They
had seen a recent report about a sweepstakes application available to
the public in a number of ways, including an application form printed
on a McDonald's tray-liner. To everyone's amazement, 20 percent of the
people who had filled out the sweepstakes application had used the version
printed on the tray-liner, not the electronic version available on the
Internet. (So much for high-tech.)
NPR and McDonalds joined forces. Their agreement called for the production of 3.5 million tray-liners containing telephone numbers and Internet addresses that customers could use for instant access to information about critical government services -- health, safety, education, social security, taxes, motor and voter registration, student loans and children's health insurance. Best of all, the costs would be subsidized by the retailers.
Every one of those 3.5 million tray-liners has gone out to McDonalds vendors. How many have made their way into America's homes and onto our refrigerators is still unknown. But, NPR estimates that if just 20 percent of those 3.5 million tray-liners go home with customers, they could generate 700,000 contacts with government agencies. And, if those agencies end up delivering better service in better ways to 350,000 American households, NPR will call this an "Everybody is a Winner Sweepstakes," and a roaring success.
3/19/00
