Advertising Explained (RLE Advertising) 9781136664267, 9780415817769

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ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING EXPLAINED

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ADVERTISING EXPLAINED

DENNIS CATON

Volume 3

First published in 1949 This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1949 George Allen & Unwin Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-415-63749-7 (Set) eISBN: 978-0-203-07915-7 (Set) ISBN: 978-0-415-81776-9 (Volume 3) eISBN: 978-0-203-58351-7 (Volume 3) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

ADVERTISING EXPLAINED

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ADVER TISING EXPLAINED Dennis Caton

GEORGE ALLEN & RUSKIN MVSEUM

UNWIN LTD

HOUSE

STREET LONDON

FIRST PUBLISHnD IN 1949

This book is copyright No portion of it may be reproduced by any process 'Without written permission I nq'ltiries sho'ltld be addressed to the publishers

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

in 10 point Baskerville type BRADI'ORD I: DICXhS, LONDOR, w.e. 1

CONTENTS I. WORD S

0 F

WARNING

page 7 2. WHY A D V E R TIS E

?

page 8

3.

THE MEDIA

The Press. Outdoor Publicity Film Advertising. Radio Advertising Point of Sale Publicity Direct Mail page 13

4.

THE

M E C HAN I C S

0 FAD V E R TIS I N G

Paper and Printing. Mechanical Production Colour Work Adaptation of Press Advertisements

page 39

5.

THE ADVERTISING AGENCY

page 70

6.

THE SCI E N CEO FAD V E R TIS I N G

Advertising Strategy.

Advertising Tactics

page 87

7.

OVERSEAS ADVERTISING

page

8.

104

NOW YOU KNOW

page

112

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WORDS OF WARNING book is intended for the young man who thinks of starting an advertising career or for the young man who has already made a start and wonders what it is all about-and where it will lead him. It endeavours to give a general picture of the job of advertising-nothing more! It gives some It factual information and some theoretical guidance. attempts to show how certain advertising problems might be tackled-not how they must always be tackled. Advertising knows no rules-it is 90 % common sense, 9% practical knowledge and 1% genius. For this reason the book is designed to give you a general grounding on the practical side and to tell you how best to take advantage of your own common sense. It makes no claim to cover every aspect of every situation-far from it! It has been designed in simple form and written in simple language. It sets out to give you the feel or, if you like, the atmosphere of advertising-and to train your mind to think in terms of publicity. Bad advertising can be so very bad-and there is already far too much of it. There may be several right ways of solving an advertising problem-but there will also be many hundreds of wrong ways. The profession needs good advertising men, men ready to do a good job of work-ready to think out a plan and carry out a broad advertising policy based on sound reasoning and a sensible interpretation of the facts. If this is your idea of advertising, read this book-it will help you. But if you look upon advertising as just one way of earning a living then, for the sake of advertising, leave it alone-try something else. THIS

7

WHY ADVERTISE? WHAT brand of toothpaste do you use and why do you use it? What prompted you to buy it in the first place? Was it because somebody said it was good stuff or because your chemist said you ought to try it? Perhaps you saw it displayed in your chemist's shop window or on his counterperhaps you were attracted by a streamer sprawled across the outside of a bus or by an advertisement which appeared in the columns of your morning newspaper. Whatever it was, you decided to try it-and your first purchase must have been the result of one of these things : (a) Unconscious advertising (on the part of a friend). (b) Indirect advertising (on the part of your retailer). (c) Direct advertising (on the part of the manufacturer). Obviously if no one had told you about the product, and if you had never seen or heard about it, you would not have known of its existence: your favourite toothpaste would have been another brand-an advertised brand. Let us see how these three forms of advertising operate. Since you use a certain brand of toothpaste and find it pleasant and efficient in use, it is not unlikely that you would mention it to a friend or an acquaintance. Thus whilst the manufacturer's advertising effort may have prompted you to buy the first tube you have quite unconsciously been a means of securing for him a new user-and that new user' may in a similar way be responsible for other new users. You can see how vitally important this aspect of unsponsored publicity becomes to a manufacturer. The public itself constitutes a powerful advertising medium. Mr. Jones buys a new radio set. It is a good set. He tells his friends" You ought to get one." In this way the public will help to sell a 8

WHY

ADVERTISE?

good product just as conversely the public will reject a poor product. Wasn't it Phineas Taylor Barnum who said, "You can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time." Again, the retailer may recommend a product for one of three main reasons. He may recommend it because he knows it is a good product; he may recommend it because it shows him a good profit margin-or he may, on occasions, be forced to recommend it because it is slow selling and has been too long on his shelves. Retailers' co-operation is invaluable to the manufacturer, who takes great pains to ensure that the quality of the product is good and the profit margin is adequate. He also spends considerable money advertising the product to the public so that the retailer shall not find himself with unsold stock on his hands. The third form of advertising is by far the most obvious. It is the appeal which the advertiser makes direct to the consumer through the medium of the press, the poster, or by any other means suitable for his purpose. Such advertising may be purely informative-as in the case of theatre advertising, legal and public announcements, etc.-but most often its purpose is to create and maintain demand for a service or commodity against existing competition. An advertisement introduces the product to you by name, tells you what it is, what it does, what it costs you, where you can get it; as such it is informative. It invites you to try the product, to see how good it really is; thus it is objective. If it is a good advertisement, that is, if its appeal is more powerful than the appeal of its competitors, it may succeed in persuading you to make a purchase. If so, it has overcome your sales resistance. I t has made an initial sale-it has found one new user. 9

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

If the product is a good one you will buy it again for yourself and probably recommend it to your friends. Even so, you may one day be tempted to make a change unless the manufacturer keeps reminding you that his is your chosen brand and you ought to go on using it. Hence, the manufacturer's advertisement may also be a means of maintaining existing demand. Several instances could be quoted of manufacturers who, having attained a very favourable position on the market, thought they could maintain that position by relying upon the public demand already created and upon the fine reputation they had already built up. They made drastic cuts in their advertising, thinking thereby to save funds without losing ground. The result was disastrous, and so much ground was lost during the experiment that it later became impossible to make it up. What had happened? Competitors had seized their opportunity-with one less product in the field their advertising effort became more powerful-more effective. The public soon forgot the old favourite and began to ask quite unconsciously for the brand they had seen advertised on the hoardings, in the tubes and in the press. A new demand had been created-a new brand was at the head of the market. Once a manufacturer gets a grip' on the market and is prepared to back his advantage with a well planned advertising campaign, it is exceedingly difficult and expensive to dislodge him. But remember-no matter how vigorous an advertisement may be, the success of any campaign must ultimately depend upon the acceptance of the product on the part of the public and, to a lesser extent, upon some measure of co-operation on the part of the retailer. We have dealt with advertising directly or indirectly to the consumer, so let us now consider the equally important, if less familiar, task of getting the product into the shops-for whilst advertising to the public, or consumer advertising as 10

WHY

ADVERTISE?

it is usually called, is a means of inviting the public to buy, it is clearly first necessary to ensure that the retailer actually has stock to sell. How does the manufacturer persuade the retailer to stock his goods? There are three main ways. Firstly by inserting announcements in the retailers' trade paper, secondly by sending him descriptive literature and thirdly by personal contact on the part of the manufacturer's representative. If the retailer is satisfied that the product is a good one, if the terms are favourable, and if he is promised advertising support sufficient to maintain or create a reasonable demand for the product, he may be prepared to place an initial order. Subsequent orders will, however, depend upo"n the retailer's experience of the demand which exists or is being created. Thus, while trade advertising in one form or another is a means of getting the product into the shops, consumer advertising is a means of keeping it moving-for it is consumer advertising which creates the demand upon which depends the retailer's willingness to carry regular stock. Summing up, we can say that advertising may be used : (a) To inform the trade. (b) To inform the public. (c) To make an initial sale. (d) To retain existing custom. We have so far considered only the familiar consumer products-products which may be bought from the shops. Whilst it is not proposed to deal with them at length we must not lose sight of the all-important technical and professional products. Machinery, accessories, heavy chemicals, fertilizers, textiles, building materials and miscellaneous raw materials all have a market. These things are bought for use in the workshops, on the land and on the buildings. They are needed so that they may be used for, or converted into, finished goods. Like the retail shops, most industries have I l

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

their own technical or trade journals which carry advertisements for those commodities needed by the trade or industry. Similarly the professional press is available to manufacturers wishing to appeal to doctors, nurses, lawyers, bankers, etc. Considerable use is also made of direct mail (discussed later), particularly to the medical profession, with which it is exceedingly difficult to maintain satisfactory personal contact through the medium of a representative. It is hoped that this chapter has served to give a rough outline of the functions that advertising may be called upon to undertake, and an idea of why advertising is so necessary. No matter what the product may be, its life and staying power depend upon advertising in some form or another, and whilst advertising people must be mainly concerned with direct advertising, either to the consumer or to the trade, subconscious advertising on the part of the public and co-operation or indirect advertising on the part of the retailer must always be borne in mind. A good value for money product will usually find a market provided it is properly distributed and adequately supported by a well planned advertising campaign. But the emphasis is on 'well planned '-for the last word is always with the public, whose likes and dislikes must be studied very carefully before any plan of promotional marketing is considered.

J~

THE MEDIA THE

PRESS

Coverage

In order to appreciate the immensely complicated task of media selection (i.e. choosing the right paper for the right job) it is necessary to understand what is meant by (a) national distribution and (b) local or regional distribution. A paper or magazine which circulates throughout a whole country is said to have a 'National distribution.' The Daily Express, the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Tinles, are examples of British national newspapers; whilst Picture Post, Everybody's Weekly and Radio Times are representative of national magaZInes. The term 'Local distribution' is used to describe papers whose circulation (and interest value) is restricted to certain local provincial or suburban areas. Into this category fall the Birmingham Post, the Sheffield Star and the Yorkshire Post (provincial press), and the Surrey Comet, Walthamstow Guardian, and Bexleyheath Observer (suburban press). Practically no periodicals, other than Church Magazines, House Organs etc., are available with purely local coverage. The London evening papers fall into a class of their own. Their distribution is not national, but it is too broad for them to be classified as local coverage papers. Issue

Newspapers, whether national or local, fall mainly under four headings : (a) Those issued each morning. 13

~

"'"

I

CLASSIFICATION:

READERSHIP:

I

I

I

General

8 Class

C Class

GENERAL CONSUMER PRESS

A Clan

To Consumer Public

LONDON EVENINGS

DISTRIBUTION:

APPEAL:

ISSUE:

COVERAGE:

I

FIG. I.

THE PRESS.

TRADE & TECHNICAL PRESS

Technicians Business Men, Professional Men, etc.

People having an interest in specific Hobbies, Sports, etc.

CLASS CONSUMER PRESS

To Trade

Trade and Technical

To Consumer Public

Class

Daily Mornings Sunday Papers Weekly Papers Weekly Mags. Monthly Mags. Quarterly Mags.

NATIONAL

THE PRESS

LOCAL GENERAL PRESS

All

Classes

To Consumer Public

General

Daily Mornings Daily Evenings Sunday Papers Weekly Papers Weekly Mags. Monthly Mags.

LOCAL Provincial and Suburban

ADVERTISING EXPLAINED

THE

MEDIA

(b) Those issued each evening. (c) Those issued once or twice a week. (d) Those issued on Sundays. Magazines, almost all national, are usually issued weekly or monthly. The frequency of issue is important when campaigns are being prepared.

Appeal Publications nonnally fall into one of three groups (i) General consumer, (ii) Class consumer, or (iii) Trade and Technical. Newspapers usually have a general appeal, since apart from their news and political interest, publishers tend more and more to encourage family readership by featuring sports news, fashion articles, children's comer and so on. Certain families will, however, prefer to read certain papers, their preferences usually being determined by their social standing or their political outlook. Thus in some areas one might expect to find a Labour paper in greater demand, whilst in others a Conservative or neutral paper is more likely to be the popular choice. Press advertising is designed to perform a specific function-to appeal to a certain class of buyer-thus the class-distribution of a paper or magazine is far more important than the number of copies which it sells. Into the second group come those publications whose appeal is directed only towards certain sections of public interest. A financial paper is obviously not a general appeal publicationits readership being almost entirely limited to executives and high grade business men. Similarly, magazines dealing with definite hobbies, interests and sports are not read by the masses, but only by those who have a particular preference for these things. Such publications are frequently described as having a ' class consumer' appeal since they are read only by certain classes or groups of the general public. 15

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

The trade and technical press forms the third group. Its advertising value is extremely high and indeed vital to the marketing interests of many manufacturing houses. Practically every business, trade, or profession, has its own special journal. Publications are available dealing with scientific subjects, specified industries, retail trades, agriculture, nursing, commerce, in fact with almost every conceivable subject of business interest. Trade journals are rarely to be seen on the book stalls, most of their distribution being carried out on a subscription basis. Circulations are frequently quite small, but they have the big advantage of selectivity, for there is little if any wasted readership. For this reason such publications can, and usually do, command much higher advertising rates than consumer papers, which by reason of their general appeal cannot hope to be as selective. Figure I. may help, you better to appreciate the wide and varied nature of the press. From the chart try to place your own daily paper or favourite magazine. For instance, The Times is a national daily with a general consumer appeal to Class (A readers (i.e. top income class). Similarly, The Engineer is a national monthly magazine with a special appeal to engineers (trade). Again, the Sheffield Star is a provincial daily with a general consume'r ap'p-eal to local readers of all classes. J

Circulation

Most British publishers are members of The Audit Bureau of Circulations. Their records are audited at regular intervals and certified circulations are published. Quite often the publishers will also provide advertisers with a complete territorial breakdown of their distribution. Advertising rates are usually fixed in relation to net circulation, but it is important to think of a paper in terms of its readership and dis16

THE

MEDIA

tribution rather than to accept a circulation on its face value. By the way, there is an important difference between readership and circulation. Each copy of a paper or magazine is normally read by more than one person-hence the number of readers ~s always far in excess of the number of copies sold. Media selection is the job of an experienced man. It entails an intimate knowledge of all papers, magazines and journals, and a keen appreciation of human psychology. The Format

Before we consider how press advertising space is bought it might be helpful to describe, quite briefly, what is meant by

FIG. II. A TYPICAL 8-COLUMN NEWSPAPER FORMAT (Advertisements next matter).

17

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

the 'format.' The term 'format' is used to describe the make-up of the pages in a newspaper or magazine. The number of columns, the width and depth of each column, the position of advertising space in relation to Editorial matterall these things come under the general heading of the 'format.' The column width is fairly standard for all newspapers (usually I!'' to 2"), but the number and depth of the columns will vary according to the size of the newspaper page. Generally speaking, one may say that newspaper pages range from five I3" columns in small (or tabloid) papers to eight 22" columns in the more popular full size papers. A typical newspaper format is shown in Fig. II. Magazine pages may contain two, three, four or five columns with widths ranging from 1!" to 4". Many publications do not carry a standard column format throughout. Some pages, for instance, may be composed of say two or

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A TYPICAL MAGAZINE FORMAT (Advertisements facing matter). 18

THE

MEDIA

three columns, whilst others (usually those carrying weighty advertising) may have four or even five columns (see Fig. III). This is done partly to help the advertiser-since the narrow column will conform more closely to that of a newspaperand partly to increase the number of advertisements which can be carried on a page. These considerations will be more appreciated when space .~uying and the adaptation of advertisements are more fully understood. How Space is sold

Practically all newspapers-and some magazines-sell space on the basis of what is called the single column inch. The single column inch is a space I " deep by one column in width. Thus, if a publisher quotes a rate of £ 10 per inch, advertisements will be charged at £10 for every inch of depth taken across a single column, or at £20 for every inch taken across a double column, and so on. On this basis, a 5" single column advertisement (usually shown as 5" s.c.) would cO'st £5 0 , or a 5" double column advertisement (5" d.c.) would cost £ 100 (see Fig. IV). Advertising space in the majority of magazines is sold on the basis of a full page, fractions of a page being quoted separately or charged pro rata. Al though actual space sizes (type sizes they are usually called) are normally indica ted on publishers rate cards, Figure V may help you to grasp how these sizes are determined. Y Oll will see that the shape of i or lth page spaces may be upright or across. This also applies to many other space sizes. The publisher will often dictate the shape he can accept, but when this is optional instructions to the publisher must always state quite clearly which shape is required. It is usually accepted that the first measurement represents the depth of the advertisement and the second measurement the width. Thus a space given as 5i" x 31" would be 5!" 19

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

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UNITS OF SPACE MEASUREMENT (The Single Column Inch Basis). 20

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FIG. V.

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UNITS OF SPACE MEASUREMENT (The Page Basis). 21

ADVERTISING EXPLAINED

deep and 3£" wide, whilst a space given as 3£" x 5!" would be taken to. mean 3£" deep and 5i" wide. Magazine pages are quite frequently made up from three columns, and in such cases it is usual to sell space on the basis of ird, lth Oor Yt2th of a page (see Fig. V). But even on a three column page it is possible to have! page or i page advertisements. For example, a ! page advertisement on a loi" x 7i" three colulnn page could measure 71I" x 2i" (i.e. £ of a single column). Similarly, a t page advertisement could measure 71I" x 5" (i.e. 1 of a double column). You may have noticed that on a three column page a 1 page advertisement actually occupies one full column of space. This brings us to the third method of selling space. Publishers of magazines frequently find it easier to quote on the basis of one cOomplete column, fractions being charged at special rates or p'ro rata. This method simplifies the task of imposition (i.e. the arrangement of the page) and also ensures the more even distribution of the advertisements. A four column page, type size loi" x 7i", would have columns measuring I oi" x I 1I" (see Fig. VI). Half a single column (shown i S.C.) would therefore measure 5i" x Ii", whilst ! S.C. would measure 2!" x I1I". Similarly, a half double column space (t D.C.) would be 51" x 3!" and a -! D.C. would be 2!" x 31". Take great care not to confuse half double column (t D.C.) with i" double column (i" d.c.). You may wonder why space in magazines and newspapers is not sold on one standard basis-the single column inch for instance. The answer is quite simple. A ne\vspaper page has many columns each measuring anything up to 22" in depth, and it would clearly be impractical for newspaper men to sell their space on the basis of the full page or the full column. Magazines, however, seldom have a type area exceeding 12" X g", and the more convenient methods of page or column 22

THE

MEDIA

rating is therefore possible. In any case, single column rating would make it exceeding difficult, if not quite impossible, exactly to fill the advertising space in a comparatively short magazine column. Before we leave the subject of advertisement spaces it might be as well to clear up two further small points. Firstly, for the sake of simplicity we have deliberately ignored the space between columns and between advertisements. In practice you may find that at page space on a Ioi" x 7t" page will be quoted as 5}" x 3i" so as to allow a margin of space between +-------- --------------I +--- -------------- ----+ ----1 , ==I I ~/)111V IJOilllf ===: I = = - --= --- II

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UNITS OF SPACE MEASUREMENT (The Column Basis).

one advertisement and the next. Similarly, whilst a single column may be quoted as 2" in width a double column may actually measure 4!" since it includes the white space between columns. There is no need to be unduly worried about this, because fractional page sizes are invariably given on rate cards and the space between newspaper columns is frequently ignored. Secondly, whilst you will find most sizes quoted in inches

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

you might suddenly find yourself confronted with the printer's tth of an inch and a 12 em column merely 'em.' An em is ith 2" wide, whilst a space measuring 18 ems means a column 2" X 12 ems is simply another way of putting 3" x 2". Special S pedal Positions We have already seen how the allocation of advertising space is dependent upon the make-up of the paper. This, quite naturally, leads to consideration of special or preferred posItIOns. An advertisement appearing on a reading matter posItIons. page obviously has a much better chance of being seen than one appearing on a page devoted solely to advertisements. An advertiser will therefore be asked to pay a little more for the privilege of using such a position-and it is usually well worth the additional expense. Advertisements appearing with reading matter are said to occupy 'next matter' positions and those appearing on pages facing reading matter are said to occupy 'facing matter' posItIons. posItions. The best 'matter' positions in newspapers are usually to be found on the News and Leader pages, and ~sually advertising rates are correspondingly higher. When only one advertisement appears on a matter page, it is said to occupy solus' a ' sol us , position. Solus positions command very much higher rates than ordinary positions and it is usual for publishers to standardize the size of such spaces. Other special positions in common use are 'semi-solus '-one of two advertisements on a matter page-' island' positions-advertisements with matter on three or four sides-and 'ear spaces '-the small positions normally found on either side of the newspaper name plate. Examples of these positions will be found at Fig. VII. Run-ai-paper positions Run-ol-paper Special positions are limited in number and the vast majority 24

THE

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4------------------------FIG. VII.

SPECIAL POSITIONS.

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

of advertisements are placed at run-of-paper or R.O.P. rates. This is the cheapest method of placing, but the advertiser gets no choice in the matter of position and usually finds himself crowded crO'wded on to a page consisting of nothing but advertisements. Colour facilities

Space for advertisements in two or more mO're colours is frequently provided on the front and back covers of magazines-and sometimes on certain inside pages as well. Advertisers wishing to take advantage of this facility must, as a rule, accept the colour standards laid down by the publishers. Colour adver~ advertisements are effective but costly; nevertheless, their value is obvious when considered in relation to' to textiles and finished garments, paints, furnishings, cosmetics, etc. Series discounts

The arrangement of the printed pages is made easier if the publisher knows well in advance what the future requirements of his advertisers are likely to be. Advertisers are therefore encouraged to buy space on a contract basis in return for which they may be offered a special discount known simply as a ' series discount.' For instance, a publisher may quote a rate of £10 £ 10 per inch with a series discount of 10% 10% for thirteen insertions, or 20% for twenty-six insertions. Thus, whilst one 5" s.c. insertion would cost £50, thirteen insertions would cost only £45 each and twenty-six insertions only £40 each. Alternatively, a publisher may quote special series rates and the rate per page in a magazine might, for example, be quoted at £50 for one insertion, £46 for six insertions or £42 for twelve insertions. Series discounts are usually based on contracts of thirteen, twenty-six or fifty-two insertions in newspapers and weekly publications and on six, nine or twelve insertions in monthly magaZines. magazmes. ~6 !l6

THE

MEDIA

When series discounts are not available publishers will quote a 'flat rate '-applicable to all R.O.P. contracts regardless of the number of insertions taken. Classified Announcements Most newspapers and a few magazines have a section devoted entirely to small announcements classified under such headings as Situations Vacant, Situations Wanted, Articles for Sale, Personal, Exhibitions, etc. These are known as Classified Announcements and they may be charged for either at so much per word or at so much per line. If the former method of rating is used it is quite simple to calculate the cost of inserting an announcement; but if the rate is quoted at so much per line it becomes a little more difficult. The number of words per line cannot, unfortunately, be standardized because column widths, type faces and type sizes vary. Furthermore, it is usual to set the first few words in capital letters-which take up more room. A typographer can, of course, calculate the number of lines required to take any given announcement in any given publication-but this entails very specialized knowledge of printers' type faces. As a very rough guide it may be reckoned that a 2" column will accommodate about seven words a line, but it is far safer to get a specimen of the newspaper you are going to use and count up the words for yourself.

An attempt has been made to explain one or two practical facts about press advertising. It is quite certain that you will come across many things which have not here been covered, but once the fundamental principle has been understood the rest should be easy. The theory of press advertising has not yet been dealt with, but guidance on this subject will be found in the chapter headed "The Science of Advertising." 27

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

OUTDOOR PUBLICITY

As you move about, journeying by train, riding in a bus, walking along the highway or strolling through the town your mind is seldom fully occupied. You are, as a rule, in a receptive mood. You glance idly at your travelling companions or your fellow strollers-your eyes ever searching for something to rest upon-something of interest, perhaps something colourful. Interesting things, colourful things, are to be found almost everywhere, be they the work of nature or of man-be they people, hills, bridges-or merely posters, streamers, coloured signs. Outdoo'r publicity may be presented in a variety of ways. Buses, trams, railway carriages, stations, escalators, hoardings -all lend themselves to the display of advertisements in some form or another. Electric signs, loud speaker vans, skywriting aircraft-all are available to convey the advertiser's message to the outdoor life of the community. Here is a way of getting at the people during their leisure hours-this is ' reminder' advertising with a punch! Poster advertising is by far the most popular form of outdoor publicity. The same message repeated in the press, in the shop and on the hoarding can hardly fail to make an impression-but the poster does not solve all advertising problems and the medium should not, therefore, be used. indiscriminately. If a few well chosen words will suffice and if the product is one which has a general appeal to people in all walks of life-then the poster may be the right answer; but the message must be short enough and large enough to be taken in at a glance-otherwise it will serve no useful purpose. Outdoor advertising is seldom useful on its own. It is essentially a complementary form of publicity-and would not normally be useful except to support a large scale press advertising campaign. As a rough general guide, the motto is do a thorough job in the press before turning to supple28

THE

MEDIA

mentary forms of publicity. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but it is as a rule much better to look upon outdoor publicity as subordinate to the press-for its success is, indeed, very often dependent upon the press advertising which it supports. Poster sites are available in three main sizes, viz., 16-sheet, I6-sheet, 32-sheet and 48-sheet. A' sheet' measures 20" x 30"I6-sheet poster site is printers call this double-crown-and a 16-sheet therefore of a size which can accommodate a poster measuring 80" in overall width and 120" in overall depth. Similarly, a 32-sheet poster would be 160" x 120" I 20" and a 48-sheet poster 240" x 120" (see Fig. VIII). Unlike press advertising, it is usual to give the width first. These are standard sizes for hoardings, but there is, in addition, a variety of special sizes to be considered when a campaign is planned to include posters on railway platforms, buses, escalators and so forth. When a poster campaign is being casted, costed, several things must be taken into consideration. Firstly the cost and maintenance of the sites; secondly the rate of replacement (paper posters seldom enjoy a life of more than ten weeks); thirdly the cost of printing the posters. An example may be helpful. Sites vary in price according to position, but for our purpose we will assume that it is proposed to use 3,000 16-sheet sites for twelve months, and that the cost of each site (including maintenance) is 7/6 per £ 19 lOS. per year). On this basis the sites alone week (i.e. £19 would cost £58,500. The rate of poster replacement is usually taken as 10% per week after the first three weeks, so that to keep 3,000 sites adequately provided with replacements for fifty-two weeks, 17,700 or say 18,000 I6-sheet posters would be needed (i.e. forty-nine weeks at 10% replacement = == 14,700 === 17,700 posters in all). The plus the initial 3,000 posters = cost of producing the posters will depend upon the design of the poster, the number of colours needed to print it and upon !Z9

ADVERTISING

EXPLAINED

the quantities to be printed. If we assume that they cost each our final costing would work out like this:-

Exhibition and Maintenance-3,000 16-sheet sites (at 716 each per week) Printing- I 8,ooo I 6-sheet posters at 10 I-

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ADAPTATION CODE 1%" to 1%" =A 11%6" , 1%" = B 11%6" " 21h6" = c 2%" , 214" = D 2%6" , 2%6"= E 2lh" , 2%" = F 211h6" , 2%" = G 21%6" , 3~" = H

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ADAPTATION CODE. 64

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THE

MECHANICS

OF

ADVERTISING

The system is based upon the use of a code, mathematically produced, by which means a mass of sizes may quickly be grouped so that the difference between the largest and smallest cannot exceed 15% in width or depth. The code (and accompal1ying chart) is shown at Fig. XX, and consideration of a typical example may be the best means of demonstrating the practical use of this system of Code Grouping. Let us suppose that a press schedule of some hundred papers contains in all the following thirty-six different space sizes.

4i" x 11" 5" x Ii"

5" x Ii" 5i" x Ii" 5i" x Ii" 5i" x 2" 5i" x I I" 5i" x 2!" 5i" x 2"

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The first step would be to key each size in accordance with the Adaptation Code. Taking depth first it will be found that a space measuring 4t" x It" would fall under Code NB (since 4i" == N and It" == B-see code). Similarly, 5" x I!" would be PA, 5" x Ii" would be PB, and so on. When this has been done, our thirty-six keyed sizes may be regrouped in code sequence thus : 5i" x II" FK 2£" x 3i" 3!" x 3i" QA { 5i" x Ii" FL 2i" x 3i" LL 4" x 4" 5i" x 2" HL 3" x 3i" x 31" { QC 5t"x 2" NB 41." x 11." HM 3" x 41." 8 2 8 { 3i" x 4~" QD 5i" x 21" 5" x Ii"

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AD\'ER'fiSING

EXPLAINED

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