"Let a dam burst, and the swirling waters go loose, and there is great urgency for warning and helping doomed men. But this urgency is infinitesimal compared with the commission of the evangelist to advertise his message. Says Isaiah : "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet." Isa. 58:1. And we read in Revelation: "Another angel . . . [came] down from heaven. . . . He cried mightily with a strong voice." Rev. 18;1.
Here is authority to advertise and herald our message with all the resources at our disposal. And what resources must we summon to advertise vociferously enough to satisfy the prophecy? How much of my budget should I invest? What principles will yield success? What media should I use? As to how much of his budget the evangelist should invest in publicity, I would say, spend every available dollar of the budget on advertising, usually 40 to 50 percent of the the conference allocation. That is to say, use the total cash which can be summoned after having paid for the hall and other incidental accessories.
Yet money should not be spent rashly. Like the king of our Lord's parable, let the evangelist sit down and count the cost before the battle commences. He should allocate separate amounts of money for the opening night, for the remainder of the meetings in the large hall, and for the follow-up work in the secondary hall. While so calculating, he should bear in mind the relative cost and productiveness of various local media. A wise publicist plans the proposed nature of several weeks' advertising and its cost even before the hall is booked. It is possible that Providence may choose to be kind even where there has been unpremeditated or impulsive disposal of money. But who would not agree that Providence will positively double the blessings upon a planned canipaign?
What principles of advertising will yield success to the evangelist? An answer to .this question is found in observing a. roadsweeper, for example. His eyes are on the road. A poster strikes his eye, he stops work, he reads, he resumes work, he meditates upon it, he tells his wife about it at lunchtime, and they both attend the service on the Sunday evening. This poster brought success for three reasons: (I) It attracted, nay, it demanded attention; (2) it took root in the mind and was remembered; (3) it spurred the reader to action. These three principles are found in all successful announcements.
Attention is always attracted by color, as all who have seen a black and yellow stripe can testify, nor will such colors fail to be remembered. Contrast in good layout assists color in-arresting attention. The spur to action depends on the interest aroused by the topic for discussion, and the ideal response to a placard is, "That sounds interesting; I must attend."
Let it be said, then, that he who combines color, contrast, and interest in his advertisements will attract attention, awaken memory, and compel action. He will be a successful advertiser.
What media should the evangelist use? Readers of THE MINISTRY would agree that the essential investments are usually made in newspaper space, printing posters, and handbills. To these well-tested methods of arresting attention may be added certain accessory methods —window cards, the sandwich-board man, the linen banner over the street, the screen announcement at the local cinema, the spot announcement over the radio, and the amplifying speaker on one's own automobile. It goes without saying that the minister who can collaborate with the Voice and Prophecy plan, and who can arrange for a large number of personal invitations, will add to the effectiveness of his publicity and his audience-getting ability.
"It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom," said the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, and she returned to her land, marveling. Let the evangelist not disappoint his first audience, for they will return home to speak of what they have heard. There is no better publicity than that given by a satisfied audience.
There are several evils that a young evangelist should avoid in advertising. The cheap photograph and the inferior block (cut) are too suggestive of an inferior cause, to be indulged in; and a handbill with no picture is better than one with a picture, if that picture is not first grade. What evangelist has not met a local' printer who is willing to cut prices to secure his order, but whose type is a generation out of date, and whose knowledge of artistic layout is lamentably conspicuous by its absence? Better it is to pay a higher price and obtain first-class work from a firm well in the fore in the printing world.
Beware of being an envelope scribbler. No compositor will take pains to set up a good layout when the order is not sent in with draftsmanship skill. When an evangelist cannot be troubled to design his announcement, why should the compositor do so? Not least is the injunction to advertise the message and not the man. He who styles hit: itself as "widely traveled," and as a "renowned lecturer" will only advertise his own barrenness eventually. Our message is great, and our God is great. Let us reserve our epithets of credit for these.
Ellen G. White reminds us of the most important feature of publicity work. Here is a quotation from Gospel Workers:
"There is necessity, it is true, for expending money judiciously in advertising the meetings, and in carrying forward the work solidly. Yet the strength of every worker will be found to lie, not in these outward agencies, but in trustful dependence upon God, in earnest prayer to Him for help, in obedience to His word. Much more prayer . . . is to be brought into the Lord's work. Outward show and extravagant outlay of means will not accomplish the work to be done."—Page 346.
