(^56) T H E M I N D O F TH E BUYE R
W e do no t disrega rd th e fa c t th a t a n in
dividual may b el ong to m ore th an o ne p ublic.
H e m ay a t th e sam e tim e b e a re ade r o f th e
N ew Y ork Times, th e N ew R epublic, th e
Congr ega tiona list, a n d th e Commercia l and
F ina ncia l Chr onicl e; i n which fac t i s in
volve d no an om aly o r myst e ri ous spli tting o f
p ersonality. I t me an s simply th a t wh en on e
rea ds t h e Times h e i s en te rtaining i dea s th a t
a re being sh a red with a c e rtai n numbe r o f
oth er p eopl e ; a nd wh e n h e read s the Co n
gr ega tion a list h e is en te rtainin g m en tal ten
an t s iden tic al wi th t h ose in th e minds of
a n oth e r group of p e opl e.
S al es a n d a dve rti sin g-manage rs freque n tly
c ompl ai n about th e m ultiplicity of m e di um s
which th ey m us t u se i n c a rrying thei r mes
sa ge to th e buying p ublic. Th ey rega rd i t a s
a misfort une. As a m a tte r of fa c t, such m ul ti
pl icity i s a n a dvan ta ge ; i t simplifie s th e t a sk
o f t h e a dve rtise r. Th e re i s no t simply o ne
i nfi ni tel y l a rge “ b uying public,” o ut o f which
a seller m ay win a few custome rs. Th ere a re
m any “ b uying p ublic s. ” N o t all o f th em
ca re fo r eve ry comm odity, o r eve ry typ e of
a ce rtai n c om modi ty. F ortunately th ey a re
sift e d o ut an d a re group ed, with referenc e
to ta ste s, ab o ut c e rtain p erio dic al s. The
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