The Listowel Banner offered cash prizes in a 1928 subscription contest that generated a lot of local interest

As the new year begins, many people in Stratford and around Perth County will begin to set new goals. In early 1928, staff at the Listowel Banner newspaper did the same as they launched an initiative to attract additional subscribers. Their subscription contest was introduced in the Feb. 2 issue, which dedicated two full pages to the announcement. The front page highlighted the $700 in cash prizes that would be awarded to three lucky winners and listed the rules of campaign. According to the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator, $700 in 1928 is equivalent to approximately $12,570 today.

In the article, the Banner expanded on the purpose of the contest, stating “the direct results to The Banner accruing from new subscriptions will be spread out over a period of a few years, but the indirect result in friends and subscribers through the campaign will continue much longer.” Such competitions were not an uncommon way for local papers to increase readership and popularity at the time.

The second........

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