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Easy-to-Remember Numbers Increase Ad Response

19 January 1999

Easy-to-Remember Numbers Increase Ad Response Vanity Number Response Rates are 14 Times Numeric, Study Finds


    BURLINGTON, Vt.--Jan. 19, 1999--Easy-to-remember phone numbers dramatically increase advertising response rates, according to a new study by Michael J. Motto Advertising in New Providence, NJ. The study found that radio ads with a vanity 800 number drew fourteen times more calls than those with a numeric 800 number. Vanity numbers are those that translate into words for easy recall.
    "The results of this study not only confirm conventional wisdom that vanity numbers draw more calls, they remove even the slightest doubt," said Sandra Murray, president of Response Marketing Group, Burlington, VT, the marketing firm that provided the shared-use vanity 800 numbers used in the study. Michael Motto, president of Motto Advertising, added, "I've always recommended easy-to-remember numbers for my clients, but the results of this study are overwhelming evidence that vanity numbers are truly indispensable."
    The ads were produced for Denville Nissan in Denville, NJ. "It's very easy for listeners to remember vanity numbers," said Bobbie Bonser, general manager. "They also stick in their minds longer -- callers heard the number on their way to work and remembered it until they could get to a phone."
    The ads ran on WDHA FM in Cedar Knolls, NJ. Mike Cassidy, senior account executive, said he encourages advertisers who use a phone number to use one that's easy to remember. "My advice is, if it's not memorable, stay away from it," he said.
    The study, Toll-free Numbers in Radio Advertising, ran 66 radio ads on equal rotation, half with a numeric 800 number, and half with the number 800-NEW-WHEELS. The 60 second ads ran from Saturday, December 26, 1998 to Friday, January 1, 1999 on WDHA, Jersey's Rock Radio 105.5 FM. The study is available for online viewing at www.800response.com.
    Response Marketing Group 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.