A survey of consumers investigated the nature and extent of infomercial viewership. This study assessed differences in viewership based on demographic, media usage and shopper orientation differences among consumers, as well as the relation of viewership to attitude and purchase intent. Viewership was measured in several ways to distinguish breath of viewing experience from depth of viewing experience. Findings suggest that different groups of variables are associated with breadth of viewing and depth of viewing and that breath of viewing and depth of viewing differentially affect attitude and purchase intent.
This study examines how consumer privacy issues have been perceived over time and across cultures through the analysis of media coverage of the issue in England and the United States over the past 33 years. A major cross-cultural difference was that Americans have expressed more concern about interactional privacy issues (such as intrusions into individuals’ lives through the receipt of direct mail and telephone solicitations). While the British have been primarily concerned with informational privacy issues (such as the collection and exchange of information about individuals). Other differences in coverage over time and across cultures are also presented, and implications for direct marketers are discussed.
The long interview is an intensive questioning of respondents selected for their special knowledge, experiences, and insights (or ignorance) of the topic under study. The objectives of the long interview include learning the thinking, feeling, and doing processes of the respondents, including an understanding of the respondent's worldview of the topic under study in her or his own language. We compare the strengths and weaknesses of the long interview to other primary data collection methods. We describe a research application of the long interview in direct marketing. The study was designed to: a) learn about the rich complexities in the lives of household gardeners buying and using seeds/plants after responding to direct marketing appeals, and b) resolve the conflicting “theories-in-use” of how and why different customer types purchase products. These differing theories were proposed by different managers in the firm sponsoring the study. The development and critical testing of competing theories-in-use are described. The study was designed to learn about five customer types. The results include thick descriptions of the processes of buying and using seeds and plants purchased through direct marketing offers and store visits.
This article explains the results of a survey of state regulators regarding enforcement of telemarketing laws in their jurisdictions. The article particularly examines the validity and efficacy of state registration requirements for telemarketers. The article also critiques the exemption for charitable solicitors found in most laws.