Page 10-Wednesday, October 12, 1977-The Michigan Daily
ENOM ' m
(The Advent Survey)
HELLO.
Some (about one tenth) of us.
Here we (Advent Corporation) and you (you) are, right in the middle
of a rapidly changing world.
We, as you may know, make stereo equipment, including the
speaker that has been this country's best-seller for the last few years.
(We also make a new kind of color television set, with a life-size pic-
ture, which we think is going to make some big changes in the TV-
and-related world. But this ad isn't about that.)
You, as you know, are doing what 'you're doing.
Our approach to what we are doing in business is a little different
from that of the giants in the electronics world. (We don't try to make
all the products we can in every price category. We just make the
products that make sense to us for one reason or another, and gener-
ally come out all right dollarwise doing it.)
We are also different from some of the other specialist companies
in our business. (We don't take a single idea or approach and try to
live off it indefinitely. We just keep things moving, innovate wherever
we spot a real opening, and go on to the next thing when the time
seems right.)
Generally speaking, given the ups and downs that are part of
corporate living, we have a pretty good time doing what we are doing,
and about six hundred of us make a living at it. (See some of us above.)
Most of the time, we manage to keep in mind that we are pretty
much like you when it comes down to basics. And both in designing
and making our products and in dealing with you when you write or
phone or whatever, we try to act the way we would like somebody to
act toward us. (It's pretty backward, after all, to act any other way.)
When it comes to ads, we usually try to get out the kind of informa-
tion that we think someone interested in a product might want to
know. (Our ad writer is a real person with varying moods, ideas, and
capacities, so our ads naturally vary somewhat.)
Our ads almost always have coupons, to let someone follow up on
his or her interest and tell us whether anybody out there is really
responding to what we are saying. But this time we would like to ask
you, as open-endedly as we can, what's on your mind both in relation
to our inner world of audio equipment and the outer world we all
live in. The latter question is what the big blank space on the other
side of the page is all about.
If you care to answer (with a ball-point pen or pencil or typewriter
please, so it doesn't get all smeared), there are some things that
interest us a lot in relation to our own' business: Such as:
How much do you think a good stereo system costs?_
Is that about the same as you think it ought to cost? If not, how
much is that? -----
Do you own a stereo system? If so, what's in it?___
Did you buy a total system recommended by a store?
* Which hi-fi stores do you like to shop in? And why?_
Which of the hi-fi magazines, if any, do you most like and most
read?
Which other publications?
Anything else to say about stereo equipment or about our life-size
VideoBeam'@ TV set?_
So much for the business side of us. The people side of us would
also like to ask whether there is anything else you would like to talk
about --whether it is how you feel about the supposedly big issues of
the day or what you have to say about supposedly small everyday
matters that may have a gigantic effect on your current outlook on
things. Some of us would be very interested in anything you have to
say about the way you would like to live your life.
One reason we are asking is that no poll or survey, by business or
government or you-say-who, ever seems to ask what's on people's
minds without also telling them (usually with lots of multiple-choice
A Word From Our Sponsor
or
The Hard-Sell Within
It seems a little silly to take this much space for an ad with-
out saying that Advent products are really good and you can't
go wrong buying any of them. A lot of people (including us)
think they are the best values available in stereo equipment,
and if you care a good deal about what you get for what you
spend, you really ought to make a point of hearing them.:.
Thank you.
options) what's supposed to be on their minds. Another reason is that
we don't think it's exactly considerate to ask you business questions
without asking whether there's anything else you have to say.
And we would like to see what, if anything, comes of doing this.
To quote an old friend, "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't
be research, would it?"
So please feel free to say whatever you want on whatever subject
you want in the blank space that follows, (again with a hall-point pen,
or pencil, or typewriter so things don't smear). And if the space isn't
enough, please go ahead and use your own paper.
--
- _
Which ones do you avoid? And why?
E If you didn't buy in the store you liked, why not?-
0 Which products (stereo and otherwise) have you found especially
satisfying?
Which ones have you found exceptionally disappointing?
How loud (use your own adjectives etc.) do you like to listen?_
If you were going to recommend a good stereo system to a friend,
what equipment would it consist of?
If cost were no object, what would you recommend?
Do you own any of our equipment? If so, what?
If you do own it, would you do it again? If not, what would you get
instead? 9 _
If you don't own any of our stuff, what, if anything, have you heard
about it?__
We thank you for whatever you have or haven't said above and
wish you a pleasant day.
To: Advent Corporation,
195 Albany Street,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
E If it turns out to be possible, I'd like to know some of the things
people have to say in response to your survey. I'd also like infor-
mation on Advent products.
Name
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Address
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