HAMILTON COUNTY OHIO - BUSINESS: History of Stockton, West, Burkhart, Inc.
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September 11, 1999
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                        The History of
                   Stockton West Burkhart, Inc.
               Advertising Agency - Cincinnati, Ohio
                   written by C. Thomas Martin 1982


The Cincinnati Gas Electric Company -  Eric Stockton had just finished a 
series of Editorial Format ads, refuting political claims that C.G.E. should 
be municipally owned.  The success of these ads was demonstrated at the 
polls.  The public ownership idea failed. 

With this group of accounts, there was plenty to do and the creative load 
fell on Stockton's shoulders.  He engaged Thomas Martin to produce layouts 
and art from his own studio on a free-lance basis.  Martin had been doing the 
artwork for Drano and Windex advertisements for Stockton when he was at Jones 
and they worked well together.
 
For Mechanical Production, Stockton hired a young production manager from J. 
Walter Thompson in Chicago. 

West was Stockton's right-hand copy man, especially with radio copy.  So for 
the time being, the art, copy and production departments were under control. 

Burkhart developed the marketing plans in addition to client contact and 
internal management.  For assistance in contact, Charles H. Butler was hired. 
 Butler, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati was working in the 
Advertising department of Procter and Gamble.  (After several years he left 
SWB and joined U.S. Shoe.  He became Vice President and later a Director). 

For assistance in Research, John Burgoyne was hired to help with statistical 
and media analysis. (He left SWB after a few years to start his own Research 
Co.). 

Jane Distler was "Lady Friday" for all.  In addition to being Bookkeeper, she 
was General Office Manager, Payroll Clerk and Traffic Manager.  Additional 
people were soon hired to assist her. 

As the business grew, more and more work was free-lanced out to Martin.  His 
studio was only a block away but it was not the ideal arrangement for either 
one.  Martin was servicing other clients and SWB was requiring almost all of 
his time.  SWB, gaining momentum, offered Martin the position of Art Director 
with the prospect of being a Division Head.  The entrepreneurial concept with 
its percentage method of remuneration appealed to him.  He closed his studio 
and joined the agency in August, 1937.  Soon after, he hired Robert W. 
Helmich as his assistant. 




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