILLED BEEF. It seemed that Australia would have to follow this example, because rightly or wrongly, but quite definitely, the trade was inclined to believe that New Zealand had better chilled beef than Australia. Publicity was helping to confirm this feeling, and it behoved Australian beef interests to offset this by every possible demonstration of best quality beef. Argentine publicity in England was much in evidence, and it was being very discreetly and effectively conducted, continued Sir Charles McCann.

With New Zealand’s publicity scheme established, and, like that of the Argentine, supported by collectively greater percentages of high grade meats, and the United Kingdom meat industry formulating a propaganda rally, it was difficult to see how Australia coud afford to ignore her greatest competitors’ sound and intensive publicity. This could only be done if Australia was prepared to accept a lower price for her superior quality meats, in comparison with that paid to her publicity-minded competitors, a state of affairs which had prevailed for years.