Bell Atlantic is a prime example of a company burning its brand trust in exchange for short-term profits. A few years ago a letter from them meant you were getting a phone bill. You opened it, read it, and paid it. Then an eager marketer discovered that putting an offer into a letter that looked like a phone bill led to a large number of people

Ivory was the first packaged, branded soap that was able to compete with handmade soap or unpackaged, bulk soap from the local general store.

They started by paying the train lines (the equivalent of today’s airlines) to use Crisco instead of lard in the pies they served on board (and to inform their customers when it was served). They secured testimonials from doctors and even

Finally, P&G introduced a series of free cookbooks.

The law of large numbers means that sooner or later a sale is going to happen, and if the cost is low enough and the list is targeted enough, many marketers feel it’s worth a try. But Permission Marketing embraces the opposite approach. The marketer is not in control, the consumer is. And the consumer is selfish.

POINTS PERMISSION LEVEL The next level of permission is points. Points are a formalized, scalable approach to attracting and keeping the prospect’s attention.

How many take action based on the messages?

Some liability programs don’t offer a reward at all. Instead consumers work to earn greater discounts on future purchases, but these discounts still lead to self-liquidating rewards. Buy three boxes of Cheerios and get this great Frisbee for just $3 in postage and handling! Fortunately the $3 often covers the entire cost of the postage, the

THE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP LEVEL The third level of permission is personal relationships. Surprisingly, these rank behind points in the permission hierarchy. Why? Because they don’t scale.