| Publishers Clearing House |
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Information AboutPublishers Clearing House |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE | |
| direct marketing | |
| companies based in new york | |
| companies established in 1953 | |
| companies based on long island | |
| publishers clearing house | |
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Publishers Clearing House was founded in 1953 by Harold and LuEsther Mertz and their daughter, Joyce Mertz-Gilmore. With mailings offering consumers an unprecedented array of discounted magazine subscription offers, the company soon became the largest magazine circulation agency in the industry. The name “Publishers Clearing House” is almost synonymous with the sweepstakes launched in 1967 to draw attention to the magazine deals in company mailings. Since 1974, consumer response has been bolstered by TV campaigns -- now featuring the Prize Patrol, a team of PCH employees that travels to locations near and far surprising prizewinners of thousands and millions of dollars. PCH has become so closely identified with its sweepstakes that another similar firm that formerly ran similar sweepstakes ( American Family Publishing ), but no longer does so, was often mistaken for PCH. On at least one occasion, American Family commercials featuring Dick Clark and Ed McMahon were mistakenly reported in the media as being PCH commercials. (The parent company of American Family Publishing has since filed for bankruptcy.) Starting in 1985, the company’s product offering was broadened to include a wide range of merchandise including household and personal items, home entertainment, collectibles and more. Customer response has been so favorable that merchandise now accounts for the majority of Publishers Clearing House sales. The company launched its website, www.pch.com, in 1999, providing online means to enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, additional prize winning opportunities and product offerings. Publishers Clearing House, a limited liability company staffed by 400 employees, is headquartered in Port Washington, Long Island, NY near the home where the founders (now deceased) started it all -- in their garage. The Mertzes' philanthropic spirit lives on with nearly half of the company's profits going to benefit charitable causes ranging from the arts to social services to the environment. The New York Botanical Garden, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the National Audubon Society and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association are just a few of the major beneficiaries of PCH's more than 50 years of success. At the start, founder Harold Mertz, a magazine circulation veteran, saw an opportunity to pool the subscription offers of many publishers into one direct mail effort which offered the consumer “unbeatable” variety and value plus convenience. He invented the colorful multi-offer “stampsheet” which became (and remains) a centerpiece of company “Bulletins” sent at first to thousands, then to tens of millions of potential customers. Response was immediate and dramatic, leading the company on a never-ending exploration of new and more involving selling techniques. Today Publishers Clearing House serves hundreds of publishers, providing new readers and significant circulation boosts to individual titles while contributing to the overall health of the magazine publishing industry. In addition to the U. S., Publishers Clearing House operates in Canada and the United Kingdom with mailing programs promoting the sale of discounted magazine subscriptions and merchandise. |
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