Silverware to Advertise?
The Seymour Manufacturing Company Is Advertising Silvore, Despite the Fact That It Reaches Public Only After Fabrication
By James Henle
Some time ago Printers' Ink Monthly told how the International Silver Co. found a new selling point for sterling silver, by emphasizing the fact, of which a large percentage of the public has been ignorant, that sterling silver is solid silver.
Now comes The Seymour Manufacturing Company, maker of Silvore, to perform an equally necessary service for the plated article, a subject on which popular ignorance has been every bit as profound. German silver, Liberty silver, nickel silver–these trade names have been all too imperfectly understood even by dealers, and to the general public they have conveyed little of their real meaning.
In addition, the Seymour company, which is advertising its base metal, Silvore, is pointing out the merits of plated ware made with a base of high nickel content as distinct from one which is composed chiefly of cheaper metals.
The interesting feature of this advertising is that Silvore itself is not sold to the public and reaches the consumer only after it has been fabricated into various articles by other manufacturers and sold by them to dealers who in turn distribute to the public. By its new policy, however, the Seymour concern is not merely creating a demand for its product among manufacturers who do not now employ it, but is also protecting its present customers who must meet the competition of firms employing a cheaper grade of metal as a base for their plated ware.
"Most of the stress in silver plate publicity and selling has been laid upon the wearing quality of the plate and the artistry of design which adds distinction to the ware itself," says a four-page folder sent to manufacturers. "The manufacturer who uses Seymour Silvore may now exploit the base metal from which his ware is made, thus emphasizing a third and more permanent value. "In advertising Silvore it is our aim to impress upon potential purchasers of silver plated ware the basic differences in the metal values. A new sales asset, this, which we believe will be eagerly seized and skilfully capitalized by those manufacturers who maintain leadership through progressiveness."
Before embarking upon its present advertising campaign the Seymour company investigated the experiences of other concerns, such as the American Rolling Mills Company, manufacturer of Armco, making a basic product which has been advertised in spite of the fact that it is not sold directly to consumers. In practically every instance it was learned that such consumer advertising not only stimulated a demand for the product but enabled the advertiser to obtain a more favorable price for it than his competitors were receiving for their heterogeneous, unstandardized, unadvertised products. Once the consumer demand was created, an additional selling point was given to manufacturers using the advertised product, and this more than compensated them for the slightly higher price they might have to pay.
One of the first moves, accordingly, that the Seymour concern made was to standardize its product. Seymour nickel silver was anything but new to the trade; it has been used for years by manufacturers of plated ware. But to give a definite meaning to the brand name, Silvore, it was decided to guarantee that this contains a minimum of 10 per cent of nickel, which means that the ware will always be silvery white in appearance, and will never take on a brassy or leaden hue. Only the finest Lake Superior copper and the best quality spelter is used in making Silvore, and the copper content is never less than 69 per cent.
In a folder sent to retail dealers the significance of these facts and of the trade-mark adopted, a rising sun containing the letter S, is stressed. The folder says in part:
How will it wear? How long will it look well? These questions are in the mind of every potential purchaser of silver-plated ware. Often a sale is lost because the customer, with false impressions formed by the cheaper grades of silver-plated ware, is in doubt as to how long any plated ware will retain the appearance of the precious metal.
We know, as you know and the manufacturers know, that any article of silver-plated ware, built on a Silvore base, is dependable–immensely superior to one in which the metal base contains a relatively small percentage of nickel or one of which the base is a softer alloy.
And yet this fine, big sales argument never could be used in retail selling, simply because the buying public has had only a vague, and often erroneous, idea of the metal from which silver-plated ware was made.
We are advertising Silvore direct to your customers. Now we are telling them what that metal is–what you know and we know and what the manufacturer knows about the superiority of the base metal which we are now advertising under its registered mark.
We are telling them what a beautiful metal Silvore is; how it might easily be mistaken for silver itself, because of its similar weight, texture and appearance; how a piece of silver-plated ware, of which the base is Silvore, will wear indefinitely and always retain its original form and silvery white appearance. And all your customers who have seen this advertising will realize, when told that a piece of silver-plated ware is made on a Silvore base, that there can be no doubt as to the lasting beauty and durability of the article; that it represents special value, sure to give permanent satisfaction.
Take advantage of this opportunity! Sell brands of ware that are plated on Silvore. Say "Silvore"! And to those of your customers who have not yet learned about it, explain just what Silvore means in a piece of silverplated ware.
This is a real selling argument.
To date the consumer advertising campaign is of very modest dimensions. The only medium employed is a weekly of national circulation in which full pages and half pages are being used. Different copy, of course, is appearing in trade publications. However, Seymour advertising is only in its infancy, and so far only one use for Silvore–as a base for silverplated ware–has been emphasized. There are many other ways in which the Seymour product can be employed–in high-grade hardware, soda fountain metal, ice cream machinery, plumbing fixtures, etc.–and each of these fields will be systematically exploited in turn.
The consumer advertising features the permanence of Silvore and the advertisements are given such headings as "Why the Beauty of Silvore Endures" and "The Beauty of Silvore Never Fades." At the same time the copy points out the metal's beauty of color and fineness of texture, as well as its extreme durability, resistance to corrosion and economy. The advertisements, in line with the policy of emphasizing the extreme care that goes into the manufacture of Silvore, show various technical processes through which the metal goes.
The tradepaper advertising is similar to the folders sent to manufacturers and dealers. It reminds the trade of the high grade already established for Seymour nickel silver, describes the new guarantee under which it will be sold and expounds the value of this fact as a selling point. The consumer advertising campaign is fully described.
Some of the tradepaper advertising links Silvore with the other products of the Seymour concern– phosphor bronze, cupro nickel, rolled nickel anodes, cast nickel anodes, brass, etc.
It is the intention to tie up the advertising with the sales by licensing manufacturers of plated ware who use Silvore to stamp their goods with the Silvore trade-mark. In fact, several prominent manufacturers have already applied for permission to use the trade-mark, but this has been withheld, owing to objections which have been raised to the name "Silvore" as being too much like silver. For, despite the fact that the advertising of the Seymour concern is in the highest degree educational and that this advertising frankly states Silvore is a substitute for silver, sterling silver manufacturers and others have objected to the name Silvore as misleading.
It is thought by the company, however, that the real value of the campaign has not been fully understood and that, as it progresses further and its educational character becomes definitely established, there will be general agreement that it is conferring a positive benefit upon the jewelry and allied trades.
Trev.
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