[Steve]

Which Is More Annoying, Spam Or Direct Mail? - A recent study reveals answers

You open up your e-mail inbox and are inundated with spam that offers everything from inkjet cartridges to “investment opportunities” that are obviously too good to be true. You open up your mailbox at home to find more unsolicited ads, everything from pizza coupons to credit card offers.

Ever wonder which is more annoying?

According to a new study by a researcher in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, most people find spam more intrusive and irritating than direct mail. The study, published in the fall issue of the Journal of Interactive Advertising, also explores why people find spam so annoying.

“Overall, spam definitely is regarded as more annoying, irritating and intrusive than postal direct mail,” said Mariko Morimoto, assistant professor of advertising. “That was pretty much our hypothesis. And while it’s easy to figure out that spam is more annoying, I also wanted to know why.”

Morimoto and study co-author Susan Chang, assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Miami, randomly assigned 119 college students to a survey that asked about either spam or direct mail. On a scale of one to seven, where one is most intrusive and seven is least intrusive, students gave spam an average intrusiveness score of 1.93 compared to 4.24 for direct mail. For irritation, the average score was 2.46 for spam compared to 3.87 for direct mail.

Results from a focus group study conducted by Morimoto and Chang found that people find spam more intrusive than direct mail because it makes it harder to get to legitimate and wanted messages. Discarding direct mail, on the other hand, wasn’t perceived as time consuming.

And while spam often contains adult content or other inappropriate material, direct mail pieces often contain potentially useful items such as sales promotions and easy-to-use coupons. E-mailed coupons must be printed, which is an extra step that consumers would rather not have to take.

Morimoto’s focus group participants also said that the cost associated with direct mail leads them to believe that they’re getting information from a reputable company. Because spam is inexpensive to send, consumers tend view spammers as being less reputable.

Despite the negative feelings associated with spam, Morimoto said it can be effective when used properly. Her focus group work found that people don’t seem to mind receiving e-mails from companies with which they have previously done business.

Morimoto, for example, doesn’t mind e-mailed suggestions from Amazon.com based on previous purchases. E-mails that read, “Mariko Morimoto, do you need a college degree?” on the other hand, are not welcome.

“If you cultivate your relationship with consumers in some other venue and then extend that effort to e-mails, then spam can work,” she said.


Personally I detest both but what does others think?

[Foxesbrew]

Both are an absolute pest ,but even worse are the telephone calls,particularly the silent ones

[Steve]

Isn't there a list in the UK where you can add your telephone number to that automatically gets it removed off the spam calls. ?

Edit..did some serching...

TPS Registration. They are an OFCOM accredited company that help to make sure that your telephone number is not available to sales organisations that will randomly phone you. The service is absolutely free of charge - all you need to do is register your phone number and the annoying sales calls will stop

[Foxesbrew]

Many thanks Steve,iv'e just registered.

[Dave]

...& don't forget the mail version :- MPS online

[Toonie]

All of the unwanted mail that I receive with a return address printed on the rear goes straight back into the postbox with a comment written in black felt pen which usualy say's "STOP SENDING ME THIS S***E" & up to now has not been a problem. Even the more persistent firms seem to get the message eventually.

[orangepeel]

Originally Posted by Steve

The service is absolutely free of charge - all you need to do is register your phone number and the annoying sales calls will stop

I've been a TPS member for years however be aware it's not 100% effective - Although the unsolicited calls I've received has dropped MASSIVLY, it doesn't help against overseas sales calls.

Nor will BT do anything to stop these international calls either unless you pay em (iirc) £2.50 a month.

[Foxesbrew]

Just registered with mps thanks Dave.

[Dabhand16]

I too am registered to filter out phone calls and most junk mail. However, just as annoying to me are the leaflets that are in some papers and a lot of magazines and put through the letterbox. (I differentiate between a local business advertising by way of a leaflet drop and the national/international organisations trying to con you into a timeshare or similar).

Spam and junk mail/leaflets included in papers and magazines are equally as annoying as spam, but on top of that, the printed garbge does have resource implications too. So I guess my 'most annoying 'vote will go the junk mail/enclosed leaflets. Spam is easily deleted without having to actually see the message.

[emmettleffel]

My daughter used to get "Cold calls" at all times of the day.

What she did eventually was to answer the phone and if it was such a call, put the phone down (not on the stand) and go and watch TV or make coffee . The calls soon stopped as the callers realised they were wasting their time and money.

[fionaB]

Originally Posted by orangepeel

I've been a TPS member for years however be aware it's not 100% effective - Although the unsolicited calls I've received has dropped MASSIVLY, it doesn't help against overseas sales calls.

Nor will BT do anything to stop these international calls either unless you pay em (iirc) £2.50 a month.

we have been registered with this for ages and we still get the calls.................
an elderly friend of mine was hounded by sales calls for new windows etc to the point of sheer exasperation......... the final straw was a very pushy sales men who wanted to sell her a conservatory........ after chatting away for an hour on the phone he finally persuaded her to make an appointment for a saleman to call............ the day arrived and the door went.......... she opened it to find a VERY frustrated salesman demanding to know WHY she had made an appointment for him to call about buying a conservatory when she lived in a flat two flights up.......... she then responded in her sweetest voice..... but the man only asked if i was interested NOt if there was room to build one!

lolol

By the way i find both spam and direct mail a pain in the rear end but direct mail is so much more of a hassle..... with spam all i have to do is hit delete

Fiona

[dod]

Spam's the worst, by a mile. I don't mind the junk mail, phone calls don't really bother me too much.

[Dutchie]

I hate the phone calls and have been on a list for well over a year now. The calls have since dropped a lot. To be honest, if i've had 5 calls over the last year, then that is a lot.

Spam is a pain in the backsite, to me the most anoying thing. The paperwork in my letterbox go straight back to the company with "not known on this address", and it helps honestly The leaflets in the weekly papers are ok. Not as much as you get over in Holland. In Holland you get overloaded by leaflets every day