POINT OF SALE
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Political Commentary By JANUS
viANY features of the road haulage industry are unusual, not to say unique. In particular, the great variety of road haulage undertakings makes it fficult for the outsider to visualize the industry as a whole
the same way, for example, as he thinks of grocers or ,o le_ iron and steel industry. This peculiarity of road iulage has two completely different effects upon the opIe engaged in it. Some take a pride in the diversity the work they and .their fellows are called upon to do. thers feel uneasily that there is something wrong with ieir industry. Their aim is to conform, to be as much possible like everybody, else.
The urge to emulate what was being done in other alustries was especially strong in the period before the st general election, perhaps because hauliers at that time ad more than one reason for feeling isolated, and would ave been only too happy to sink their identities in the f.neral herd. They felt that, because other industries ireatened by the Socialists decided to run a national Press dvertising campaign, they must do the same. It was a uestion of keeping up with the iron and steel companies.
Any Effect?
Money collected from members bythe Road Haulage ,sSoCiation was .spent on a well-conducted camPaign, but tere must be considerable doubt as to whether it had any ffect. For ftiture reference, it would be. worth while Karnining why this should be so. One reason may well be iat the campaign did not give the public a clearly defined rid Complete picture Of an industry wishing to put its asei –The -announcements had to appear over the name f the.R..H..A., an organization now tolerably well known yen to the general public but not sufficiently identified y them with a specific commercial or industrial activity. 'he advertisements issued on behalf of the iron and steel tdustry Could aPplY to any individual firm in that industry, ut 'very few hauliers. could have felt that their own ctivities we being portfayed in their own campaign.
In spite of this, there is still a demand within the R.H.A. Jr a new advertising -campaign, and probably the only bstacle . to launching one is the lack of money. Funds /mild evidently have to come from members, probably in le form of an extra subscription, but there are many auliers who would be more than willing to pay. It is 11 the more important for them to be clear in their minds bout the best way of spending the money.
The political reason for advertising has receded almost put of sight The sole external impetus at present comes rom the sustained and heavy advertising by the British Transport Commission, and especially by British Road :ervices. Hauliers are prone to allow this consideration D influence them too much. Some of them at least seem o be easy victims of a private fantasy wherein they open heir daily paper one morning and find spread before them a a few graphic touches the quintessence of their industry. :ley go on to imagine that the same revelation will he akirtg place at a million other breakfast tables.
Hauliers find it hard to understand that the kind of .ampaign that suits B.R.S. may not be right as far as they .re concerned, The public who can grasp quite easily what 3.R.S. are trying to say do not see road haulage in the ame clear light, any more than they would appreciate who vas making all the fuss if it ever happened that an advertisng campaign were launched on behalf of C licence holders. t is significant that C licence holders, who have never been tempted by the fantasy that troubles. sonic hauliers, have also never taken beyond the talking stage any proposal that they should promote their cause wiih massive national
advertising. . .
The inclination of hauliers to keep up with.the nationalized competitors at every point is not sound. It means allowing the other side to choose the weapons and the battlefield, and it means concentrating the fight at the point where the hauliers are definitely weaker. This is known as the point of sale in the world of advertising and marketing.
One advantage hauliers can hardly deny, to B.R.S. Because they are a single organization operating on a national scale, they are more easily able to build up in the public mind an image that remains the same whatever activities a particular advertisement. may illustrate and in
whatever part of the country. it appears. Basically, the B.R.S. announcements are selling transport, and they make it plain where the customer can go and buy. Whether he is subsequently satisfied with his put-Chase is another story altogether.
Hauliers using the same medium of advertising cannot present the same quality of image nor provide the customer with such straightforward instructions. The .best that can usually be done is to suggest an approach in the first instance to one of the area offices of the R.H.A. Excellent advice will be given there, but there is still a further step to be taken before the trader actually meets a haulier.
Any suggestion that the customer might be directed towards a clearing house would not be popular with hauliers who would be paying for the .announcernents in which the suggestion appeared. Objections might also be made if the advertising were too SuccesSful in, that it attracted too many inquiries even to the R.H.A. Most members dislike the idea that their association should be concerned to any extent with trading. •
The fact that there are snags in a national campaign should not lead hauliers to suppose that there is 'no need at all for Press advertising or for other.. forms' of public relations. They would see things more clearly if they got out of the habit of looking to other industries for a reliable example. Their aim should be a-. campaign that is less concerned with creating a national image. than with illustrating the diversity that is one of theirgreat advantages.
Number of Campaigns
The best plan might be to have a• number of small campaigns, some regional and some functional, with a common thread and 'identity. Preferably there would be a national master plan, but there would be wide variations in each area and in each group. Less simple than the usual type of campaign, such a plan. should cost a good deal less money in that it makes little use of the expensive national Press and more use at moderate cost of the local and the trade and specialized Press.
It still might not be .possible, without publishing long lists of names. and addresses, to direct the customer to the actual point of sale, but he should be able to get a good deal nearer than before. The advertisement designed for the kind of publication he is likely to read would offer not merely general facilities but just those special facilities that he requires. He would thus have brought home to him the strong point of road haulage—the personal and specialized service—that would be lost in the kind of massive advertising appropriate to, for example, the railways.