Marketers can determine if the false signature on a letter lifts response, for example, or whether straightening the tilt of the stamp on the envelope depresses it.
Did split testing exist in practice before junk mail, or did junk mailers invent it? (Wikipedia gives them credit for the invention, but it's unsourced.)
I recall reading many years ago that a major auto company, I think it was Ford, who ponied up for a split in Reader's Digest to see which sold better. Apparently it was more than a little expensive. So it is possible that split test might have had a different origin, but then again, this is also unsourced.
Rather, I'm waiting for an invention that shocks people every time they buy shit from junk mail. It's those people that keep encouraging them to keep sending the rest of us crap.
Did split testing exist in practice before junk mail, or did junk mailers invent it? (Wikipedia gives them credit for the invention, but it's unsourced.)