Time Inc. has seen the number of usable phone numbers on its master file shrink from 18 million to 5 million, in part because of the Federal Trade Commission’s do-not-call registry.
But that’s not a problem because Time is cautious to a fault about telemarketing.
Technically, Time is allowed to call subscribers listed on the registry because it has an established business relationship with them. But it respects the spirit as well as the letter of the law and will not call them, said Raquel A. Berman, assistant director of Time Consumer Marketing Inc., speaking last month at the National Center for Database Marketing conference in San Francisco.
The firm does not make any prospecting calls, but outbound telemarketing “remains a very viable option” for renewals, according to Berman.
That’s because consumers reached by phone are more likely to make an impulse buy, and often are less price-sensitive. A single telephone call during the holiday season can generate several gift subscription renewals, Berman said.
Additionally, Time has found that telemarketing is an effective way to promote a magazine launch to existing subscribers. And phone operators often collect valuable information, including e-mail addresses.
Time will not call a subscriber who has asked to be put on a do-not-call list. While current law allows a 30-day exemption between the request and its enforcement, any call center Time uses is permitted to call a lead name provided by the publisher no more than 20 days after receiving it, in order to minimize the risk of running afoul of the law.
This caution is understandable, for there are heavy penalties for infractions. Berman advised marketers to calculate how many records they believe are at risk and multiply that by $11,000 [the current FTC fine for violations of the do-not-call list].
Time also is sensitive about offending the people it calls. For example, it will terminate any call made to a male Sports Illustrated subscriber around the time of its swimsuit issue if a woman answers the phone.
Why? More often than not, that issue is foremost in the woman’s mind, and the telemarketer’s request for renewal will be met with a terse “He doesn’t need it.”
These voluntary telemarketing restrictions come on top of the loss of the sweepstakes device, and both have cut into the publisher’s new business operations.
In recent years, Time has come to rely more on direct mail and other direct-to-publisher channels.
The firm also has focused heavily on its partnership programs. For example, it inked a deal with credit card issuer MBNA to give Sports Illustrated a presence at many major sports arenas. When consumers apply for an MBNA credit card at a kiosk, they are offered a subscription to the magazine, which starts when their credit card is approved.
By linking these activities to the credit card, Time is guaranteed that these new subscribers come on as 100% credit card paid, and most are put right into an auto-renewal program.
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