Why do the elderly
seem more susceptible to believing sweepstakes' promises?
A gerontologist shares
his studies
By CINDY BEVINGTON
The envelope arrives in the mail, sometimes labeled "PRIORITY"
in capital letters or with legalese wording that hints it may
have come from an "official" governmental agency.
Inside, boldface, capital letters announce that, YOU, CINDY
BEVINGTON, ARE A GUARANTEED WINNER!
Some people just laugh and throw the mailing away - which
often can include more than a dozen pages declaring that you,
and you alone, are the "guaranteed" winner of millions
of dollars.
Others decline the opportunity to purchase the magazines or
other merchandise offered with the mailing, but send in the sweepstakes
form.
Others, though, see just one thing: YOU, CINDY BEVINGTON,
ARE A GUARANTEED WINNER!
These folks don't notice that the envelope came bulk mail
- meaning it was just one of tens of thousands, or even millions,
of others exactly like it.
They don't read the teeny, tiny print on the other side of
the mailing - or even in a different section of it - that gives
the odds of winning the sweepstakes, which sometimes can be as
little as one in 19 million, or even less.
They don't see the disclaimer telling them they don't have
to buy something to be eligible to win - or, if they do see it,
they don't believe it.
And so, thinking with all their hearts and souls that they
just need to purchase a few things and get that order blank safely
- and quickly - in the mail to get millions of dollars back,
they write out a check and wait for their prize to arrive.
When it doesn't come and when a new offer comes in its place
telling them they are "just one step away" from the
"next level" that "guarantees" them their
millions, they write out another check for another bundle of
purchases - just to give them the edge as a winner.
Soon, packages from the sweepstakes companies pile up: on
the floor, in closets, under the bed. And the people who have
ordered all this stuff are still waiting on their prize.
Even if they've had to rent storage rooms for the merchandise.
Even if they've gone broke making purchases in hopes of winning
the sweepstakes.
The National Association of Attorneys General call people
like this - no matter how much or how little merchandise they've
ordered in an attempt to win - "victims."
They call the sweepstakes that lure people into buying these
things "scams."
And, unfortunately, the attorneys say, the majority of victims
of sweepstakes scams are senior citizens.
Why is this? Dr. William E. Arnold, director of the gerontology
program and professor of communication at Arizona State University,
has done studies on why seniors seem most susceptible to believing
sweepstakes scams.
"I think there's no one reason for it," Arnold says.
"But what we have done is identify several reasons. First,
many seniors are alone and isolated.
"These mailings provide social contact for them. Just
look at the materials: they say, 'Hi! This is David. We haven't
heard from you in awhile.'
"It sounds like a friend writing a friend. We've gotten
this data from interviews. The mailings sound like, 'This is
a friend of mine writing.' And, if the senior's family and friends
are gone (or not close by) when this is the only contact, they
respond."
Seniors also respond to wording that uses their first and
last names - often not realizing the multiple-personalized name
capabilities of computer-generated mail.
Arnold's studies also show a correlation between playing lotteries
and gambling and answering sweepstakes solicitations. For example,
he says, a visit to casinos near ASU will show that lots of the
gamblers are senior citizens.
Sweepstakes provide a form of gambling without requiring mobility
on the seniors' parts, Arnold says: "Sweepstakes come directly
to your home."
Credibility of the mailing's messages also convinces seniors
to believe the boldface print. Sweepstakes companies pick people
likely to have credibility with senior citizens, Arnold says
- you don't see Tom Cruise selling them, for example.
"This is particularly true when you get pitchers like
Dick Clark and Ed McMahon. Mailings with their names on it tell
seniors, 'They're well-known people and they're not going to
steer me wrong.'"
Readability is another big issue with seniors. An on-going
study in which Arnold is involved shows "no doubt"
that seniors understand the YOU'RE A WINNER in the bold, large
print much more easily than other messages in smaller print in
the mailing.
The boldface type presentation is much easier to read - as
many as six or seven grade levels lower than the fine print of
the rules of eligibility or the odds of winning, or when the
drawing is, Arnold says.
And, Arnold adds, he believes sweepstakes companies are aware
of this and purposely tailor their mailings to attract seniors.
"They claim they haven't done this research but you just
don't go out and try something without pretesting," Arnold
says. "I'm convinced they do testing - even while they're
sending the mailings out."
One company's in-process testing probably occurred when it
sent out the same mailings with two different types of "security
label" messages on the envelopes, he says.
One mailing had a peel-off label on it that said "Security
Level 3." Under the label was a personal message to the
recipient explaining this was "important" mail.
The other mailing went out with the security label stamped
on the envelope with the message above the stamp, he says. Replies
to these types of experiments help distributors determine which
mailing design was more effective.
And, he says, the company would not have differed the mail-outs
unless it intended to study it: "In my estimation it would
be a waste of time to send two different types if you weren't
collecting data on it," he says.
Another strategy sweepstakes companies use is to send mailings
that ask for a credit card number or offer a "bill me later"
opportunity.
"We disassociate one moment from another, and seniors
tend to believe you must buy to win," he says. "So,
when they have a choice of using a credit card number or being
billed later, they disconnect the letter from the actual payment.
"Too, many sweepstakes have end dates that are six, 12
or 18 months or more off. That's in fine print but when the letter
is marked 'rush,' the seniors rush the order.
"Then they'll order again when they receive a follow-up
mailing."
All the "rush" does is help the companies make money
on the victims' money, Arnold says, while the companies use the
"rushed" victims' names to add to mailing lists.
"Now, you have someone who clearly is a victim,"
Arnold says.
Sweepstakes companies also routinely make it harder for repeat
customers to enter their sweepstakes without purchasing something,
he says.
For example, one sweepstakes company required a person who
had purchased from them before to go through three or four extra
steps to enter the sweepstakes without ordering. This person
had to copy down an address from a section of the mailing, then
send it in to a special address on her own postcard.
On the other hand, this same company told a person who had never
ordered anything that she only had to return a postcard enclosed
in the sweepstakes mailing to enter the contest without ordering.
Seniors also have trouble remembering short-term messages.
Therefore, companies will stick the disclaimers or odds of winning
in the middle of the letter, beginning and ending the mailing
with the YOU'RE A WINNER message. This, too, reinforces their
beliefs that, indeed, they are winners, without reminding them
that their odds of winning are very low, or that they don't have
to buy something to win.
Finally, the mere fact that it takes work to enter the sweepstakes
reinforces the idea that the sweepstakes is "good,"
he says.
The mind set tells seniors, "If you have to make an effort
to get it, it must be good," Arnold says.
"If I can make you spend eight hours a day doing stickers
and stamping something on the entries, you're more committed."
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