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I've lived at my current address for about 16 years and I'm not sure that there has been a single week when I haven't received some kind of application form from Barclaycard. Some of the mailings have involved huge bundles of paper and I dread to think how many trees have died in the process.
I find unsolicited direct marketing rude at the best of times but when a company still won't take the hint after being ignored on several hundred occasions, it really raises a lot of questions:
1) How daft would someone have to be to spend money with a company that wastes so much money on poorly targeted marketing?
2) How does their marketing director have a job?
3) How bad is their CEO if he can't see how bad his marketing director is?
4) Do they even have an IT system?
5) How much of their preposterous 19.9% interest rate is necessitated by their unmanaged marketing budget?
Slogans aren't solutions.
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I guess if it wasn't effective they wouldn't bother?
I get loads from them too, but I imagine when my interest free deal on my current card runs out I might shift to them, and when it runs out on there's, to someone else, and so it continues. I imagine people like me might make it worthwhile as I can only assume they make most of their profits from transaction charges rather than interest anyway?
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If there is a postage paid envelope send it back to them, with the blank forms (or not if pre-filled) and as much other junk mail you can reasonably squeeze in.
If nothing else they will have to pay for the postage.
(If everybody did it they might get the message.)
Sin tack ear lol
Pressing the any key may be continuate
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I like that approach!
Slogans aren't solutions.
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Lopatir wrote: If there is a postage paid envelope send it back to them
Paste the envelope onto a brick, first. 
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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I do the same. Even with the paltry interest offered by the banks it is still worthwhile.
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Yes, I'm sure that you're right in that their core business is in people transferring for the interest free period but it still doesn't make sense to write to someone every single week for sixteen years.
Added to which, I would imagine that most people looking to transfer a card these days would look on the internet rather than sift through their paper recycling box.
Slogans aren't solutions.
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Wastedtalent wrote: I guess if it wasn't effective they wouldn't bother?
Define "effective".
It is not always about getting more customers, sometimes you simply need to get your name out more than the competition. Hardly matters how much debt that generates, as long as the company survives long enough to pay your bonus.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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PeejayAdams wrote: it really raises a lot of questions
No, it doesn't. We already know that the ROI is not interesting from the amount of advertisements on the web.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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The Nigerians keep sending their emails, too. I suspect they make enough for it to be worthwhile.
Which leads me to wonder if Barclay's has a branch in Nigeria . . .
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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How much does an email cost?
You can send a lot of emails for the price of a few kilo's of paper.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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It's the marketing technique that's the point: just keep sending. Charities do the same, sending me a request for money every month - even if I just gave them something - and never noting that for years my donation is a once-a-year event. Lots of name-and-address stickers and pads, too.
Apparently they find it worth it. So why not the banks, too?
Aside: I got the Barclay's Master Card. They're going to pay me US$200 after I spend US$500 in the first three months (rather easy). After I get their money, more bribes or I'm gone.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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If you do not donate this month, you might be able to donate next time. Rather common scenario.
If I do not get a credit card this month, nor any of the following, then it will be an uncommon scenario for me to be waiting for that mail a week later.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Which leads me to wonder if Barclay's has a branch in Nigeria . . .
They have a representative office there, whatever that means...
Barclays Africa Group at a glance
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PeejayAdams wrote: it really raises a lot of questions:
The marketing dept. gets a budget, they contract to a mailing house to do mailings based on some nebulous market research, and nobody actually tracks whether the marketing dept. budget is paying for itself, which it probably isn't.
I doubt that online advertising is any better, and I doubt that companies have any way of tracking whether their ad campaigns are actually profitable.
And if they did, the whole "free online services paid by ads" bubble would burst.
Conversely, I guess sites like Code Project actually makes enough money through ad revenue to keep paying for this wonderful site! Sort of scary / creepy / cool.
Marc
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Ah, but you've missed the point. You're experiencing a bit of marketing excellence (yeah, I threw up in my mouth a little) on the part of the postal service. They've sold innumerable companies on bulk mailing at reduced rates. The more the company mails, the bigger the discount.
Software Zen: delete this;
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The letter in the image has an error, "virginity too" should be "virginity to". It's unlikely that the person responsible for correspondence for such a company would make such a mistake.
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F-ES Sitecore wrote: It's unlikely that the person responsible for correspondence for such a company would make such a mistake.
Are you serious? Go to the websites of any UK newspaper (including the Telegraph) and see how many such stupid mistakes get published.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: Go to the websites of any UK country on planet earth
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Slacker007 wrote: Go too the websites
FTFY. 
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Aren't you grateful that people text? It's much easier than becoming literate.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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With the Gruaniad, it's easier to count the number of words they get right.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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