"Modeling the Effects of Direct Television Advertising at Futuredontics"
by Rajesh Chandy, Deborah MacInnis, Gerard J. Tellis, and Pattana Thaivanich

Futuredontics, a dentist referral service (1-800-DENTIST), advertises this service in over 60 major markets in the U.S., with a multi-million dollar advertising budget that includes over 3500 TV ad exposures per month. The firm was concerned about more efficient spending, and applied a model that determines which particular ads are effective, when (at what times), where (in which medium) and for how long, an analysis at the highly disaggregate hourly level. The firm used the results about baseline sales and advertising carryover to assess call center staffing and to schedule call center operators in a manner that minimized wait times. It also adopted an advertising schedule that focused on heavier advertising in the early part of the week, a Sunday to Tuesday schedule, or a Monday to Wednesday schedule, and completely dropped advertising on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, providing a savings of 10 to 15% of media expenditures or approximating $1 million annually.