Marketers Dog Pooch to Boost Sales
It seems that certain businesses are going to the dogs these days, at least judging from mail sent to Onyx, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever.
In recent months, the dog has received pitches for a $5 discount on “radiant long-stemmed roses,” a subscription to Newsweek at its “professional courtesy rate,” a free quote from 20th Century Insurance for auto coverage and pre-approved membership in the Columbia House music club.
Onyx hasn’t yet nibbled at the offers, which started arriving after owner Scott Snyder of Los Angeles ordered a trial subscription to the Bottom Line management newsletter in the dog’s name last fall. Snyder didn’t anticipate the solicitations, but he isn’t sorry. “I’m holding out for a pre-approved credit card.”
We called Columbia House, a unit of Sony Corp., to find out why it is accepting dogs as members. Ralph Colin, senior vice president for business and government affairs, said Columbia House doesn’t know much about the names on the mailing lists it rents. Columbia House, which sells compact discs and cassette tapes through the mail, isn’t targeting dogs, he noted. “They don’t pay very well,” he said.
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Smoke’s out: Norm’s, a chain of 15 family-style restaurants, this week banned smoking in its restaurants, becoming one of a handful of restaurant chains in the state to take such a step.
Jerry O’Connell, marketing manager for Bellflower-based Norm’s, said the company decided to act after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month declared secondary smoke a cause of cancer. He said the company took the step mostly for employees, who had been working in smoky restaurants up to 10 hours a day. He said concerns about possible workers’ compensation or health insurance claims didn’t figure in the decision.
O’Connell said the chain is braced for an initial drop in sales, especially during the late-night hours when customers tend to linger. The 44-year-old, privately held chain is open 24 hours.
Gerald Brietbart, a consultant to the California Restaurant Assn., said he expects more restaurant chains to ban smoking in response to health concerns. Brietbart said larger chains can withstand brief sales losses and overcome negative reaction with advertising.
One place exempt from the ban is company headquarters, where smoking is permitted in executive offices and employee break rooms. O’Connell noted: “Not too many people here smoke.”
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What’s-in-a-Name Department: The Asian American Assn. is:
A) An organization dedicated to ethnic understanding.
B) A nonprofit consumer advocacy group.
C) A telemarketing company.
It is a telemarketing company, launched with funds from Sprint to exclusively sell its long-distance services to Asian-Americans in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and six other cities. Sprint won’t say how much it put into the venture, formed with two Asian-American investors. People identifying themselves as representatives of the Asian American Assn. will call Asian-Americans and pitch Sprint in either Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian or Japanese.
Is it possible that unsophisticated Asian immigrants may mistake the sales pitch for an endorsement by a friendly ethnic organization?
“No,” was the curt response from Eva Wang, president of the newly formed Asian American Assn., based in Alhambra.
Representatives of Sprint said the venture is no secret; after all, it was announced at a press conference in Rosemead this week. Commenting on the name, David Schmieg, president of Sprint’s consumer services group, said: “We wanted a name that conveyed what we’re trying to do.”
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Opportunity knocks: Power Products of Dallas recommends its hand-held “personal attack alarm” as a “thoughtful gift for Valentine’s Day.” . . . Wendy’s International is promoting its new hamburger alternative, the Monterey chicken sandwich, a week ahead of schedule in Washington state. A wave of illnesses in Washington state has been linked to contaminated burgers at Jack in the Box. . . . In the wake of last month’s deluge, Los Angeles law firm Levin, Stein, Chyten & Schneider is bombarding condominium associations with invitations to “a lecture on roof leaks and other water intrusion problems.”
