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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, DECEMBER 6, 1985
PAGE 7
UPDATE FROM MAIL PROCESSING
'!WO NEW WATS RECORDS: RECORD NUMBER OF NAMES: EXCELLENT BOOK RESPONSE
Tllo Rew WATS Records A record-breaking response to the telecast •Revela
tion: Catastrophic Event• inundated the Pasadena and Big Sandy WATS
offices over the weekend of November 23-24. A total of 25,552 calls were
answered--more than 5,000 (25 percent> over the previous record.
The
number of calls would have been approximately 1,200 higher had Chicago
station WGN not preempted the program because of a TV special.
Then the following weekend {November 30-December 1) the program •The Plain
Truth About Christmas• brought in 26,020 calls, setting a new record.
This is the 10th time this year that each previous record has been broken.
The telecast about Christmas has always pulled very well. However, this
response was nearly double last year's airing {December 2) which produced
13,101 calls. As we enter the winter season, we are seeing the full
effect of the new stations added this year.
Record Bamber of Rmaes This year a record number of new people have been
added to our computer file. This file contains not only the •p1ain Truth•
subscription list, but also those of ·The Good News,• •Youth• magazine,
the Correspondence Course and others who request only booklets.
The number added through October was 1,763,834--which surpassed the total
for all of last year. Of these new people, 1,455,000 subscribed to •The .
Plain Truth• and 227,000 were sent a sample copy at the request of a
friend. The remaining 81,000 did not subscribe to •The Plain Truth• but
did request other literature.
The •world Tomorrow• program was the No. 1 source of these new names--it
brought in 495,000 (28 percent of the total). The newsstand program was
No. 2 with 288,000 (16 percent).
Other major sources include •plain
Truth• blow-in cards, literature envelopes, the waiting-room program, the
April READER'S DIGEST ad and a direct-mail letter that offered ·The Plain
Truth.•
Based on the current rate of adding new people, we will probably reach the
two million mark before the year is over.
Excellent Book Response The response to Mr. Armstrong's offer of •Mystery
of the Ages• to •Good News• readers has set a new record. We have now
received 200,000 letters--a 41.7 percent return. The former record was
set in 1964 when 41.4 percent of the subscribers requested the book •God
Speaks Out on the New Morality.• The total response will continue to
climb and may reach 50 percent. Many have read the first installments in
•The Plain Truth• and are anxiously awaiting the complete volume. Some
state they expect Mr. Armstrong's book to answer questions that have
puzzled them all their lives.
It seems incredible that with all of our belt-tightening, 1985 will prove
to be a record-breaking year in almost every category.
--Richard Rice, Mail Processing Center