Why do Readers' Digest demean & patronise their subscribers with how they run their competition offers,?

Question

You have been specially chosen...remove stickers from here and place them there...childish and demeaning operations.

Answer 1

I don't understand the "how they run their competition offers" part of your question.

Magazines wouldn't use promotions like that if they didn't work.

It is true in a direct mail piece that "you have been specially chosen". They only send these types of promotions to a fraction of subscribers - not to all of them.

As far as the stickers - it has been mathematically proven that if you include an involvement device - a sticker - that response to that promotion increases. This was and still is used by Publisher's Clearing House - because it works. You also see this in BMG & Columbia House (CD & DVD clubs) mailing as well as with International Masters Publishing. In magazine publishing in general, this type of promotion is less used these days than they used to be, but probably still works in Reader's Digest's demographic/target audience.

Answer 2

~ah, wassa matter. You never win?