VICTA - the 1955 Year - Part Five This part discusses a particular type of Victa factory advertising peculiar to 1955-56. There is evidence that Victa tailor-made factory ads to introduce a few new dealers in late 1955, and for the 1956 season. These ads are uncommon and disappear after 1956.
They make sense - in that Victa would have been keen to get its dealer network up and rolling - and reward particular performing dealers, as factory sales decreased. I guess these were trophy dealers with an established record.
I have found a few examples of this type, but not too many. Given that Victa's roll-out of a dealer network took place this year, I think that factory sponsored ads would have a limited life-span. Advertising would become an agent's obligation ... not a factory one.
Also note that Victa's call for agents (dealerships) was always based on a confidence in the product. Factory Ads from the earliest calls for agencies (in March, 1955) proclaimed that the Rotomo was a "self-selling line".
I do not think Victa struggled with sign-ups. I guess it was more of a controlled lottery of applicants. To make money as a Victa agent, in those days, was a sure bet ... if a dealer knew and believed in this "amazing" lawnmower, it was money in the bank!
Yes, Victa's dealer network occurred at a rapid rate, and was certainly inter-state in 1955: with sign-ups in NSW, VIC and the ACT. In 1955, Victa was a juggernaut.
I will conclude this section with a clear statement: The vast majority of 1955 advertising came from the new dealer network, not factory initiated advertisements...
Here are a couple of examples of this second type of factory advertisement ... one from NSW - Gilbert & Roach from Parramatta; and from Scott's Hardware, from Kingston and Yarralumla, in the ACT!
