Masonry Magazine October 1971 Page. 5
IMI Launches International Advertising Campaign
The International Masonry Institute has kicked off its initial advertising campaign to tell masonry's story throughout the United States and Canada to businessmen, architects, engineers, and other building professionals who influence construction decisions.
Focusing on the comparative costs of masonry walls, the campaign, which is international in scope, offers the "Walls to Save Dollars" booklet published by IMI. The booklet details both the initial and ultimate cost advantages of masonry construction.
"Comparative cost was selected as the subject of our first major promotional effort throughout North America because it is one of our best selling points and because it is the advantage least understood by the building industry," says Donald R. Bidwell, IMI chairman. "On top of our cost advantage, the permanent beauty of masonry is thrown in free of charge."
Full-page advertisements offering the booklet are appearing during October in Architectural Record, Architecture Canada, Buildings, House & Home, Professional Builder, and Progressive Architecture. The ads will also appear in Business Week, Fortune, Buildings, and Progressive Architecture in November. The eight magazines have a total circulation of some 1.5 million businessmen and building professionals.
"Walls to Save Dollars" is based upon a new comparative cost study conducted by the Structural Clay Products Institute in cooperation with the Research Department of the Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union.
This detailed study, made by SCPI's professional engineers, will be sent to those responding to the IMI advertisements along with the National Concrete Masonry Association's analysis of the ultimate cost of concrete block walls in multi-family housing.
These booklets demonstrate to the architect, engineer, businessman and public official that the permanent quality of masonry comes through in economy-that masonry walls do cost less initially and over the life of a building. "These booklets tell our cost story the way it should be told, and they show what our industry can do when all segments of it work together," IMI Chairman Bidwell says.
"Walls to Save Dollars" compares the cost of four comparable walls of different materials: Masonry cavity; precast concrete panel; metal panel, and double plate glass. It shows that the initial cost per square foot of the precast concrete walls is 24 per cent more than for masonry, the metal panel 29 per cent more.