Fig. 20. Record of Street Car Contract and Net Costs
STREET CAR ADVERTISING
Street car advertising is of a general publicity nature. It is intended, not to secure direct orders, but to influence sales by keeping the name of a commodity before the public. It is local in its effects, influencing sales only in the cities in which the cards are used.
Street car advertising is now controlled by a small number of agencies, who own the space in the cars in the different cities throughout the country. Through one of these agencies, contracts can be made for space in street cars in any city in the country.
The rate for street car advertising is based primarily on population, the circulation consisting of the number of passengers carried. When the advertiser buys space, he pays for having his card appear in a specified number of cars, for a stated period. As a rule, the rate is for monthly periods, with special discounts on yearly contracts, and cards are changed each month. On certain contracts the agency will include extra service, without additional cost, by running cards in a number of extra cars, which are put on during the rush hours.
If desired, the agency will design the copy and print the cards, making an additional charge for the service. Many street car advertisers prefer, however, to furnish their own cards. This is probably the better plan for advertisers who maintain efficient copy departments.
Although this book is not intended to teach the technical details of the art of preparing copy, it may not be out of place to suggest that copy for street car cards is in a class by itself. Experienced advertisers have found that to use wordy arguments on a street car card is a mistake. The card must catch the eye, for it is expected to arrest the attention but a moment at best. A picture that tells the story at a glance, large type, and plenty of color seem to meet with most favor.
The special records required for street car advertising are simple, consisting of records of contracts. A form for such a record is shown in Fig. 19. This can be on a card or loose leaf. The form is headed with the name of the city and instructions for shipping. Below the heading, is a monthly record of the copy No., subject of the ad, size of cards, and other necessary data including the gross and net cost. On the reverse, Fig. 20, is a detailed record of the contract, and a record of total costs. These sheets are filed in a binder or in a card tray, indexed by cities.