Toll-free Numbers in Television Commercials: Super Bowl XXXV

Introduction

The use of direct response is widely integrated throughout all advertising media — direct mail, catalogs, telephone marketing, newspaper, magazine, television, radio, Internet, and other media. Direct marketing sales growth continues to outpace overall sales growth in the U.S. economy, with direct response ad spending comprising over half of total U.S. advertising expenditures².

One of the most popular direct response mechanisms is the toll-free number. In the 30 years since the toll-free 800 number was first introduced, the telemarketing industry has grown from seven million calls in 1967 to about 30 billion carried by AT&T in 1999, accounting for nearly 40% of all voice calls crossing its U.S. network³. In 1998, over $482 billion in goods and services were sold through telephone marketing, while over $429 billion were sold through direct mail. Total direct marketing sales in the U.S. are expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2004⁴.

Telephone-based, interactive technologies have become one of the most powerful ways to attract, motivate, and retain customers. Telemarketing is an established, cost-effective tool providing personal, two-way communication at a fraction of the cost of face-to-face contact. Telephone media cut through the clutter of traditional advertising, offering more opportunity for consumer involvement than any other medium.

Researchers have found that a properly managed toll-free number offers four principal benefits to a company: confirms customer service orientation; reduces customer service costs; increases customer information, and overcomes area code confusion. All of these factors relate to building strong, long-term relationships with customers while keeping costs low.

In addition to serving immediate prospect, customer, and company needs, toll-free numbers provide a constant stream of information about prospects and customers, allowing for better database management and staffing arrangements. Knowing customer needs leads to clearer and more timely communications with them.

Consumers have incorporated toll-free numbers into their daily activities and use them for everything from ordering products to making financial transactions. Toll-free numbers are free, easy to remember, convenient, and simple to access. Ninety-percent of Americans say they use toll-free numbers, with one-third of Americans making 60 or more toll-free calls per year⁵. Use of, and satisfaction with, toll-free numbers increases with education level, as does the propensity to order products rather than simply request information⁶. According to Bank Marketing, 86% of customers associate toll-free numbers with high quality products.

Toll-free numbers have achieved a high level of acceptance with a broad range of consumers in many areas of the marketplace - consumers prefer to do business with companies who have one. Ten years ago, only half of the nation's largest firms offered toll-free numbers; today, more than 80% do⁷. More than half a million businesses and government agencies accept toll-free calls. Large businesses receive about 3,500 toll-free calls a week, compared with 260 letters or faxes⁸. 1-800-FLOWERS, a business based on its toll-free number, receives over 9 million calls a year.

As companies continue decreasing their marketing and sales costs through the integration of technology into their relationships with customers, toll-free numbers will become an even bigger part of satisfying both parties.

Objectives

This study documents the use of toll-free numbers in television commercials aired during Super Bowl XXXV. Our objective was to see how prevalent direct response has become during this program. We also wanted to learn which toll-free prefixes were being used (800, 888, 877, or 866), as well as which types — vanity (numbers that translate into words for easy recall; e.g., 1-800-NEW-CARS), or numeric (e.g., 1-800-639-7543).

Methodology

On Super Bowl Sunday, January 28, 2001, all commercials that aired during the football game were recorded, yielding a total of 66 national commercials. For each commercial, the following data were collected:

• Phone number
• Product/Industry
• Prefix (800/888/877/866)
• Vanity or numeric
• Prominence of phone number display
• Length of commercial
• Advertiser
• Use of a voice-over of the toll-free number

Published February 28, 2001
Copyright © 2001, 800 Response. All rights Reserved.

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