Mr. William B. Morris, advertising manager of the Northwestern Knitting Company, says : "Advertis ing is the product of imagination, of courage, and of other subtle, almost spiritual, forces which make it nothing short of cruelty to subject it to interference from those who have not seen the development of the idea from the moment of its inception. Yet I do not know of any department of any business which receives so much direction from other departments. Advertisements are the representatives, the ambassa dors of the organizations, and they should express the policy and the spirit of that organization in every de tail. It is right that 'those higher up' should give counsel, but they cannot in justice to themselves give attention to details unless they give all of their time to those details. The conscientious advertising man gets much valuable help from all other departments. He also gets valuable suggestions from children, from books and from his recreations. But if one man is to be responsible for the advertising, no one by inter ference should relieve him of that responsibility.•' 4. Functions of an advertising department.—An r advertising department may do much or little. It may initiate everything that is done in the advertising campaign, or it may simply focus things initiated by others. It may work wholly by itself, or it may lean heavily on the advertising agency. Probably no two advertising departments do exactly the same thing. There are certain activities, however, which are com mon to all campaigns, and which must be carried on by someone either in the department or out of it. These things are properly called the functions of an advertising department—they comprise all the pos sible lines of work that should be engaged in if a de partment is to concern itself with everything that affects the advertising campaign. The following list is submitted by Mr. William H. Ingersoll, of Robert H. Ingersoll & Brother, as inclusive of all the func tional operations of an advertising department. The list does not show the organization of the department —in a small department one man may do all the things listed, while in a large department each thing may be done by a separate individual. The list is a chart of functions, not of persons; it is interesting be cause it shows the many kinds of work that the aver age advertising department must be organized to undertake.
Planning campaign: Studying the goods and services and their market Studying competition Studying opportunity Studying policy of appeal Studying appropriation required to do the work desired Studying the needs of the business Studying to make the advertising "institutional" in flavor Laying out appropriation : Study and choice of suitable mediums by principal classes : Novelties and specialties : Compiling lists and data files as to rates, circulation, etc., of mediums to be considered Cooperating with sales and other departments : Giving notice of plans Supplying copies of advertisements, lists of mediums used, information as to how to extract "by-product" values, such as dealer cooperation, window display, etc.
Producing the advertising: Probing for ideas Designing advertisements Writing copy for : Advertisements Catalogs Booklets Multiple letters, etc.
Originating illustrations, procuring photos, drawings, etc.
Ordering: Space and insertion of advertisements in publications chosen Printed matter Signs Cards Display advertising, etc.
Procuring estimates Keeping cost records Checking: Delivery of advertising ordered, insertion and space in publications, on bill-boards, etc.
Bills for advertising Record keeping: Records of all advertising ordered, by classes, times, etc. Amounts spent by classes of medium Results of each expenditure Files of all advertisements run Records of mailings Records of mediums used Indexing of data and files Stock keeping: Inventory system with automatic reminder to avoid unin tentional shortage Storage of printed matter Stationery, department's forms, etc.
Filing: Records of department Customers' and prospective customers' lists Correspondence Photographs Drawings Engravings Electrotypes Suggestive advertisements, booklets, letters, etc. Competitors' literature Reference books Clippings "Tickler" system items Data Corresponding: Routine correspondence of department Following up inquiries Charging system: Samples, etc., loaned artists and photographers Drawings and photos sent to engravers Engravings, etc., sent to publishers Books, records, copy, etc., loaned to other departments Time or service rendered to other departments Disseminating current information : Sending copies of papers, as they 'come out, to executives to note appearance, positions, etc.
Copies of circulars, form letters, etc., to list of interested people Supplying equipment : Filing cabinets Forms Multigraphs Addressing machines Folding machines, etc.
Maintaining its organized form : Standard practice system Routine instructions kept up-to-date 5. Systems of organization.—There are probably as many different kinds of advertising departments as there are advertisers. Each has its own organiza tion particularly adapted to accomplish the work de sired. The advertising department of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company consists of 175 people. The advertising department of Sears, Roebuck & Company consists of 1,300 people. The advertising department of the International Harvester Company consists of forty-three people in the main office and 140 people in the different territories. Some of these departments are managed by one executive who 0. K.'s all activities and every piece of copy that goes out, while others are conducted by committees, and all final decisions are made in conference.
On the following page three charts are reproduced from Printers' Ink, showing the detailed organization of different advertising departments. The method of organization must always be adapted to the par ticular requirements of the business that the adver tising department serves.
6. A large advertising department.—To indicate the method of adapting advertising department or ganizations to the needs and peculiarities of the busi ness, we have chosen a large and a small advertising department for consideration. The Burroughs Add ing Machine Company is an extensive advertiser and uses advertising in a great variety of ways to help its salesmen. Its advertising, therefore, is inten sively developed. Mr. Edward A. Walton, of the Burroughs Company, describes the department as follows: Our advertising department is organized not on the one cylinder plan but as closely as possible on a twenty cylinder plan. It is our idea to make the advertising department of ever-increasing value to the field force and the company, developing each man to his utmost capacity for all round advertising service. Every one of the twenty creative men is a conferee, and all the activities of the department are managed by conferences. The titular head of the depart ment is just one of the conferees. Three men of the adver tising agency are also full members of the conference. Strictly speaking, there are several conferences. The Sen ior Conference consists of four of the oldest men in point of service. These four men meet 'every day to consider suggestions from all sources and decide what work 9hal1 be done. Each Senior may subdivide his work among any of the Juniors of the department. Thus each Junior works at times with each Senior. Junior Conferences are held often by Seniors to consider copy, and the offer of a piece of copy thus gets the criticisms and suggestions of these conferees. Once a month there is a full conference of the department with the advertising agency, at which every phase of the work is considered.