INDIVIDUALITY IN COLOUR SCHEMES.
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The Writer Suggests that Motor Agents Should Persuade Each Customer to Adopt an Exclusive Colour Scheme for His Business.
. By Vim."
MUCH HAS already been written on the subject of the advertisement value of motor vehicles, but not .enough. The last word Will have been said onlx when every van and lorry seen. en the road is obviously 'doing its utmost to advertisey the firm. to whom it belongs, besides transporting their goods. Some little progress in this direction has been noticeable of late; but we have a very long way to go before we shall be able to say that' perfection in publicity is being obtained from motor commercial vehicles.
Yo-uing men who are studying for the profession of publicity expert might do worse than devote some of their thoughts to developing the advertisenient value of vans and lorries. I think that as timer goes on. there will be an increasing demand for the. services of men who can put forward original ideas for bodywork, colour schemes for bodies, and styles of writing. This demand will come both from manufacturers and froni agents, and although only in exceptienal cases will a manufacturer or an agent be in. the position to employ the whole time of an expert, there is no reason why he should not set. up in business for himself and .serve a number of firms, in much the same way as advertising experts do now. In my -Conception of the functions of the motor agent, he stands as advisor to those who bring their custom to him. I de not mean that he should dictate. what his .eustorners should buy, or should do with what they have bought, but, that it is his duty , to safeguard their..intereSt in every possible way, par ticularly by :-showing them . how_ to run' their mator transport s.a as to make it pay. a.• dividend,' 13.efore he can do this, 16 Must equip himrself• with more knowledge than hiseustonders have;' which statement also applies to his salesmen, of course. • Therefore; -no" Motor agent: :can afford. to ignore the -importance Of :making e-very van -or.lorry be supplies, a real advertisement for the .business for which it .is-to' be used.% nes& who sell :coinniereial cars simply must study this "side of the motor transport question; or they will find thernselves falling behind
in the race fortrade .• 1 ."'
Apart from specially designed bodies, of .whieh many examples have_ been illustrated in The Commereial Motor, and -from "animated. signs' for vans; arid lorries, which are certain to becoine immensely popular very soon, there . is" the matter . of. colour schemes.. Mnch, too, has been written on this subject.,but I-hardly think that it has received even yet the , attention it merits. TOO often 'is the actual 'arrangement of the selected Colours left to the painter. The ,man 'whO on • the lettering. is toe, often allowed te use his own .diSeretion as to style. " And, worsCof all, theie is too •strOng a; Clinging to-colour scheme adopted during the era of the horse by users who have switched over to motor transport.
In the days before the motor transport, trade vehicles had only a very limited " circulation," so
it did not then matter greatly that the colours of One firm were closely similar to these of 'another-firm:in a more or less distant toWn.-. Nowadays, the greatlyextended circulation of every tradesman's .car has rendered it imperative that more originality. should displayed in colour schemes; so as to create that individuality. which. is essential_ to successful adver
tising. , • .
. • In_ late years. the-power, of the mind, to remember colours' has 'come to be re.eognised in business. Colours are being used in officesystems,. and have proved most valuable aids to memory. Every businessconcern should adept " house -colours " Of its own, which should. be used on every possible occasion so that in due course the public may automatically associate the coneern 'with its colours. Some. of the big owners of fleets, and a good many coach proprietors, already follow this principle but as a rule the little local draper, greengrocer, butcher and baker, are not -making, the slightest attempt to take advantage of this method of advertising themselves. The agents from whom they buy their meter vans should strive to make such tradesmen see that they are deliberately throwing away money by having their vehicles painted any old colour that happens to take their fancy.
To be effective, a colour scheme must be striking. The colours must be contrasts; but they must be artistic contrasts, not eyesores. They must also form a recognisable design—checks and' stripes are examples which will at once,' occur to. the reader, although an. infinite variety of patterns is possible— and that design 'should be incorporated in some way in the firai'.s -note and hill-headings, .printed on: its paper bags:and cardboard paokages, stencilled on its woodeneases, forma, background for its price tickets, and, in fine, be flaunted for all it is worth; and the more it, is. flaunted, the more will-it be worth.
Next to the 'colours and pattern comes the writing. One Of the first aims of an advertising expert is to .find for an advertiser a distinctive style of type, and to ern:play it for all that advertiser's announcements, se that eventually the public will associate the style of tYpe with the actVertiser. A small tradesnian has just as much ;reason to choose a distinctive style of lettering for his business name ; and if hewill do this and Use, it for all .,purposes -connected . with advertising his concern, he will soon ,reap his reward.
_HoW to get the utmost advertising value out of a 'meter vehiele is a fascinating problem, and I offer no excuse for hating dealt withinagain. We agents can 'learn a great deal by " swopping " -views, and I do feel that by developing this side of motor transport Ave are forging a weapon with which we shall be to Wrest more goods traffic from the railways. The railways may yet counter attack by cutting their rates, but whatever they do in this direction they cannot offer anythin,g in exchange for, the advertising that our road vehicles give.