6. Effect of the campaign on salesmen.—The con cern which buys its advertising space on the bit-or miss basis, has no opportunity to inspire its sales force with a realization of what it is doing. Adver tising makes it possible for salesmen to close sales quickly. Advertising gives salesmen confidence. A manufacturer who had been buying advertising by the hit-or-miss method determined on a definite campaign for the sale of one of his products, and at a convention at the beginning of the season outlined the campaign to his salesmen. After describing the campaign and the new merchandising plan behind the advertising, he asked each salesman to establish his own quota of sales which he expected to make during the year with the assistance of the advertising. To the manufac turer's surprise and pleasure, the quotas established by the salesmen themselves totaled a 500 per cent in crease in his business on the article advertised. That the salesmen were not far wrong in their estimates is indicated by the result at the end of the year, which showed an actual increase of 625 per cent. This ex ample of the power of the campaign on the salesmen is especially interesting when it is realized that the advertiser spent no more money in the campaign than he had spent the previous year under the hit-or-miss "buy what is presented" method.
7. Effect of the campaign on dealers.—One of the first questions a dealer asks a salesman is, "What as surance will I have of consumer demand? Is the article going to be advertised and how?" The old reply, "Oh, my company is spending a large amount of money in advertising," is no longer convincing. Dealers, familiar with the powerful influence of adver tising, wish to know the mediums used, the amount of space contracted for, and the quality of the adver tisements themselves. Without a definite campaign laid out in advance, salesmen are unable to give deal ers this information. And on this ground alone, dealers often refuse to stock the goods.
When the campaign is laid out in advance and dealers are told of the advertising, when and where it will appear, they are in a position to take advantage of the advertising of the manufacturer to call the at tention of the public to the fact that they distribute the article advertised. Many dealers are willing to spend their own money to connect their stores as dis tributing centers with national advertising.
Advertisers often arrange special advertising "drives" for limited periods, keeping dealers in formed of the dates of these special efforts in the cam paign. During the "drives" increased space may be taken in the national magazines and also on the bill boards and in other mediums, in specific localities.
This unusual effort encourages dealers to mention the advertised article in their own newspaper advertise ments and to trim their windows with the articles ad vertised. Advertisers are beginning to learn that
they cannot expect much dealer cooperation with out definite campaigns planned well in advance, and without giving notice to their dealers of their plans.
8. Effect of the campaign on steady, persistent flow of the river wears away the rock. Advertising is powerful, but the power of ad vertising must be used as the suggestion of a friend, not as the command of a superior officer. Most of us cannot tell what particular influence first induced us to buy any of the advertised products we are now using. Many people use Ivory Soap as a matter of course. They cannot tell what advertisement per suaded them to use it or what advertisment persuaded their parents first to use it. They somehow feel, however, that when they are using it they are using the popular soap, the pure soap, the soap which it is customary to use. The Procter and Gamble Com pany might stop advertising for a time, and many of us would still continue to use Ivory Soap. It would not be long, however, before the standing which Ivory Soap has in the minds of many people today would be forgotten. A new generation would spring up unfamiliar with the Ivory Soap advertising. Com petitors would have been educating this generation to demand their soaps, and in time (in a shorter time than most of us realize) another soap would probably become the popular favorite.
Popularity of a product cannot be gained by spas modic advertising. Back of the advertising there must be a plan; there must be a purpose—a unity of purpose. And there must be continuity. The pub lic likes to purchase the popular article. The public likes to know why. The public likes to be constantly reminded. Constant repetition is a great aid to mem ory.
To the persistent advertiser the public gives that intangible yet supremely valuable asset known as good-will. The good-will of a business is like the char acter of an individual. Seemingly it may be as firm as the rock of Gibraltar, and yet it may be entirely destroyed in a day. James Pyle's Pearline was ad vertised persistently from 1877 to 1907. In 1904 the appropriation amounted to $500,000. In 1907, the last of the Pyle family had died and the business was being conducted by the representatives of two estates. It was felt that Pearline was sufficiently well known to allow the company to discontinue ad vertising for a few years. The experiment proved fatal. In 1914, the Procter and Gamble Company bought James Pyle's Pearline, thus saving the com pany, it is said, from actual bankruptcy.