140 The Rdtl,tu BtrueBook ol (hlilornia

C. C. C, TATUTT
Vi.t Pr4ident
Nalional Assactatiah Realty Boards
Pt.titkrt cililortLkr R.4t Esk|le
Associdlion,1922
Mertb.r lrrlitariot Comrrittee Reuu!
Blre Roek
 The ReqLtruBl,ueBo6k ol CaUfornia 141

Advertisingin SellingReal Estate

Btl C, C. C. TAIUM

The Growth ol A&)erti,sing-Calilomiat in the L.od-

Hea.dlines-Cep! Art Work-Classified Ada-Newspaper
Ri.gllts- Atu) ertising i.s Suwlementua-T he Awropiation.

DVBRTISINC is indispensablein the successfulselling of r.eal

estate. Its quickeninginfluenceis a powerful salesstimulus; it
is a vital part of realty progress; and it is a mighty factor in
stabilizing the brokerage business and in raising standards of
practice.
Advertising means "pep" or gtnger; it means a crashing into re-
sistancewith characteristic Yankee snap and vim; it meam that factt
may be relayed to the public conceming the ideals and purposes of the
realtors; it means a greater knowledge of rcal property problems will
bc disseminated;and last analmost important it meansa more nearly
completeepplication of honest practices to the real estate busineas.
But in all lines of busiless it must be rememberedthat there ara
more dishonest frms and individuals among the no[-advertisers than
there are among the advertisers. The tmth of thls assertion llo mai
can deny. A shrewd advertiser is a constant advcrtiser &nd lro one
can advertise dishonestly over a long period of time. It simply crn
not be done,because"you cannotfool all the peopleall the time."

TIIE GROWTII OF ADI'EBTISINC

Advertising is tlTically an American institution. No othe! !Ia-
tion has business men who advertise like they do in the Unit€d
States; no other nation has gone ahead so rapidly cornmercially nor
has any other nation increasedits realty values so quickly.
One writer well expressedthe situation regarding real €state ad-
vertising when he said it "began as an afterthought of business and
becamea forethought." Advertising is beiug used much mote gen-
erally by real estate interests today tian ffve years ago. Before the
war there was a fair number of firms that believedin publicity, but
th€& 'pas still a large percentage that felt it .was not imperative to
adveruse.
Someten or twelve years ago a subdividerin Chicagousedfull
page newspaper advertisements and everybody gasped, Such a cus-
tom today is not unusual enough to attlact undue comment, especially
in California. The volume of real estate advertising fu increasing
ov€rthe entire United Statesand in this statewe havethe satisfaction
L42 The RaeLtU
BLueBoolrof Cat;fornin

of having our unusualreal estateactivity reflectedin the equally un_

usual quality and qua-ntityof our real estatepublicity.

CALIIIRNIA IN THE LEAD

, Wh€ther it be a sign or a slide, a double prge newspaper adver_

lisemenl or somF other form ot publiciry, Califor-niaha; ieachedan
aclvancedslage in perfecling ihat padicular phase of real estate
aovertNDrg.
From the north to the south of this second largest state in the
unron rpal estate men and women are progressiv., They have bv
vlrlue or tnetr prolpssiontruly blazeda trail for developmenlof not
onry th-ejrown businpss,bur oLherlinesot business.Onebf theif most
poweflxlalds h-csbpenpublicity.and from the starl California }ealty
rnrere,sr€.naveoepn known throughout the Union for their effectivp
use ot thrs el€ctrjcity of business."
. .Adv€nising is parti.ularly adapted to the west and q.estern
splnr. rt makesse rng more outspoken,frankpr, and it quicklv brinss
people togel,her.on any given ploposition. In this siale we taire pride
In our hospitati{y.lhe absenceof cliqu€s,factions, traditional iocial
rrnes.anct-for this leason advertising has formed a most fedile field
ror"gTowth \!rlhin thecon6nesofCalifornia. It has ffourishpdand as
a resxlt has }endered a great service in the rapidity vriih \phjch the
easl-n:rs Deenacquainled with the innumerable advantag€s of living
on the Pacific seaboard.
. Californians_ have utilized every forrn of advertisins to tell the
[rulh.about thrs state and Lhe values of il,s real property: They have
serzed.upon the newspapers ofthe nation and of t}eir own com_
tlr:y have u-lilizpd motjon pictures. signs of every descrip-
]l-ulr-t*:;
LronLo-rnpet
_lheeye. Magazines that contain a mpssageof California,
pampnrers or-every variety and size have been mailed to ail parts of
the globc and on doun the line wp find thal there has bepn no hesi_
iancy to use legilimaie publirily mcdia which could be adapted to
tne putposes.
- In a talk which the writer made before the Home Builclers and
Subd-ividersDilision of the Nationat Association at Cleveland. biiio.
rn.i_92J, the clrflerent forms of advpdising ul,ilized by Los Anceles
subdividers were enumerated, This tal[ was i uitraiea o"-lfr"
screen so t}lat the real estate men of the nation mlght
-partsee samples ;f
our reel estate publicity methods in the southern of thij state.

HEADLINES

- The excellenceof the headingsulitized by advertiserswas em-

phasized in this talk and exampleswere also shownof effectiveuseof
small spacein newspapers.Much interesl was evincedin fhe follow-
ing staternent: ;The spaceuspdby one advertisemenlwas onlv two
cofumnsby six inchesand the ads were swalloweduD jn a news;aDer
which prints more display advertising than any pairer in ttre 6oilO.
'lne headrngsand
l,ext made theselil.tle sds distinctive, furthermole
excellentresultswere obtainedwithout the useof arl work or strikinc
 I'he ReaJtuBIue Boak ol CoJilorrLin 143

borderc,but the ads appearedregulsrly and no pieceof copy\tas used

Slides were also shown of the advertising which helped in corl-
verting a barley field into a suburb of sevenor eight thowand persong
within a fve year pedod. The possibility of using the broker's per-
sonality in the advedisements was touched on and a campaign was
also described in which the peNonality of fanous historic characters
was usd, The value of difierent backgrounds,borders arld various
tlTes of appealswere mentionedas were also the advertisementsof
negativealld positive suggestion.
ANT WORK
The subdividerswere vety much interestedin the slidesshowing
art work, becauseone of the most distinctive features in Califomia
real estate advertising has been the remtrkable progress made in
utilizing drawingB which quickly imprinted the selling idea on the
mindsof the readers.
During the talk, advertisementswere shown for residential,in-
duslrial.agri.ulluraland ouiing subdivis'ons.
Examplesof newspaperadvertising, booklets,pamphlets,signs,
dodgersand similar foms of media were also thrown upon the
scr€en.
CLASSIFIED ADS

Tvo slides were devotedto classifiedads which we called "the

infantry of subdivisioDadvertising," and in this conrectiona atate-
ment was made that with four or five lines, maybe more, it is pos-
siblethrough thesesoldiersof the classifieds€ctionsto sell much real
estate,rrherever that property may be located.

NEWSPAPEBCO-OPERAAION
In Caiifonria real estatemon are particularly fortunate in having
newspapelsat.their cohmand which are public spidted and x.hich 8p
to the half way mark and often considerably beyond in promoting the
best interests of Pacific coast realtlt. These newslapersnever hes-
itate to give ample spaceto real estatenews and the larger metro-
politan papem have large sections each week devoted to t}Ie welfare
of fealty advancement.
As a result of this valuable co-operaiion from the "Fou.th Es-
tate," real estatehas boundedforward in a way that it couldnot have
goneahead had this co-operation anal assistancebeen lacking. There
fore, iD California, the opportunity constantly confronts the real es-
tate men and women of utilizing the news columns of the press as
well as the advertising columns.
NEWS INTE&ESI
Newspaper men have told the \aryiter that there is much legiti-
mate news about real estate activities always available for "stories"
if the broker is only elert to what constitutes "news," In talking to
the subdividers at Ctevelaild, the writer said "Do not forget for a
momentthat there is often real news about subdivisionactivities and
\u TheR@)tABlue Bookot'@,lilor.nb,

with proper_procedure on your pall, it is always possibleto Cet the

ear -of a \Mrde-awake reporler. In this way il, is possiblel,o tell the
publlc through the news columnswithout any additional cost exceDt
taat and frankness,certain new developments about your subdivisi6n
operations." T'his suggestionwas also madeaL the sametime: ..Or
there.is anofter angle in which publicity rnay be given. lmportant
quesnonsrnvot\,'lngreal estate ofl,en alise. Do not hesifate,where
you have_thestrength of your convictions,to preparea*icles'for the
pressand sigr them in the newspapeN. It ivill- hurt neither your
suoolt'lsronaclr\,-ltlesnor your standing as a uselul citizen in lhe
community."
SIGNS

_ Pe6onally, I have always been most enthusiasticabout the use

ol s-rgna.-ln Lhe state of Caiifor.nia.owing !o our well known cli_
matrc.conctrlrons,motoring has reacheda stage of developmentlitde
expenenceal ekewhere. While the automobilewhizzesbv real oror:_
erty at a rapid speediL is nevertheless possiUlew;ttr targe,rreit p'iac6a
car€ruly wofdect.alg]tsto altracl lhe eyeand fash a story to the mind
oI me peoptetn tne automobile.
..A.large pa:l of our popula{ionis found in molor cars every day,
so rnar rne lrarlc on every slreel and every lhoroughlareof any con-
sequencegraranteea.thal the signs will be observedby a large per_
ceNag€ol the motor:rngpublic.
Our real $tate frms have made a clos€ study of different trade
marks and othpr attention getting devices.They havealso lookedinto
the.questioD.-ofcolors exlensively. Tte average]eal estate man in
Ualrlo_mla wrll most enthusiaslically tell you his own lheofies resard_
ing whlch color can be sepnthe farthest with i,he best effecl_
I4 some parts of the state tlere las been ma.rked sentirnent
against real $tate signs and rodat iI the others in my o1i,rcitv are
willing to fakpdownthe signs.I \aouldquicklvacquiesce and enthusi-
astically support the movement. There is no doubt that with the
rapid progressof real{y devolopmenb in California the siqn aclivitv
haa grown.into ax evil jn many placesand lhe large numbir of sigrx
on vacant lots often give rhe visitor Lhe lvrong impression reqa-rd-
ing real estatebusinessas it is practicedin our state. Nevertheless
signs have done their share as f&r as an effective stimulus of real
estateactivities is concemed,a facl which T believeis recosnizedbv
tlose who are most aclivF in the movementto eliminrl,etlem.

TRADEMAN,KS

In connectionwith the subjectof signs,mentiod shouldbe inade

of the trade mark, This brings up the sobjectot copyright iaw. Many
desigls calculatedlo atiract attentionhav-ebeendeviied-byreal esrat"e
men in this state.Thpreare a numberof firms wh ich usesucha trade_
mark or deviceon l,Ieir letterheads,on their businesscards and in
thetr other-iorms.oLactvertrsrng, so-that the publicin tjme gels to
Knowlnrs rum and assocratelne trademark with that particular con_
 The ReatrtuBtr1Le
Boak of C(LlifonLia L45

COPYRICHTS

In relation to the copyright law it is interestingto note that "a

meredeviceto attlact the attention which is usedin different pieces
of copyand wlich is in effecta mark of idertification,is in a doubtful
position,"so fax as protection by copyright is concerned. If it has
artistic merit, it might be admissible,but if the copydght protection
is to be valid, it cannottheleafter be varied, but must alwaysbe pre-
sentedin the exactform it took whenpresentedfor copydght,accord-
ing to one authority.

ADWRTISING IS SUPPLF)MENTARY
In connection with the subject of advertising in selling real estate
onepoint should be made especially clear; i. e., advertising is part of
selling. It is not separate in any way. It is a segment of the selling
circle. Adverlising in real estate is not a substitute for peNonal sell-
ing. It is supplementary, distinctly an aid and as was stated in the
beginning, a stimulus for selling.

THE APP&OPRIAAION

Th€ questionhas doubtlessbeenrecurring in your minds regard-

ing the cost of adve*ising real estate. "How much shouldI spend?"
"Don't you have to add on to the p ce of your lots to cover the cost
of advertising?" and like queries are prcbably uppermostin your
ihoughtsat this moment.
The well known and provedprincipleof advertisingthat properly
conducted expioitationreally lessensthq costto the purchaserbecaus€
it hastensthe rapidity of tumover to the seller in such a way as to
increasethe volumeof his businessand give }lim the sameprofrt with
less outlay in the end, is to my nind bome out by Los Angeles
expe ence. I believeif the books of all the real estatefirms in LoS
Angelesin the lsst year who beloDgto the Board were examinedthe
speedof the saleswould revealthe fact that a lower rnargin of profit
wis requiredbecauseof the stimulationprovidedby leg:itimateadver-
tiSing.
AdvertisiDgin sellingreal prcperty must be do e intelligenttyand
consistently-a procedurewlich necessitates muc}l time, energy,con-
centrationand counselas well as monel.raccordingto the experience of
successflrlCalifomia real estateffrms.
No two individualsnor any two firms have conditionsconfr-onting
themexactlyalike, eveniD the samecity. But thele are certain poiDts
from the experieDce of successfulreal estatebrokersin their advertis-
ing $'hich can be seizedto advartageby the averageconcern,whether.
they are locatedin SanDiegoor Eureka.