THE RETAILER AND NATIONAL ADVERTISING 1. Problem of buying connections.—In the rela tions existing among manufacturers, jobber and re tailers an important source of misunderstanding as well as an important opportunity for effective coop eration is national advertising. In all lines of busi ness the dealer is continually solicited to handle the goods of the manufacturer who advertises his goods to the consumer and who urges the dealer to serVe as the medium thru which the demand created by the advertising can be satisfied. The great majority of advertisements in general magazines, in street cars and on billboards is intended to send the reader to a retail store to ask for the things of which he has read.
Many trade problems are here involved. We are concerned at present only with those arising in the relation between retailer and manufacturer. What is the retailer's point of view toward all this activity, which in part is supposed to be in his own interest? To what extent can the manufacturer expect retail cooperation in pushing advertised goods? Does na tional advertising mean manufacturers' domination of the distributing system? What is its influence on the development of more chain stores, more direct mail sales, and other possible realignments of the methods of reaching the consumer? Probably no other mod ern movement in selling is of as great significance to manufacturers, dealers and the public alike, as the growtla of national advertising.
2. What is national advertising?—The term na tional advertising is conveniently used to refer to the advertising by a manufacturer of identified, trade marked goods with the purpose of sending readers to the retailers for the advertised goods. The term is not accurate, because the advertising may be merely local or sectional instead of national, and because manufacturers who deal directly with consumers thru their own retail stores or by mail may, and do, ad vertise nationally. As long as we understand the arbitrary and customary meaning of the term, how ever, it will serve our purpose.
The problem of national advertising is not a prob lem of package goods versus bulk goods. Advertising has firmly entrenched 'package goods. Non-adver tisers and advertisers alike use the modern, cleanly, convenient method of selling goods in small contain ers—at least in such lines as groceries and drugs, in which the package plan of marketing is practicable. The problem of national advertising to be considered here is that of package goods, branded, identified and advertised by the manufacturer, versus package goods not so advertised. In this latter class the goods may
bear the manufacturer's name and trade-mark, they may bear no marks of identification, or they may carry the private brand of a dealer. They are alike in that they are not backed by the advertising of the manu facturer, directed toward the consumer for the pur pose of sending the consumer to retail stores to make his purchases.
3. What advertised goods do for the The manufacturers who back their brands with na tional advertising believe that they are entitled to the enthusiastic cooperation of the retail trade for many reasons. They maintain that the dealer who handles their goods is directly benefiting himself, and that the growth of national advertising means more satisfaction for consumers, more profit for deal ers and more stable and satisfactory business condi tions for all. We are to consider some of the argu ments advanced in support of this contention.
4. Claim of is maintained that na tionally advertised goods are of known and stable quality. The consumer has confidence in them be cause he knows what he is getting. Past experience with such goods has familiarized him with them, and he can buy quickly, conveniently and confidently by name. The quality is ordinarily high because adver tising aims to produce a large volume of sales, and the large scale business permits the employment of the best designers, the highest skilled executives and operators, the best machines and the other efficient agents that make for high quality in the output. When this quality has once been established, it must be maintained if the manufacturer is to achieve per manent success. The consumer who has tried the goods and found them satisfactory, purchases them repeatedly with confidence and renewed satisfactio.n. The handling of goods of this character is partic ularly advantageous in•a store's appeal for new trade. A transient in a city or a newcomer in a community who has worn a certain brand of clothing, for example, does not hesitate to deal with a strange store that handles the same brand. A store that deals in well known goods thereby establishes itself in the public mind as a reliable, reputable establishment. A trade paper recently said: The retailer who ignores the powerful influence of adver tising is completely out of tune. That advertising, has brought about a stable condition in buying and selling is evident at every turn. Whether it be an incubator, a thresher, a breakfast food, a collar, or a cigar—people want to buy and duplicate by name. They don't want nameless unknowns.