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March, 1998 |
  
"Generic" Toll Free Numbers Have a Long Dialing Life |
TELEPHONY TIDBITS...."Generic" Toll Free Numbers Have a Long Dialing LifeAt ICBTollFree News they’re often asked if a vanity 800 number really makes a difference to a business’ bottom line. Carmel Car Service in New York uses a local number - 212-666-6666 - in all its local advertising, but advertises 1 800 9 CARMEL on its "advertising on hold" phone system and on its discount coupons. The result is pretty impressive: phone calls to the company doubled, attributable specifically to the 1 800 9 CARMEL number. Another 800 number Carmel uses is 1 800 CAR SERVICE. Although not advertised in 18 months, the company continues to consistently receive 50% of the calls it received during the number’s advertising tenure. Apparently, 1 800 CAR SERVICE is useful even without active advertising, a lesson not lost on national direct marketer 1 800 CONTACTS. In its recent prospectus filed with the SEC, the contact lens company notes that during the first month after it acquired and activated the 1 800 CONTACTS telephone number, the company generated approximately 2,000 calls and $38,000 in additional sales without even advertising the number. It appears customers simply call 1 800 CONTACTS as a result of their expectation that a contact lens seller will use such a number, similar to Carmel’s experience with 1 800 CAR SERVICE. Additionally, after 1 800 CONTACTS first began using the 1 800 CONTACTS number in July 1995, net sales per advertising dollar increased by over 20%. TopAT&T offers free calls while you flyUntil June 30, passengers on Alaska, American, Canadian, Northwest and Southwest airlines can receive free five-minute calls from the ground at their seat on any AT&T Corp. in-flight phone. If the call lasts more than five minutes, you’ll be billed from minute six on. To take advantage of the promotion, travelers must register a 10-digit phone number (they suggest using a home or office phone number) plus a four-digit password and tell potential callers what the registered phone number is. Once on the plane, the passenger registers the same number at the seat by lifting the handset and pressing the FCN key, then 6 and following the instructions. Callers from the ground dial 800-RINGSKY (746-4759), then listen to instructions to connect the call. Full information on the promotion can be found on the Internet at http://www.att.com/wireless. TopFree Calls with AdvertisingFreeCaller Communications (FCC) announced today the introduction of a totally new advertising medium featuring free long distance telephone calls for consumers while delivering an advertiser’s target audience with bulls-eye accuracy. Through FCC’s proprietary patent pending system, advertisers can now aim 10 second audio spots to their ideal demographic audience each time a customer makes a long distance phone call. The revolutionary FreeCaller system allows advertisers to strategically place ads on pre-defined demographic factors such as geographical location, household income, age group, as well as other pertinent demographic data at considerable savings when compared to other advertising. A 10 second message for an advertiser will be as low as 5 cents per caller, and has a 100% probability of reaching its target audience. Club FreeCaller is a pre-subscribed long-distance service for thehome or office. The caller places a call as normal, and prior to connection listens to one minute of advertising messages divided into 10 second spots. At the end of the messages, the first five minutes of the call are free. If the call continues beyond five minutes, the caller will be charged nationally competitive long-distance rates. Casual FreeCaller is intended for the traveling public which requires no sign-up, and is accessed by a toll free 800/888 number. Both parties listen to one minute of advertising messages divided into 10 second spots, at the end of the advertising messages the call continues for up to three minutes at no charge to either party. The long-distance calling services in the U.S. are a $100 billion plus business annually, and FreeCaller is expected to capture a substantial market share of the One-Plus long distance service with its long-distance provider. "We are in the final stages of setting up a contractual relationship with a major carrier to be the long-distance provider for our FreeCaller system," said Richard Sablon, founder and CEO of FCC. Casual FreeCaller will be launched on May 15, 1998 and Club FreeCaller service will be available in early July. Top1-800 conferenceAmeritech Corp. plans to triple revenue growth to about $300 million from new telephone products and services in 1998. Among its new services recently launched is 1800 CONFERENCE, a nationwide business service for audioconferencing and videoconferencing. The company says it allows as many as 3,000 people to meet by calling that number. "We expect our product development pipeline to deliver a wide array of new products and services" in 1998, said Richard Notebaert, chairman and chief executive, to Bloomberg News in January. Ameritech’s "product development pipeline" is evidently well thought out — and financed.
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