Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!Holbrook.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA From: Holbrook.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA Newsgroups: net.micro Subject: Re: Byte reader service cards Message-ID: <16525@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-Feb-84 18:25:06 EST Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.16525 Posted: Tue Feb 7 18:25:06 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Feb-84 06:45:12 EST Lines: 19 I once worked for a company that specifically requested that Byte run it's ads WITHOUT the little reader service number. Seems that when they had the number in the ad, they would get hundreds of addresses of people. They would spend the time stuffing the envelopes and spend the postage to mail out the info, and would only get a few queries in response to their info. Their theory was that many people would send in the card every month, circling any numbers for any ads that looked even halfway interesting. Of course, they really had no intention of buying - they just wanted the literature. They had the same problem at trade shows - if they put the brochures right out front, they would run out very quickly because many people pick up all the literature they could get. Of course, if you came up and asked some questions, they would be happy to give you a brochure. Of course, one way to interpret the lack of response is that their product wasn't interesting after all .... Paul Holbrook