Charles Coolidge Parlin
Encyclopedia
Charles Coolidge Parlin was the "manager of the division of commercial research of the Curtis Publishing Company
" that was in charge of selling more advertising spots in the Saturday Evening Post. He is credited as being the founder and a "pioneer" in the area of market research
.
, but the owner of the company, Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
, had little knowledge about agriculture. Since much of the advertising in the Country Gentleman magazine was bought out by the agriculture market, Parlin began researching agriculture in general. After six months of interviews with a number of people in the industry, he completed a 460-page survey that "revealed unsuspected facts about where agricultural tools were made, to whom they were sold, when, and where."
After this, Parlin started a study on "the market for almost everything in the nation's one hundred largest cities". This was followed by him conducting 1,121 interviews across the nation and compiling all of this information together in order to find conclusions about the workings of the national market. His "pioneer report", Department Store Lines, was released in 1912 and it focused on the distinctions between convenience goods and shopping goods and how the marketer should focus on selling primarily shopping goods in order to obtain the highest profits.
In 1914, Parlin released a five-page study titled Automobiles. It focused on the future of the automobile age and "collected facts on manufacturing and distribution, on the influence of women on automobile purchase". The study predicted correctly that the number of grades and makes would be reduced in the future and it "envisaged the dimensions and even the shape of the automobile market." This information resulted in an increase in advertising by automobile manufacturers, in order to obtain customers faster than their competitors in the expanding market for automobiles.
Because of Parlin's effect on the commercial market, competition began arising in other companies, with the creation of Departments of Commercial Research at companies such as United States Rubber Company
in 1915 and Swift and Company in 1916. Foreseeing a need for "standardized definitions and common measures" after the release of Parlin's studies, the Audit Bureau of Circulations was formed in 1914 in order to help make this sort of regulation.
During the 1920s, Parlin went on to found the "first commercial research company" with Donald M. Hobart, backed by the Curtis Publishing Company, called National Analysts
. Parlin retired from the company in 1938 and was succeeded by Hobart.
Curtis Publishing Company
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, The American Home,...
" that was in charge of selling more advertising spots in the Saturday Evening Post. He is credited as being the founder and a "pioneer" in the area of market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...
.
Career
Before joining the Curtis Publishing Company, Parlin acted as a schoolteacher in the state of Wisconsin. In 1911, he was hired onto the company in a job that had no clearly defined title, as it hadn't existed previously. Parlin came up with the name "commercial research" for his work, which would later end up being changed to market research. The company had just bought out the magazine Country GentlemanCountry Gentleman
Country Gentleman was an agricultural magazine founded in 1831 in Rochester, NY by Luther Tucker. The magazine was purchased by Curtis Publishing Company in 1911. Curtis redirected the magazine to address the business side of farming, which was largely ignored by the agricultural magazines of the...
, but the owner of the company, Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post.-Biography:...
, had little knowledge about agriculture. Since much of the advertising in the Country Gentleman magazine was bought out by the agriculture market, Parlin began researching agriculture in general. After six months of interviews with a number of people in the industry, he completed a 460-page survey that "revealed unsuspected facts about where agricultural tools were made, to whom they were sold, when, and where."
After this, Parlin started a study on "the market for almost everything in the nation's one hundred largest cities". This was followed by him conducting 1,121 interviews across the nation and compiling all of this information together in order to find conclusions about the workings of the national market. His "pioneer report", Department Store Lines, was released in 1912 and it focused on the distinctions between convenience goods and shopping goods and how the marketer should focus on selling primarily shopping goods in order to obtain the highest profits.
In 1914, Parlin released a five-page study titled Automobiles. It focused on the future of the automobile age and "collected facts on manufacturing and distribution, on the influence of women on automobile purchase". The study predicted correctly that the number of grades and makes would be reduced in the future and it "envisaged the dimensions and even the shape of the automobile market." This information resulted in an increase in advertising by automobile manufacturers, in order to obtain customers faster than their competitors in the expanding market for automobiles.
Because of Parlin's effect on the commercial market, competition began arising in other companies, with the creation of Departments of Commercial Research at companies such as United States Rubber Company
United States Rubber Company
The United States Rubber Company was founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and became Uniroyal Inc...
in 1915 and Swift and Company in 1916. Foreseeing a need for "standardized definitions and common measures" after the release of Parlin's studies, the Audit Bureau of Circulations was formed in 1914 in order to help make this sort of regulation.
During the 1920s, Parlin went on to found the "first commercial research company" with Donald M. Hobart, backed by the Curtis Publishing Company, called National Analysts
National Analysts
National Analysts, also called National Analysts Worldwide, is an American marketing research company that originally worked as a division of the Curtis Publishing Company. It was founded by Charles Coolidge Parlin in 1911. Donald M...
. Parlin retired from the company in 1938 and was succeeded by Hobart.