Super Bowl Advertisers Pick Vanity Numbers; Every Toll-Free Number was Vanity, Study Finds

    BURLINGTON, Vt.--March 7, 2001--Every toll-free number used in national television commercials that aired during Super Bowl XXXV was vanity (numbers that translate into words for easy recall) and 85% used the 800 prefix, according to a new study by Response Marketing Group. Overall, 20% of the ads used toll-free numbers, a gain of 4% over last year.
    Employment, telecommunications, automotive and non-profit industries proved to be the most frequent users of toll-free numbers.
    "Blue chip companies like Verizon and Volkswagen regained their ground this year, replacing the floundering dot-coms of Super Bowl XXXIV," reflects Sandra Murray, president of Response. "The dominant presence of successful brick and mortar companies combined with the increase in use of toll-free numbers leads me to conclude that powerful companies like these place great value on toll-free numbers, more specifically on vanity 800 numbers."
    Vanity numbers are easy to remember and have been shown to dramatically increase advertising response rates. According to a January 1999 study by Michael J. Motto Advertising, in New Providence, NJ, advertisements using a toll-free vanity number received fourteen times more phone calls than the same advertisements with a toll-free numeric number.

    The Response study, Toll-free Numbers in Television Commercials: Super Bowl XXXV, is available for online viewing at www.800response.com.

    Response Marketing Group (www.800response.com) has been providing interactive marketing and telecommunications services since 1990. The principals of Response have over 30 years experience in the industry and are continually developing innovative ways for businesses to market their products and services.