“Repetition makes reputation, and reputation makes customers”
“Repetition makes reputation, and reputation makes customers” is a saying that has been printed on many images. “It’s repetition that makes reputation in the coal business” was printed in The Evening Record and Bergen County Herald (Hackensack, NJ) on November 19, 1910, and similar coal ads appeared in other newspapers. It’s not known who originated the saying.
“Repetition makes reputation” became a popular advertising saying. Instead of the repetition of reliable service (as in the coal ads), advertising used it to mean that repeated ads can create a reputation. American newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane (1864-1936) was credited with the saying by at least 1915.
Women’s Wear Daily (New York, NY) printed on June 27, 1939:
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“‘Repetition Makes Reputation.’—In her talk before the Advertising Federation (of America—ed.), Elizabeth Arden, president of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., said that ‘reputation in advertising made for success.’ ‘Yes,’ Miss Arden said, “repetition does make reputation, and reputation makes customers.’”
“Repetition makes reputation, and reputation makes customers” became a catchphrase of Canadian American cosmetics businesswoman Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham, 1878-1966).
Wikipedia: Arthur Brisbane
Arthur Brisbane (December 12, 1864 – December 25, 1936) was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century as well as a real estate investor. He was also a speech writer, orator, and public relations professional who coached many famous businesspeople of his time in the field of public relations, particularly Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller.
Wikipedia: Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham (December 31, 1878 – October 18, 1966), who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929 she owned 150 upscale salons across the United States and Europe. Her 1000 products were found in the luxury market in 22 countries. She was the sole owner, and at the peak of her career she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.
12 November 1910, The Evening Record and Bergen County Herald (Hackensack, NJ), pg. 3, col. 6 ad:
IT’S REPETITION THAT MAKES REPUTATION IN THE COAL BUSINESS.
(C. F. Huyler.—ed.)
19 November 1910, Norwich (CT)
, pg. 16, col. 3 ad:
COAL
IT’S REPETITION THAT MAKES REPUTATION IN THE COAL BUSINESS.
(E. Chappell Co.—ed.)
12 December 1911, Helena (MT) Daily Independent, pg. 8, col. 4 ad:
Repetition Makes Reputation
Good Coal and Good Service continuously for years has given us a reputation that can be grown in no other way.
(Benson, Carpenter & Company.—ed.)
7 November 1913, Every Evening (Wilmington, DE), pg. 2, col. 4 ad:
Some Philosopher once said “Repetition makes Reputation.”
(James H. Wright Co. Clothing and Furnishings.—ed.)
27 March 1914, Coos Bay Times (Marshfield, OR), pg. 1, col. 5:
In advertising, “repetition makes reputation.” better use small space persistently than a large space occasionally.
Chronicling America
13 October 1914, Harrisburg (PA) Telegraph, pg. 7, col. 3:
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
In business it may mean a fortune. Repetition makes reputation. Therefore it is essential that the name of your establishment stands out prominent with the merchandise you have for sale. An attractive name plate not only serves to embellish your advertisement but it makes the name stand out in decided contrast from the sameness of type in the group of advertisements around yours. Sketches submitted on request, or engravings made from your own drawings. Telegraph Printing Company.
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December 1915, Indiana University Bulletin: Proceedings of the Indiana Newspaper Conference, pg. 46:
In a prominent place each advertisement was displayed a design that had been selected to attract attention to the town itself, following up the idea expressed by Brisbane, the editor of the Hearst publications, when he said, “Repetition makes reputation.” To my mind three words that spell more than any three that I know of: repetition makes reputation. The whole sum and substance of human endeavor today, you might say, are to be found in those three words. Repetition makes reputation, over and over and over again.
(Spoken by A. W. McKeand, McKeand Service Company, Indianapolis, IN.—ed.)
16 February 1918, Dodge City (KS) Journal, “The Land of Desire” (editorial), pg. 2, col. 1:
As a matter of fact, Arthur Brisbane never uttered a greater truism than is found in his philosophy: “Repetition makes reputation.”
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May 1919, The National Druggist (St. Louis, MO), pg. 210, col. 1:
REPETITION MAKES REPUTATION.
BY W. W. FIGGIS.
I SUBMIT that the constant repetition of any fixed course of procedure establishes a reputation which is calculated either to inspire confidence or create suspicion.
16 June 1939, Women’s Wear Daily (New York, NY), “Ad Federation Will Hear Walter Hoving,” pg. 27, col. 3:
Walter Hoving, president of Lord & Taylor, will address the Wednesday afternoon session of the 35th annual convention of the Advertising Federation of America, at the Waldorf-Astoria, being held from June 18-22.
The session will also feature speeches by Elizabeth Arden on “Repetition Makes Reputation” ...
27 June 1939, Women’s Wear Daily (New York, NY), “Latest Retail Selling Slants: Publicity and Prosperity,” pg. 6, col. 3:
“Repetition Makes Reputation.”—In her talk before the Advertising Federation (of America—ed.), Elizabeth Arden, president of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., said that “reputation in advertising made for success.” “Yes,” Miss Arden said, “repetition does make reputation, and reputation makes customers.”
Miss Arden emphasized the value of continuity in advertising: “It is my firm belief that the chief essential of selling beauty, as in selling anything else, is the repetition of certain fundamentals,” she said.
In good advertising, she continued, not only should there be a certain continuity of character but the message should appear over and over again in the same chosen places.
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Printers’ Ink
Volume 241
1952
Pg. 39:
“Repetition makes reputation,” said Bernard Gimbel of the world-famous retail organization.
26 February 1977, Daily Journal (Franklin-Greenwood, IN), “Selling of a giveway” by Ronald Reagan, pg. 2, col. 4:
The State Department spokesman will give them again and again (about giving the Panama Canal to Panama—ed.), keeping in mind that old advertising maxim, “Repetition makes reputation.”
24 July 2007, Journal Record (Oklahoma City, OK), “MGT given Oklahoma prison audit contract based on reputation” by Janice Francis-Smith, pg. 1:
Fashion designer Elizabeth Arden was once quoted as saying, “Repetition makes reputation, and reputation makes customers.” The reputation of consulting firm MGT of America Inc. appears to have made a customer out of the state of Oklahoma.
Google Books
Games, Strategies and Decision Making
By Joseph Harrington
New York, NY: Macmillan
2009
Pg. 448:
As Elizabeth Arden said, “Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers.”
Google Books
Reputation, Stock Price, and You:
Why the Market Rewards Some Companies and Punishes Others
By Dr. Nir Kossovsky
Apress
2012
Pg. 30:
Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers. —Elizabeth Arden
20 July 2016, New York (NY) Times, “Lipstick Shades of Rivalry for Two Cosmetics Titans (theater review—ed.)” by Ben Brantley, pg. C1:
CHICAGO—For a musical that covers so many years—and so many shades of lipstick—“War Paint” never really seems to move forward. This portrait of battling cosmetic titans, which opened on Monday at the Goodman Theater here starring a deliciously paired Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, doesn’t just show its whole hand from the get-go; it does so as eagerly as a debutante with a fabulous new manicure.
(...)
It will take them and two-and-a-half more hours of similarly symmetrical scenes, usually played in direct, crosscutting counterpoint, to confess their bond to each other. (The show’s rhythms can be boiled down to: They’re totally different! No, they’re totally alike!) The production seems to have taken to heart one of Arden’s marketing mantras to her sales staff: “Remember girls! Repetition makes reputation.”
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Mitch Carson
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’‘Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers.’’ - Florence Nightingale Graham #Marketing #Success #Startup
10:01 AM - 2 May 2019