Part 8

XI.

SALESMANSHIP DEMONSTRATIONS BY THE FILM

Motion-picture publicity is so pliable that arranging with movie theaters to put on a film of your product in the making and equipping salesmen with a reel and apparatus to demonstrate before prospective customers does not exhaust its uses.

I have unearthed a New York manufacturing concern in a large way of business who have fathomed the all-important matter of deriving the fullest value from their movie-advertising investment. They utilize their film to teach salesmanship to the employees. A large room has been rigged up as a miniature picture theater, and every week half-hourly pictorial demonstrations are given to the staff. The film depicts most thoroughly the manufacture of goods sold by the firm.

It requires no great stretch of the imagination to realize that to attempt this knowledge in the ordinary way is oftentimes a too lengthy and intricate task, but the motion picture is so competent in simplifying the essential details that, after seeing the movie several times, even the veriest novice can talk intelligently to the likely buyer on every little point in connection with the making of the goods. Such clinching arguments make it easier to effect sales, and should the prospect imagine that the salesman is attempting to convince him with a lot of hot-air talk, there remains the actual film to back up his arguments.

An engineering firm I have come across in my travels make use of their private theater to take their out-of-town customers through the manufacturing processes of their wares. They being middlemen, the information thus obtained is passed on to the dubious consumer, with invariably satisfactory results.

Practically every manufacturing firm that has adopted--or intends so doing--the film as a branch of their advertising campaign may profit by applying the plans herewith outlined to their own special circumstances.

XII.

EQUIPPING A PRIVATE MOTION-PICTURE THEATER FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES

The manufacturer who intends adopting the motion picture as his advertising offspring for all time will find it necessary to install a private theater in his office building or manufacturing plant, according to what he may decide suits him best. This miniature theater can be made to serve three useful purposes. One is to try out each new advertising film before putting it into circulation and to be on guard for defects calling for improvement. The second is to give regular demonstrations before the employees, so as to keep them up to efficiency pitch. Thirdly, it is always available for giving shows for the edification of prospective customers.

The authorities throughout the country are getting exceedingly strict anent the showing and storing of films, so the room selected for the purpose should be made as fireproof as possible, for films are mighty inflammable.

Although no actual case has come before my notice, it might be interesting to compare the example presented by the wealthy homes in Cincinnati. There are private motion-picture theaters there owned by the well-to-do. Both architects and fire insurance men view the innovation in the light that no ordinary fire insurance policy holds good under such circumstances. Were there a fire to result, the fire insurance company having a claim on the same would fight the case out in the courts to be immune from compensation.

The danger from fire, however, is considerably lessened if the proper precautions are taken. But, after you have equipped your private theater, it is best to call in your fire insurance agent to investigate and discover what his company’s action will be in the matter.

A miniature projecting machine will suit you just as well as one of the standard machines, which cost three times as much and consume more current. The only difference is that the standard machines are larger and have a longer throw on a bigger screen. But your theater will necessarily be a miniature one, and this makes it ideal for a small projector focused on a medium-sized screen at a close distance. The cost of the average miniature projector--there are several makes on the market--is $100. Apart from lessening the danger from fire, such a machine can be easily connected with the electric-light current at present available.

There is a dandy film booth listed in the catalog of a large motion-picture accessory concern for $50. It is portable and made of steel, the size being four feet wide, five feet long and seven feet high. Only twenty minutes is occupied in erecting it or pulling down. This, of course, need only be done when the floor space is required for some other purpose when the theater is not required. Inside the booth the operator can manipulate the machine with perfect safety, for if the film was to catch fire, the blaze would be confined to the booth and the operator could quench the flames quickly with a fire-extinguisher.

The screen that gives the best results and is used in the majority of motion-picture theaters is that known as the “Mirroroide.” There are several grades, but the best is a medium silver white. These screens are guaranteed for five years against deterioration, peeling or cracking.

The size of your screen will depend upon how your room is situated. I should not advise a too small one, for it is desirable to display all the selling points in as advantageous a way as you can. I therefore advocate a screen of not less than four feet by three feet. The material for same costs $3.25 per square yard.

You will, of course, have to make provision for seating accommodation, and it is optional whether you purchase some special theater chairs or use those you have already in use.

A competent operator will expect from $20 to $25 per week salary, but as you will only need the services of one for part time, I suggest that you have one of your mechanical staff act in that capacity when his services are needed.

The steel vault or safe is the best storing-place for films when not in use.

XIII.

INTRODUCING COMPETITIONS IN AD. MOTION PICTURES

The one element in motion-picture advertising films I have found lacking is enterprise. I do not mean to say that this is the case of the pictures themselves, but in the principle of the whole proposition. Compare the printed matter gotten out by the big advertisers. What do you discover? Why, numerous devices to attract readers. A photographic firm offers several hundred dollars in prizes for the best photographs taken with their camera. A food manufacturer wants to know of new receipts for his standard line, so he pays liberally for such suggestions. Another food concern will give an attractive present for a certain number of labels taken from the packages of their goods. These are but a few examples of what, in my mind, constitute enterprise.

All this attracts the interest of the public and acts as a direct booster for the goods thus brought into prominence, but just because you can obtain the attention of motion-picture audiences with little effort, that is no reason why you should let ENTERPRISE go by the board. Your constant aim should be to go one better than your competitors and, at the same time, arouse the most sluggard to action. There is a certain glamor about an article being offered free and money to be had for a little effort, and the opportunity to strike out along new lines at the movie theater is awaiting your prompt attention. No advertiser has attempted what I am going to propose. Neither would you attempt what you have done before through the press and dealers for the simple fact that this new publicity medium possesses a technique of its own. This, you can see, necessitates a different proposition altogether.

One way of gauging the precise lines you should pursue is by keeping track of what the ordinary motion-picture producing concerns are doing. This is why I advise frequent visits to the theaters, in which you can combine pleasure with business. If these producers have experienced the fact that enterprise pays, after long and diligent study of what the fickle public wants, it only goes to bear out my assertion that users of motion-picture advertising should emulate their example.

It also carries much weight in establishing friendly relations with the exhibitor, for the average one is no great lover of advertising films unless offered a fee, and even then his enthusiasm is of the watery kind. But, however, if offered a photoplay of the nature which forms the basis of this article, gratis, he knows that the joint boosting of him and the advertiser is a sure tonic for a full house. He, therefore, may be relied upon not to let the chance go begging and have it snapped up by his rival a few blocks away.

The $10,000 offered for the solving of “The Million Dollar Mystery” film serial caused a furore throughout the country. Briefly, the plan was this: Through the installments, each getting more complicated than its predecessor, a million dollars disappears, and the thief and his hiding-place can not be located, although spectators are led to suspect certain characters and places. The mystery is only known to those higher up, the correct solution capturing the big money prize. The extra installment, which was put out after the judging was finished, informed competitors whether they were successful or not. Now, can not you detect the possibilities of the idea? Supposing somebody hides something in your advertised goods and you have all the action revolve around that situation.

The Universal Company recently experienced great difficulty in selecting an appropriate name for a certain feature film drama, so they released it devoid of a title and launched an advertising campaign announcing their intention of paying $50 for the one accepted.