Marketing of the pre-war state bonds

Abstract

From among many definitions of marketing the one referring to this notion as to a process leading to identification and profitable fulfilling purchasers’ needs has been applied in this article. Before World War II the function of marketing was partially performed by advertisement of products and services. Also banks employed advertisement to support their issuance activity and marketing of three significant emissions is presented in this article. They amounted to 3.6 million bonds and were offered on the market of 9 million town residents, including 700 thousand office workers. As it came to 5 bonds per person the state issuance activity needed some substantial assistance to place the bonds on the market. In the 1930s the task was undertaken by a number of non-bank financial intermediaries. The article presents in detail 3 selected emissions and over ten private companies acting as agents placing the bonds on the market of the southern part of Polish territory: in Kraków, Grodno, or Stanisławów. The bonds offering mechanism and the instruments motivating potential clients are presented. For example clients were informed in detail and on regular bases about draws and the bonds could be paid for in low instalments. After 70 years since the described mechanisms and instruments were implemented the afterword of this article presents qualitatively different form of modern bonds marketing which puts into use issue prospectuses and announcements. Bonds have been dematerialised and are available from efficient computer distribution and by means of the popular Internet. As for collectors they must settle for gathering original securities and interesting, old advertising leaflets.