Advertising Pianos, Music And Musical Instruments

( Originally Published 1902 )

To simply quote prices with slight details of the articles advertised, is far from enough. Competition is so keen, appreciation of music so high and advertising so good that pianos advertised today must be detailed in their fullest—with every appreciation of their merits. The tone and character of the instrument must be dwelt upon. The excellence and elegance of its workmanship must be talked up. If the name of the manufacturer is a famous one, so much the better for the advertising.

Newspapers and magazines are more than ever used in advertising pianos and musical instruments. The cash method and the installment plan are both liberally advertised. The arguments employed in the advertising may be briefly summed up thus;

First-The importance of music in a home.

Second-The importance of securing only standard instruments, viz.: instruments from well-known manufacturers, instruments that delight the ear with exquisite music, instruments that please the eye with a first-class appearance, and instruments that represent good values for the prices asked.

Very few, if any, great musicians pass through this life without expressing themselves, on paper, as to the merits of certain instruments. Which expressions receive much advertising. And they are worth it.

A piano represents quite an investment to the average home, and the investment is rarely consummated until the merits of many instruments are thoroughly discussed by every member of the family. If a celebrated pianist says that a certain piano is remarkable for "its tone superiority," his opinion is sure to influence many minds.

The manufacturer of pianos, should be a good national advertiser in order to keep the name of his products in the public mind. His advertising will greatly assist the retail advertising done by his agents and such retailers as handle his pianos.

Agents and retailers should be constant users of space in their local papers. These spaces should be filled with bright, logical talks as to the superior merits of the goods offered. Almost every department store has a department given to pianos and musical goods, which department receives much consideration from the advertising manager.

Booklets and circular letters-the high-grade kinds, of course -should be used in abundance. The writer with a knowledge of music, or the musician with a knowledge of writing, will find the preparation of such advertising literature very pleasant work.

When musical instruments are sold on the instalment plan, they should be liberally advertised in popular papers. Papers that appeal to the rich miss the mark, for this class is not interested in the instalment plan of buying anything. The great argumment to use in such advertising is the fact that a small sum, week after week, or month after month, is hardly felt by the family exchequer, while the result presently is the ownership of a desirable musical instrument.