Keeping Creative Alive for Continuity Offers

For its "Our American Century" book series, Time-Life has taken the customer survey that's usually an upfront interaction device included in the prospect mailing and shifted it to the fulfillment stage. Prospects who reply to the offer for the first book in the series get a survey with their shipment and the promise of two premiums for their input. One of the gifts is a collector's set of U.S. coins (what's considered a "greed" premium), and the other gift is another volume in the "Our American Century" book series (an editorial premium). Of course, the intended result is that the survey and premiums will draw these new customers into the series and pave the way for the all-important second sale.