Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1912 — HOW ADVERTISING SAVED A COLLEGE [ARTICLE]

HOW ADVERTISING SAVED A COLLEGE

By HERBERT H. SMITH.

There Is no good reason why a man cannot be “persuaded hy advertising to join a church or donate SI,OOO to a college as well as to buy a mattress with a peculiar name or a fountain pen with a particular crook. It was left for a small institution on the prairies of South Dakota —Huron college of Huron—to make a conspicuous success of college advertising aimed at the people with money rather than children, In an effort to obtain sufficient endowment to enable it to continue its efforts to educate the youth of the frontier state. The goal was an endowment fund of $500,000 to be raised before a certain date in order to secure large contingent gifts, and President C. H. FVench ascribes much of the success of the campaign to the advertising of the college. Before the advertising began President French had good “distribution,’' to use the terms of merchandising. He and his college were known to the members of the Presbyterian church over the country. The school is attached to that denomination, although as is usual with the small western colleges. young people of all denominations attended. President FVench, who was his own agency and advertising man, was also provided wjth supplemental advertising to that done in periodicals and had follow-up in the shape of a college bulletin which went to a large list of friends of the college.. Because the college could appeal to but a limited class the advertising was confined to two church papers, the Continent and the New York Observer. The copy was changed each week. There wms behind the college a history replete with the sacrifices of students and professors so that there were human Interest tales in abundance on which to hang an ad. The college had been running $20,000 a year behind in its expenses. This money had to be raised by the presi- ’ dent on begging expeditions. The trustees determined to end that and set after an endowment. The general educational board and J. J. Hill helped with large gifts contingent on raising the rest —so much in South Dakota and the rest elsewhere. Used House Organ, Too. Although South Dakota has had two years of" poor crops, work was commenced on the members of the Presbyterian church in that state. They, were sent copies of the Bulletin, the “house organ,” In which a history of the college was printed, together with current news about the progress of the endowment campaign. Each week |hese same families received the quarter-page ads. of the college in. their church paper, pounding home the message that Huron college would die unless the money were found. The ads. were rather unique in their breaking away from ordinary religious paper advertising. One was as fol- ; lows: "A birthday dollar.” A little girl almost six years old overheard her mother and father talking aboutthe danger that Huron college might die if It did not get endowment. “ ‘What, that College die ?’ she cried. *We can’t let It do that, can we, mother? I will give the dollar that grandpa Is going to send me for my birthday.’ ” The dollar came and its simple story won many other dollars. A small hoy who gave two cents got a big “head” In the advertisement of the college soon after. All of the advertisements were of the same simple sort. The record of the college in regard to home and foreign missions and men and women who had gone from the college to work in those fields was “reason why” copy that the college should he supported with sufficient endowment. Each ad. carried a statement of the amount of money raised and that needed by the time the limit expired. The space was usually a quarter-page with plenty of white showing to make it stand out. "November 11 Huron college loses $130,000” was the headline of one of the ads. announcing the necessity ofi raising the endowment in time to savei the contingent pledges. The money was raised on the lasti night of the period amid the usual accompaniment of college approval of a thing well done. President French! expects that the number of studentswill be largely increased through the publicity the college has received, although no effort was directed toward! that end in this movement.