People have always obtained information over the phone. The InfoLine expands
on this tradition, and offers advertisers a "captive audience," which will
listen closely to your advertising message after selecting informational
categories. You can use the InfoLine to reach potential customers, increase
awareness of your product or service, and increase community stature by
advertising with a community-service-oriented hotline.
Types of Ads
1. Sponsorships
Sponsorship messages are approximately ten seconds long, and mention
the company name in the system greeting or prior to an informational category.
Exclusive sponsors may include a brief slogan or phone number, if desired.
2. Basic Ads
Advertiser messages are about 20 seconds long, and are heard after
a caller selects a category. InfoLine staff may record messages for you,
or you can record them yourself using your telephone. Basic ads "rotate"
with other ads on all general categories, meaning that it will play prior
to any category a caller selects, taking turns with other basic ads. If
you are one of three advertisers with a basic ad, for example, then your
ad would played after every third category selected by callers. Deluxe
advertisements would play only when a caller selects a specific category,
instead of rotating among all other categories.
3. Reimbursed Announcements
Reimbursed announcements are separate categories on the InfoLine, which
includes items the public would have an interest in calling for on a regular
basis, such as entertainment schedules or an organization's calendar of
events.
4. Advice Announcements
Advice announcements are information-based presentations, with the
provider's name and business name mentioned. Information presentations
and advertisements may be changed as often as once a week.
5. Website Coupons
Printable coupons for your product or service on the InfoLine website.
An example is our Holy Land coupon.
6. Add-On Services; Other Services
Voice Mail (with reimbursed and advice announcements)
Fax-On-Demand. Make your menu, brochure, event list available to callers.
Sales & classified ad listings (Category 11): FREE!
Who calls the InfoLine?
Twin Cities InfoLine currently attracts an average of 42 callers per day,
with about 38% calling from Northeast Minneapolis, 11% from South Minneapolis,
18.5% from the other areas of Minneapolis and its suburbs, 4.5% from the
St. Paul area, and 16% from anonymous or blocked callers. We conducted
on-street surveys in June 1999, and have completed library research to
learn more about InfoLine callers and other U.S. InfoLines and computer
telephony equipment.
How will I know how many hits my ad receives?
InfoLine advertisers receive monthly reports on the number of callers that
heard their ad, as well as our informative newsletter, published six times
per year, The Advertisers' Update.
