A handbill (i.e., a leaflet distributed by hand) is a form of
advertising especially common in high-traffic pedestrian districts.
However, there are no previous reports in the literature relating to
consumer perceptions of handbills as a promotional medium. This article
reports on a telephone survey of a random sample of 240 interviewees in
Hong Kong and represents a starting point for research on this topic. One
hundred and seventy-four (72.5 percent) of the interviewees were
classified as handbill acceptors, and 66 (27.5 percent) were classified as
handbill nonacceptors. Among the handbill acceptors, 71.8 percent actually
read the handbills. In addition, handbill acceptors were more likely to be
female, younger, and to have had secondary or tertiary education. The main
reason acceptors gave for taking handbills was to help the distributor
finish his or her work promptly. The main reason nonacceptors gave for
refusing handbills was that the handbills are distributed during peak
hours, when they are too busy to stop. Handbill acceptors predictably had
more favorable perceptions of handbill attributes than handbill
nonacceptors. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications
for advertisers and future research.