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 many more calls than those with a numeric 800 number. Vanity numbers are those that translate into words for easy recall.
The study, “Toll-free Numbers in Radio Advertising,” ran 66 radio ads on WDHA FM in Cedar Knolls, NJ for Denville Nissan in Denville, NJ. The ads ran 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, and generated 140 phone calls. For every call the numeric 800 number got, the vanity number got 14.
“It’s a no brainer, especially in electronic media, that vanity numbers are easier to remember,” said Ray Murray, vice president at Motto Advertising. “The survey showed not only that they work better, but that they work dramatically better.”
Response Marketing Group, Burlington, VT, provided the shared-use vanity 800 numbers used in the study, which is available for online viewing on its Web site (http://www.800response.com).
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