A New Brand of Business : Charles Coolidge Parlin, Curtis Publishing Company, and the Origins of Market Research

Charles Coolidge Parlin was considered by many to be the founder of market research. Working for the dominant Curtis Publishing Company, he revolutionized the industry by providing added value to advertisers through information about the racial, ethnic, and regional biases of readers and consumers. By maintaining contact with both businesses and customers, Parlin and Curtis publications were able to turn consumer wants into corporate profits. In A New Brand of Business, Douglas Ward provides an intriguing business history that explains how and why Curtis developed its market research division. He reveals the evolution and impact of Parlin’s work, which understood how readers and advertisers in the emerging consumer economy looked at magazines and advertisements. Ward also examines the cultural and social reasons for the development and use of market research—particularly in regard to Curtis’ readership of upper-income elites. The result weaves the stories of Parlin and Curtis into the changes taking place in American business and advertising in the early twentieth century. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction......Page 12 1 A New Era of Business......Page 27 2 An Unlikely Leader......Page 51 3 What Was Commercial Research?......Page 69 4 Winning over the Skeptics......Page 87 5 Barbarians, Farmers, and Consumers......Page 102 6 Readers as Consumers......Page 126 7 Chasing the Consumer, Protecting the Company......Page 152 8 The Legacy of Commercial Research......Page 179 Epilogue......Page 194 Notes......Page 196 Index......Page 232 Temple University Press Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 12 1 A New Era of Business 27 2 An Unlikely Leader 51 3 What Was Commercial Research? 69 4 Winning over the Skeptics 87 5 Barbarians, Farmers, and Consumers 102 6 Readers as Consumers 126 7 Chasing the Consumer, Protecting the Company 152 8 The Legacy of Commercial Research 179 Epilogue 194 Notes 196 Index 232 1439900159,9781439900154 A New Era Of Business -- An Unlikely Leader -- What Was Commercial Research? -- Winning Over The Skeptics -- Barbarians, Farmers, And Consumers -- Readers As Consumers -- Chasing The Consumer, Protecting The Company -- The Legacy Of Commercial Research. Douglas B. Ward. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A new era of business An unlikely leader What was commercial research? Winning over the skeptics Barbarians, farmers, and consumers Readers as consumers Chasing the consumer, protecting itself The legacy of commercial research. A New Brand of Business( Charles Coolidge Parlin Curtis Publishing Company and the Origins of Market Research) Hardcover DouglasB.Ward TempleUniversityPress How a dominant magazine publisher developed the business of market research