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and assignments is kept in a book especially made and provided for that purpose, termed a "Policy Register," a copy of which is shown as Fig

ure 283.

Figure 288 completes the list of forms used in the issuance of policies of title insurance, and the last thing now to be considered is the worth and value of title insurance as a means of security and protection to the party guaranteed under the contract with the company, which contract may be defined to be an agreement whereby the insurer, for a valuable. consideration, agrees to indemnify the insured in a specified amount against loss through defects of title to real estate wherein the latter has an interest, either as owner or otherwise, and against liens and incumbrances charging the same, there being, however, no implied agreement on the company's part to go beyond the conditions of the title existing at the time the policy is issued or to assume a general liability to indemnify against future liens or incumbrances.

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The form and method of such protection is governed by the law of the state where the land is located, the title to which is guaranteed.

In some localities, before a company can issue its policies, it must deposit with the proper state officials sufficient collateral to guarantee and protect the policy holders against loss which they may sustain in the nonperformance of the company's contracts of title insurance with them.

The deposit required for such protection, as above, may consist of gold coin, United States bonds, state securities, stocks, first mortgage loans on real estate and other approved securities, the amount and nature of which are regulated entirely by state legislation.

In addition to this, further protection is afforded by the capital stock and assets of the company.

With this kind of assurance a policy holder may feel fully protected in his investment or guarantee..

CONT

CHAPTER XIII.

METHODS OF INCREASING BUSINESS.

ONTRARY to the conditions a few years ago, a consideration of methods of increasing the business of a bank or of a trust company at once suggests the subject of advertising. The dignity of the profession no longer forbids advertising, although success in such advertising still demands dignity.

The successful trust companies of to-day advertise. Their advertisements are not the formal and unattractive cards of former years, nor are they of the cheap and flaring style of the circus poster. Advertising, in the ordinary signification of the word, is of course not the only means used by progressive companies for increasing their business, but it is now firmly established as one of the important means. The change in attitude regarding the expediency of trust company or bank advertising has come in part through the necessity imposed by keen competition, in part through a more intelligent consideration of the ethics of the bank advertising question. It has come, too, as part of a general progress in the art of advertising. Without question the people read advertisements far more than formerly. Partly as a cause and partly as a result of this, present day advertisements are more readable. The importance of the advertising column or page has increased, and its quality has improved.

REASONS WHY A TRUST COMPANY SHOULD ADVertise.

The reasons for advertising on the part of a trust company are more numerous and more forceful than those for advertisements on the part of a bank. Aside from the fact that competition makes it, in most localities, fairly a necessity if the company wishes to grow, there are the facts that the trust company has a much wider scope and more features to advertise than has the bank, and that the trust company is still a new institution, whose functions are little understood by the people at large. Comparatively few, indeed, understand exactly what a bank can do for its customers; and fewer still what services a trust company can render. In the education of the public as to the extent and the variety of the trust company's functions, there is virgin soil for cultivation by the advertiser.

There is also a fruitful field for the advertising trust company in the seeking of deposits from people who have never had bank accounts. Nearly everybody has at least a little money, but less than a majority of the people have money on deposit.

of.

It follows that some of the advertising of the trust company must be of the "educational" kind; i. e., must be devoted to explaining what a trust company is, and how it can be used, and to inculcating habits of -saving and thrift among the people. The results of such advertising will help the business of other companies as well as that of the advertiser.

Short-sighted, however, would be a policy of refraining entirely from such publicity because of this fact. In the end its effect upon the business of the advertiser, as well as upon the business in general, must be beneficial. The recently formed "Banking Publicity Association" is doing a good work in seeking to distribute the burden of this educational advertising.

The economic effects of this form of publicity by banks and trust companies are of more than passing interest. The principles of economy, thrift, self-denial, abstinence from extravagance are instilled into the minds of the people. In this respect, financial institutions are doing for the present generation what Benjamin Franklin did for his. The evil effects of get-rich-quick and other fake schemes are in part counteracted. Money hidden away in the traditional stocking is brought into circulation and use, thereby increasing the available capital of the general public. The field for robbery and exploitation is narrowed.

DIRECT OR INDIVIDUAL ADVERTISING.

General writers on the subject of advertising divide it into two classes --general advertising and direct advertising. The former is designed to create a demand for the product; the latter, to make sales direct from the advertiser to the consumer. In financial publicity the corresponding classes are educational and individual advertising. Both are intended to increase the business of the advertiser, but it is evident that the latter will, under favorable conditions, produce this result the more directly. However, it is an art which requires skill and tact. Its expediency is no longer questioned by the majority of bank and trust company officials; yet it is a kind of advertising which must be conducted along lines somewhat more conservative than are proper for other kinds of business. It need not and should not be unattractive and lifeless; but it must not be in any way cheap or sensational. In the minds of some of the people there doubtless lingers some question regarding the propriety of a bank advertising for business. A too strenuous bid for deposits may easily suggest that the company is badly in need of funds, and so tear down rather than build up the business. Above all, trust company advertising must be thoroughly honest and straightforward.

MANAGEMENT OF ADVERTISING.

The larger companies maintain an advertising department, in charge of a man specially qualified for the work, and with a corps of stenographers or other assistants. The man in charge is given various titles by different companies—Advertising Manager, Manager of Publicity, Advertising Agent. He should have not only natural qualifications for the work, but also a special training; for advertising is a science the mastery of whose principles and details requires careful study. The advertising manager must understand human nature, possess common sense, be a master of good plain English and have the knack of stating things in clear, concise, attractive and convincing manner. A practical training in bank or trust company work is desirable, and in any event he must thor

oughly understand the essential points of the trust company business. He should have a working knowledge of the printer's art, know something of type faces and sizes, of engraving processes, of electrotyping, of qualities and prices of papers, understand the principles of display, know how to read and correct proof, and be familiar with mediums of advertising.

Sometimes the advertising manager acts also as Auditor or as Purchasing Agent. Frequently in smaller companies one of the regular officers is detailed for this work as a part of his duties. In any case, the work should be in charge of one man who makes it his business to attend to it. If left to be looked after by any one of the officers who may happen to think of it, as is the practice in some companies, the inevitable result is advertising of a spasmodic and ineffective kind.

In small companies, having but one active officer, the advertising will of course be one of the many duties of that officer, but a duty which he must attend to systematically if his institution is to grow.

The records of the advertising department are simple, and few in number, but should be devised and kept with care. Samples should be kept of all advertising matter issued, scrap-books being provided for advertisements appearing in periodicals, follow-up letters, etc., and files for circulars, booklets and novelties. A diary or journal should be kept, showing what advertising matter is sent to persons on the advertising lists, and when sent, and recording any matters about which it may in the future be essential to have exact information. A record of results of advertising campaigns is desirable, and to this record the other departments of the company will need to contribute lists of new accounts, new trusts, new safe deposits renters, etc., traceable to advertising. The department needs a Tickler, cards being most convenient for the purpose.

The advertising lists are kept on cards, of which two forms are shown in Figures 284 and 285, the cards being arranged alphabetically in cases or drawers of cabinets. It is usually desirable to have separate lists of different classes of people, and this may of course be done by having the cards for each list filed in a separate case. Often also it is best to have separate lists of the "prospects" of each department. The division into classes may still be maintained when all the cards are filed together alphabetically, either by using different colored cards for the different classes, or by using tabs at the tops of the cards, as shown in Figure 284,-all the tabs being cut off each card except the one wanted. A more elaborate classification may be obtained by a combination of the two methods, using cards with tabs, printed in different colors. The filing of all the cards in one list is a protection against duplication of names, which should be carefully avoided.

In Figure 284, the consecutive numbers at the bottom of the card refer to the advertising matter sent to the person named on the card, the scrap-books or diaries showing what was included, for instance, in advertising matter number 5. When the matter is mailed, either a checkmark or the date is inserted in the little square which shows the corre

sponding number. The provision for 94 numbers on the card does not mean that so many advertisements are apt to be sent to each "prospect"; but a given person may receive Nos. 2, 5, 7, etc. Space is left at the right of the card for a record of letters sent to or received from the "prospect", and additional memoranda may be made on the back of the card. Figure 285 is self-explanatory. The record on the lower half of the card is continued on the back. The size of the cards is 3x5 inches. The preparation of mailing lists is a laborious and important part of the work, and should be handled with great care to select the names judiciously, to have the names and addresses correct, and to recognize the cards of those who become customers or whose mail is not delivered. The sources from which the lists may be compiled include lists of members of clubs, societies, organizations, churches, women's clubs, mercan

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tile agency registers, city and telephone directories, voters' lists, lists of teachers, policemen, firemen, attorneys, business houses, permanent residents of hotels and apartment houses, post office and rural free delivery lists when obtainable, acquaintances of directors, officers and employees, persons who answer advertisements. One company when starting business in New York city employed men to go through the city directory and compile selected lists of names. Special or temporary lists of various kinds are made up from time to time as occasion arises.

PLANNING AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.

The best results are obtained by carefully planning in advance the main features of the advertising campaign for the year. A definite sum should be available for the purpose, but should not be exhausted by the plans made at the start--a sufficient amount being left for emergencies.

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