Competitors are still eating away at Xerox's market share, but Xerox is using price cuts and promotions to bite back.

He has used innovative promotions to raise money for the Hurricanes.

But other industries are using disk-based promotions as well, including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, banks, insurance companies, automotive and market research.

The magazines are already using promotions on their individual Web sites to overcome the subscription gap created by the loss of sweepstakes.

"We've just started the second phase of our marketing, using direct mail and other promotions," he said, "so we're fairly confident that things will work out well."

Instead, the company uses its ads and promotions to steer people into stores to pick up contest entry blanks.

In addition, Avon will use in-store promotions, sampling and direct mail.

The model may use inputs such as the amount of money spent on advertising, promotions being run, and other metrics that may affect sales.

Many Concorde passengers were average people who upgraded using frequent flier mileage or special promotions in order to travel quickly.

But Brazilian newspapers have been warning readers lately to be careful shopping there, saying some merchants use false promotions and sell defective products.