Not even the most successful business man makes good in every enterprise he undertakes. That is an impossibility, especially in these competitive times, but, if certain rules are observed, success can be achieved in the majority of cases.
The photoplay theater is a comparatively new advertising medium. You may have tried it out and failed, while your competitor, for some reason you are unable to fathom, has won out. The mistake too often made is to treat the motion-picture show as a new thing—a kind of scientific toy—but as a popular form of amusement it has long discarded its long pants. The photoplay, as a matter of fact, has settled down to enjoy a long and flourishing career, with strict adherence to business principles.
You do not find the modern exhibitor housed in a converted store, where he presents the crudest of films under the most vile conditions. He would soon find himself a bankrupt if he continued these pioneer-day methods.
Maybe you have developed a similar misunderstanding, so it is well that we have a heart-to-heart talk.
It is a serious mistake to have a slide thrown upon the screen of the least desirable theater in your neighborhood. You make matters a thousand times worse if you allow it to be shown at every performance for months, until it gets cracked, dirty and faded, all in turn.
To begin with, the folks whom you are addressing must be carefully considered. They step inside the photoplay theater to be entertained with attractive films, though this is not to say that advertising in connection with same is entirely out of place. Some theaters run a performance through without a stop, while others, mostly the nickeldromes, introduce an intermission during the change of each reel.
The former shows are continuous like the latter, so that the one intermission is not intended to clear the house to make room for another audience. In reality, it is to give the orchestra a rest and allow time for other things, not the least important of which is the projecting of a batch of slides. Some of these relate to forthcoming attractions of the theater, and the remainder comprise advertisements for live local traders.
Audiences appreciate these slides when they do not number too many, as they are the means of affording them something to turn their attention to instead of having nothing to do but idly gaze around the hall.
Motion pictures appeal to the eyes, consequently spectators pay much more attention to slides which contain clever illustrations, preferably humorous, backed up with apt sentences.
On the market are stock slides from thirty-five cents and up. Space is left for your name and address, and most of the needs of your trade are taken care of. New designs are constantly being put out, which make it possible to change slides as often as once weekly. We all grow tired of seeing the same thing over too many times, so if you fail to introduce fresh pictorial announcements you are liable to lose the respect of spectators. Once a week is an ideal interval, but in no case should it exceed a month.
There are really no standard rates for slide advertising. Each exhibitor has his own ideas in regard to the value of the location and size of his theater.
The one great pull the photoplay theater has over other publicity mediums is that you obtain one hundred per cent. of attention, for folks, in the darkened hall, must concentrate upon the screen.