PROSPECTUS AND FINANCIAL advertise a prospectus thoroughly and well, the work should be done through the medium of a respectable advertising contractor. Actual experience has shown that when companies are advertised direct with the newspapers, dismal fiascoes are usually the result.
In addition to this, the contractor, who devotes his time and experience to a study of the various organs of publicity, and the means for most enctively reaching the public eye, and thereby opening the public purse, is able to give valuable advice which, while ensuring the most efficient placing of the prospectus before the desired classes of investors, generally tends to economy, because unless some papers are omitted and a selection, which long practice has indicated as best for the purpose, is secured, a great waste of money is apt to occur.
In cases of foreign loans, municipal issues, railways, &e., the advertise ment is usually inserted at length with the title at top only, but in cases of mines, patents, industrial conversions, rubber, and oil prospectuses, it is advisable to issue the prospectus in double or treble column form, displaying well that portion which is known as the " front page," due regard, of course, being given to the amount of money at the disposal of the issuing house.
Up till quite recently many company promoters took advantage of the peculiar anomaly in prices which exists with sonie of the London daily papers, and inserted their advertisements in single column form, repeating at intervals the Company's title. By doing this, strange as it may seem to the uninitiated, a saving can be effected, as will be seen from the following figures:— This method of financial advertising is now generally recognised as being quite out of date for an issue of any importance, and is only adopted in cases where the amount at the disposal for the advertising is rather limited.
In the Rhodesian boom of '95 and '96, and the Cycle boom of about the same time, when the company promoter was almost too busy even so much as to check his estimates, the usual space for prospectus advertise ments was single column. In one case a promoter visited the office of a
well-known agent late at night, placed his prospectus on the counter together with his cheque, and left it entirely to the agent's discretion to place the advertising in whatever of the following day's papers he thought fit. Needless to say the issue, though hurriedly put out, was an entire success. Iii those clays the value of displayed advertising was only just beginning to be recognised, but to-day agents and promoters both recog b nise the value of the double column displayed advertisement, and few estimates are sent out by the agent which do not contain a preponderating allowance for double columns. _ The above rates in most cases are for ordinary positions, but in the case of papers who make a distinction between ordinary and next Money Article or special positions, the price for the latter is considerably increased. It is quite obvious that the best position likely to bring the advertisement to the notice of the investor will be en the Money Article page, a position which is much sought after by the company promoter, and is generally advised by the advertising contractor. The financial, provincial, and a few of the London daily papers have two separate rates for both ordinary and money page positions.
The weekly financial papers vary from 112, 12s. to 1'21 per page, but in selecting say a dozen, the average cost can be taken at 115, 15s. per page. Provincial papers (daily) of importance nearly all charge ls. to ls. 6d. per line, but as the setting up is usually in larger type than that used by London contemporaries, due allowance must be made when estimating in the proportion of 10 per cent. additional—thus a 300 line in say Telegraph type would occupy the space of 330 lines in most provincial papers. Double columns in the provincial dailies vary considerably, costing from £30 to £68 ; treble columns from £50 to £120.