Full-page advertisements were used in all the papers, with daily insertions during the ten days pre ceding action by the council. Each advertisement was signed by the president of the company. All the advertisements formed a logical series, and yet each one stood alone as an effective presentation of the company's case. The story was told in a straightfor ward manner, combining the logical appeal of a lawyer with the narrative style of a newspaper story. Supplementing the newspaper advertising, a booklet was sent to every influential citizen, suggesting that he speak to his alderman if he were convinced of the justice of the company's position.
The campaign did not keep the city council from lowering the rate, but it did result in a later compro mise which was satisfactory both to the citizens and to the gas company.
7. Advertising to win employes of a company go out on strike, a considerable portion of the public always jumps to the conclusion that the cause of the strikers must be just and that the employer must be in the wrong. Public sentiment has a decided influence on the success or failure of a strike, particularly when a public service corporation is affected. Public sentiment can often force arbitra tion, or, if it is sufficiently aroused, it can bring one side or the other to speedy terms. When public sen timent is on the side of the strikers, simply because they are strikers, the employer has a difficult task to obtain a fair hearing. Free publicity in the news papers is seldom effective, because of the popular sus picion of the disinterestedness of some editorial ut terances. Therefore many employers tell their story to the people by means of an advertising campaign. Newspapers are usually employed, also posters, book lets distributed on trains, and other mediums are used in some instances.
In the fall of 1916, within a period covering only a few weeks, the newspapers in New York City car ried advertisements the side of the em ployers in three strikes in which the public felt great interest. The street railway companies, when con fronted by the possibility of a, general strike, imme diately took large space in the papers and continued to tell their story to the public until the service, temporarily tied up by the strike, had become nearly normal again. A few weeks later a strike was de clared by the individuals supplying milk to the great milk distributing companies. The distributors at once put their case before the people thru the mediums of advertising. The distributors did not win the
strike—public sentiment campaigns are not always successful—but they aroused a degree of public sen timent in their behalf which would have been impos sible without the campaign. A less spectacular use of advertising was that employed by a chain of gro cery stores in New York City. A strike was declared by the drivers of its delivery wagons, and the com pany presented its case in small advertisements, ask ing the indulgence of the public until the delivery service could be reorganized.
Strikers use advertising to sway public sentiment less often than employers. When the influencing of public sentiment is necessary, however, there is no reason why properly planned and conducted adver tising campaigns should not be used by either side in a strike controversy.
8. Advertising for general a public service company has a virtual monopoly in its field, it ought to be eager to build up popular good will, not so much to increase the immediate sale of its services, as to establish a strong foundation of popular approval which will serve as a bulwark against the future competition that is sure to come.
An interesting campaign of this sort was undertaken in the latter part of 1916 by the Pullman Company. The company began at that time a series of advertise ments calling public attention to the various features of Pullman service, and reminding readers of the tremendous increase in the ease of traveling brought about by the developments in the equipment and in the service of the Pullman Company. A campaign that has a similar purpose has been carried on for some years by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
Advertising alone, of course, cannot build good-will for a public service corporation any more than adver tising alone can make sales. The goods and the policy of the house must be right if sales are to be made : advertising can only reflect the solid facts of qual ity and service. In a similar manner, a corporation can build good-will only if it deserves good-will; the advertising can only carry to a wide audience the policy of the corporation, which is reflected in its actual dealings with its patrons. It can remind the public of points in the company's service which might otherwise be forgotten, but success cannot be expected if the experience of the public does not coincide with the impression sought to be created by the adver tising.