| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xiv, 391 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm. |
| Series |
William F. Cody series on the history and culture of the American West ; volume 5 |
|
William F. Cody series on the history and culture of the American West ; v. 5.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Author's note -- Burying a legend -- The big tent of P.T. Barnum and Tody Hamilton -- Boom or boost : promoting the West -- The hero Cody and the mythmaker Burke -- The news maker, Moses P. Handy -- Birth and growth of the wild west -- Evolution of a marketing virtuoso -- The battle for the World's Fair -- The department of publicity and promotion -- 1893 -- Denouement -- Legacies -- Epilogue. |
| Summary |
The average American today is bombarded with as many as 5,000 advertisements a day. The sophisticated and persuasive marketing tactics that companies use may seem a recent phenomenon, but Pioneers of Promotion tells a different story. In this lively narrative, business history writer Joe Dobrow traces the origins of modern American marketing to the late nineteenth century when three charismatic individuals launched an industry that defines our national culture. Transporting readers back to a dramatic time in the late 1800s, Dobrow spotlights a trio of men who reshaped our image of the West and earned national fame: John M. Burke of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Tody Hamilton of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Moses P. Handy of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Drawing on scores of original source materials, Dobrow brings to light the surprisingly sophisticated techniques of these Gilded Age press agents. Using mostly newspapers--plus a good deal of moxie, emotional suasion, iconic imagery, and to be sure, alcohol--Burke, Hamilton, and Handy each devised ways to promote celebrities, attract huge crowds, and generate massive news coverage. As a result, a plainsman named William F. Cody became more famous than the president of the United States, a traveling circus turned into the Greatest Show on Earth, and a world's fair attracted more than 27 million visitors. Tapping his practitioner's knowledge of marketing and promotion, Dobrow reintroduces readers to Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show, P. T. Barnum and his circus, and the greatest of all world's fairs. Surprisingly, the promotional geniuses who engineered these enterprises do not appear in history books alongside other marketing and advertising legends such as Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays, or David Ogilvy. Pioneers of Promotion at long last gives these founders of American marketing their due.--Publisher website. |
| Subject |
Burke, John M., -1917.
|
|
Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891.
|
|
Handy, Moses P. (Moses Purnell), 1847-1898.
|
|
Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891. (OCoLC)fst00051018
|
|
Marketing -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
|
|
Handy, Moses P. (Moses Purnell), 1847-1898. (OCoLC)fst01572702
|
|
Advertising -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
|
|
Advertising. (OCoLC)fst00797511
|
|
Marketing. (OCoLC)fst01010167
|
|
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
|
| Chronological Term |
1800-1899
|
| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
| ISBN |
9780806160108 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
|
0806160101 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
|
