NEW YORK — June 9, 2003 — Erdos & Morgan Inc., Beta Research Corporation and McPheters & Company have just completed a multi-phase test to continue our ongoing efforts to increase response rates for mail surveys.

What is currently used?
Incentives for mail studies have used amounts ranging from 25¢ to $1.00 to $2.00 to $5.00. Beta research has tested a variety of incentive amounts (see previous research) including, most recently, two $1 bills vs. a $2 bill.

Who signs the cover letter?
Often times, we overlook the importance of the signature on the letter or the stamp that is used. While we held the stamp constant (regular US 37¢ flag), we alternated two signatures across the studies:

• Diane Clark, Director of Research, Beta Research Wave I, Erdos & Morgan Wave II
• Nicholas Ferrari, Director of Research, Beta Research Wave II, Erdos & Morgan Wave I

What is being measured?
Our current test compares: 1) the impact of five $1 bills against a single $5 bill among a matched sample for 500 for a variety of questionnaire lengths (see chart below), and 2) a female non-ethnic signature vs. a male ethnic signature.

How is it being conducted?
Hoping to avoid "chance" differences, the same experimental design was set forth for Beta Research Corporation and Erdos and Morgan Inc. utilizing the same general questionnaire for each company.

A study of the demographic data revealed no significant differences.

What did we learn?
A) Five $1 dollar bills consistently generated higher response rates than a $5.00 bill. This result held for 11 of 12 paired comparisons.

B) A female non-ethnic name appears to help generate a higher response rate than an ethnic male name.

About Erdos & Morgan
Erdos & Morgan (http://www.erdosmorgan.com) is a full-service market research company offering a broad range of services to corporate America, the media, and advertising agencies. Founded in 1947 by Paul L. Erdos and Arthur J. Morgan, it is the acknowledged specialist in mail surveys and a leading supplier to the publishing community for reader surveys. In 1970, Dr. Erdos published the book Professional Mail Surveys, documenting methods he used to achieve above-average response for mail surveys. It is still considered the 'bible' to the research industry. In addition to broad-based client custom research services, Erdos & Morgan produces syndicated studies such as Opinion Leaders, The Purchase Influence in American Business, and The Worldwide Professional Investment Community.

About Beta Research Corporation
Beta Research Corporation (http://www.betaresearch.com) has emerged as one of the premier research organizations in the US, with offices in Boston, Los Angeles and New York. The company conducts studies for a wide variety of business sectors including publishing, consumer product manufacturers, consumer service providers, medical firms, financial institutions, government agencies, member organizations/associations, and the media. The company’s familiarity with the types of questions and analyses involved in both consumer and business-to-business research is unmatched by its competitors. Studies include panels, product research, concept/ad testing, market positioning, customer satisfaction, corporate image/perception, subscriber, readership/editorial, circulation, direct marketing, and tracking. These are completed utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques, including mail, telephone, Internet, mall intercepts, focus groups, and others.

About McPheters & Company
McPheters & Company (http://www.mcpheters.com) serves the advertising and media community by providing a full-range of strategic planning and research functions. We bring to our tasks an independent and well-informed perspective, coupled with a rigorous analytical approach. Our single goal is to help our clients become more profitable. All of our efforts are directed towards the service of client profitability, whether we are conducting a strategic audit, documenting the effectiveness of a medium or media plan, helping to make more effective use of a client database, or helping a client to better understand the leverage points that exist with their customers.

Press Contacts:
Jerome Kossoff
Beta Research Corporation
6400 Jericho Turnpike
Syosset, NY 11791
516 935-6959
516 935-3800
jerome@nybeta.com