Alternative Reply Vehicles in Direct-Response Advertising
Albert Schofield
Conventional wisdom in direct marketing tells the advertiser to make it as easy as possible for advertisement readers to reply to its advertisements. He should use a Freepost address, a toll-free phone number, a preprinted coupon, a business reply envelope, etc. Alternatively, the publication carrying the advertisement should supply a reader-inquiry (or 'bingo') card to allow the reader to inquire about several products or services at once, by simply circling the numbers of all those in which he is interested, instead of requiring him to write individually to all the advertisers concerned....