LET YOUR BUSES ADVERTISE YOUR SERVICE.
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How Poster Cards May be Utilized to Bring Before the Public the Various Advantages of Motorbus Travel,
pOSTER cards have become a great factor as an advertising medium wherever people ride.. They are a common sight in railway compartments, trams and motorbuses. Astute merchants with something to sell long ago realized the value of advertising their wares in public conveyances. Motorbus operators also have something to sell— transportation. They have something to gain—public • goodwill, trust and patronage. If transportation is to be sold successfully the strictest laws of salesmanship must be observed continually. If the bus operator wishes to continue to reap the profits to be gained by the efficient operation of buses he must sell his goods in exactly the same way as any other merchant. Merchandising is based on satisfaction and service and, so far as the bus operator is concerned, it consists in the provisionof comfortable equipment, courteous and safe drivers and efficient and dependable services.
There are several ways whereby a bus operator may do this : by advertising in local newSpapers, by distributing band bills, by displaying posters, by the use of outdoor signs, etc. Any of the accepted advertising media will serve the purpose. Of course, there are two media which are unexcelled in this connection—word of mouth (one satisfied customer can do a lot in this respect— and so can one disgruntled patron) and the bus itself. Nothing that a bus owner can do will assist the development of his business quicker and better —or damage it—than his bus. Its condition, its efficiency in operation, its dependability, its adherence to schedules, and its driver's personality all have a distinct bearing on the progress of a business.
There is, however, one other medium for attracting public notice, and that is by poster cards. If business men, with wide and varied experiences, and advertising agencies find such cards valuable in selling anything from tooth
paste to building plots, why•should they not be a good medium through which to sell transportation? Why should hot poster cards in buses be made to tell the story of the bus? People need to be told, and surely the best place to draw attention to the features of the bus and the reasons why people should ride in it is the bus itself.
There are .so many things the bus owner can tell his patrons through the medium of poster cards—all with the object of advertising the service. Poster-card messages, therefore, may be placed into several classifications and a few are given below :—Details of fares ; details of schedules ; references to special events to which the bus will make trips; arrangements for special trips and tours ; details of safety features of the bus ; comfort-producing features ; private-hire arrangements ; bus etiquette and regulations ; what to do when articles are lost, etc.
Poster cards, so far as the make-up of the card itself is concerned, may range from a plain white card to an attractive exaxmple of the printer's art. Artistic cards seem to have the advantage, although the plain cards also have their uses. Various bright colours may be used to advantage, not only to attract attention but to promote harmony in the colour scheme. Various coloured inks and type faces may be used for the same purpose.
The racks generally built in as part of the equipment in buses are meant primarily for poster cards of a revenueproducing nature. It takes time, however, to acquire sufficient advertising contracts to fill this space completely. Vacant spaces are not attractive to the eye, and that is where the poster card comes in useful.
Now as to the source of these poster cards. Any printer will readily furnish estimates as to their cost and where to get the art work done. Another possible source is the manufacturer of the bus. For instance, the International Motor Co., of New York, maker of Mack buses, gives with every bus sold a complete :•.,,et of 24 poster cards, together with steel ribs to hold them in the racks.