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dune Is49
WALTER J. MURPHY, EDITOR L 1
Advertising Literature
G
om 1s where you fmd it.” We note with pleased interest that the readers of INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEW ISTRY, like the adventurous gold miners who made the quotation familiar, also show no false pride in their willingness-to glean useful technical information from any available soume. A continuing monthly survey the editors have conducted since February 1947 of reader habits and preferences indicates that many of I.&E.C.’s subscribers appreciate and use the advertising pages as valuable sources of technical information. A summary of replies received from this particdm part of the ZOO0 plus questionnaires sent out since the survey was stmted follows: What do you think about the advertisements? asked to cheek the appropriate answer.) 1947 An asset 80% Prefer not having 3% No opinion 8% Other 9% Do you look at the advertisembnts? Alwa 8 40% usua6y 40% Sometimes 16% Seldom 3% Never 1%
(Reader was 1948 84% 4%
8%
4%
37% 39% 18% 5% 1%
Replies received in 1948 to,the question “What type of advertisement is most useful to you?” were readily classifipd into the followingfour categories:
ment, etc.J Some of the comments clasqified under the “informiLt,ive” category are illuminating: “More jactual-less glanaor.” “Those giving spec$c informtion on a product, thus eliminating the necessity for cmespondence (i.e., order can be placed on basis of the ad. Example: Celaneae Cwporatia ad on page -).” “$enera& i n j o m d v e type, such as the Mmsanto ad on page “That which @ves faidg sp&& i n j d i a or d i am8 such a8 Foxbmo (page -1, Hooker (page -), FEincTage -1, Quaker Oals (page -), S a d & Steel (page -), Fischer and Porter (page -).” ‘(I read the ads aa (I means of iweasing my general technical knmukdge.”
This list could be extended fdr pap&.’ These replies shoiv clearly that our readers consider the advertising pages an important technical supplement 6 the contributed articles. The advertisenenta undoubtedly add a wealth of information to the literature. This wealth could he multiplied until it is comparable to the technical articles themselves. The raw material is great enough. Several ,conclusionsmight he drawn from these questionnaire
answels. First, the technical reader reacts to advertisements in his field far differently than the layman does to generd advertisements. Instead of avoiding them, the former combs through them as iL way of staying up with the times. Second, since nearly one third of all answers concerning the type of advertisement brings requests for informative ones, it Seems that the reader’s desire for facts by no mexis is saturated by what is now given on the advertising pages. Third, we conclude that the more informative advertisements are read more frequently and thus result in more business than the institutional or “please give us your business” item. Again, we can cite several specifio examples. The popular U.S.I. Chemicel News “blue sheet” is so well recognized that some sdvertisers prefer to have their material located adjacent to it. Factual emphasis in this journd’s Industrial Data Department accounts, we believe, for its popularity. Currently, inquiries average over 80 per item in a year’s period extending back from the most recent month of issue. Some items have attracted over 600 inquiries. Factual treatment in industrial advertising does present prohlems, however. Most industrial advertising (well over 80 per cent) is prepared with the assistance of an advertising agency rather than wholly by the company. But advertising agencies have found only a few technically trained men who also can write. The difficulty is compounded when the company representative is not a technical man. But where technical personnel e m he utihed, extremely effective results can be achieved. The U.S.I. insert is a prime example that fancy layout is not essential when meaty content is offered. “Silicate P’s and Qs,” a direct mail leaflet of the Philadelphia Quuruta Company, gives new evidence monthly of the real technical interest of a product that appears humdrum to the superficial eye. Other success stories like the “blue sheets” and “Silicate P’s and Q s ” could resul for advertisements prepared with comparahle disorimination. Advertisers with the adventurous spirit who want to test the value of a more technical approach will fmd their way made smooth in the AMERICAN CHEMICALSOCIETY publications. “Split runs,” where alternate copies of the ssme issue carry two different types of advertising copy, are available. Several advertisers, in fact, have already started testa of copy effectiveness in Chemical and Engineering News. We commend the field of industrial advertising to the technical student or recent graduate with confidence in his writing ahility. The financial rewards can he substantial, and this segment of the general advertising field is by no means crowded with peisons possessing the somewhat peculiar combination of talents required. As ‘a career, it lacks the heady- fame thab. can . come from outstanding research. However, opportunities are great for sincere devotion to the more modest goal of service to the profession, and the most idealistic can find rich personal reward in his labors. Deserved honor will come to those’who effectively develop the advertising literature as the second major clearinghouse for technical knowledge.
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