Posts Tagged ‘advertising’
What Can DRTV Strategists Take From the “Whitey” Bulger Arrest?
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
In an ending to a story that doesn’t do justice (no pun intended) to Jack Nicholson’s performance in The Departed, James “Whitey” Bulger was brought down last month by, according to reports, a woman in Iceland who saw this ad on a CNN news story:
Now, what can we as DRTV marketing strategists learn from this? First, avoid being fingered for 19 murders and becoming a despised government turncoat. Oh, wait, this is a marketing blog.
Shotgun Media, Rifle Shot Creative Message
Blame “Whitey” for the firearm analogy — nevertheless it is appropriate.
Several years ago, Eicoff was approached by a company called Liberty Medical that was in the diabetic testing supply business — this was pre-Wilford Brimley. The company explained to us that TV had shown limited success for them and that their target market was Adults 65+, who are insulin dependent, and on Medicare. Unless callers answer yes to all three questions, they are not a worthwhile lead. While I would like to tell you that we all had a vision and jumped on board, the reality was that we were a bit skeptical that TV would be the right strategy.
We developed a very straightforward DRTV spot that was extremely direct – a strong opening that called out the target, “If you are 65….”, supers calling out the benefits of Liberty Medical, and actors the target demo could relate to.
Long story short — the strategy was a huge success, eventually leading us to introduce Wilford Brimley as their spokesperson.
The lesson — while TV is a shotgun medium, a laser-focused commercial can help pinpoint hard-to reach audiences.
Al Eicoff told me many times that DRTV could be an effective way to sell an airplane. I used to laugh to humor him, but then I started to think “you really wouldn’t have to sell many ….” Boeing hasn’t returned my call yet.
PR of a Campaign Can Be as Impactful as the Campaign Itself
According to the FBI, their commercial targeting Whitey’s girlfriend was scheduled to start airing in 14 markets on June 21. Interesting to note that Santa Monica/LA where Whitey was found, was not one of the scheduled markets. It appears the tip came in the night of June 21 from a woman in Iceland who saw the ad featured on a news story on CNN — she apparently had visited LA recently and recognized the wanted couple.
So, after working 16 years and spending God knows how much money trying to find Whitey, the FBI turns to our bastion of marketing and closes the sale in less than 24 hours. Better yet, the PR piece airing on CNN cost them nothing! (Note to DRTV media buyers: I don’t know whether or not they were able to cancel the rest of the schedule — you’ll have to find that out on your own).
I think it goes without saying that you can never publicize your marketing campaigns enough. One more reason it’s critical to integrate your DRTV strategy into your overall marketing strategy.
As far as I know, there is no truth to the rumor that the Charlie Sheen Foundation is working on a campaign to locate the whereabouts of his career. Will keep you posted.
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
7 Questions to Ask When Choosing a DRTV Agency
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
1. What is the DRTV agency’s primary focus?
Many agencies like to be all things to all people. They specialize in long-form DRTV, short-form DRTV, radio, search, banners, etc… While it would be ideal if agencies were great at all aspects of DRTV/direct marketing, my experience is that most agencies have one core specialty.
Either the agency is very good at half-hour infomercials and does short-form because their client needs them to; or they’re very good at short-form and try to improvise when it comes to half-hours. I think most DRTV veterans would agree with me on this.
2. What is the background of the agency’s principals?
How long have they been in the DRTV business? What companies/agencies have they worked for? Is their DRTV background long-form or short-form? You can uncover some interesting things.
3. Are the agency employees working on my business going to be full-time employees or freelancers?
I think it goes without saying that a full-time employee has a much greater investment in seeing your campaign succeed. Ultimately they will see a financial benefit if the clients do well. The freelancer is getting a set fee, regardless of whether the campaign succeeds or not.
While it may seem like overkill, it is important to visit an agency’s headquarters to determine whether the actual agency headcount matches the advertised headcount.
4. What is the headcount of the agency staff that works on DRTV full-time?
While an agency’s billings are a fair question, it is not necessarily a good indicator of experience. Headcount of staff devoted to DRTV is a better guide to an agency’s experience and clout.
For example, a multi-disciplined agency may have a client/brand that spends $200 million on TV. The objective of the campaign is to achieve awareness and store sales. The commercial does have a small 800# and URL, but the response is minimal
Further, the media is handled out of a holding company media group on the other side of the country. So, what appears to be $200 million in DRTV billings is actually a brand account handled by someone in another office.
5. What percentage does DRTV comprise the agency’s bottom-line business?
This will quickly give you a snapshot of whether the agency is focused 24/7 on DRTV or if it is a menu item of a much larger entity.
6. Does the DRTV agency supply full disclosure of rates paid to stations?
No matter what proposal an agency might present to you (i.e. “Guaranteed CPL’s”), unless you have the ability to see exactly what the agency is paying the station for every spot aired, you are susceptible to being overcharged. There’s a reason station affidavits are notarized – you should demand to see them. It’s a red flag if the agency won’t submit them.
For example, let’s say an agency agrees to a 5% commission, rebating 10% of the 15% agency commission back to you. They report to you a $1,000 spot on CNN, without supplying an affidavit.
The agency invoices you for $900 (rebating the 10% of the reported $1,000) which on the surface seems like a pretty good deal. However, the reality is the agency may have paid $750 for the spot, pocketing the difference. This would translate to a real commission rate of 20%. Demand to see the original unedited station invoice.
7. What is the DRTV agency policy on conflicts of interest?
Most companies do not want their agency working with a competitor. Not every agency looks at it that way. Clarify this upfront.
These are just a few of the questions you may want to think about when reviewing potential DRTV agencies. Good luck with your search!
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
DRTV in Asia
Friday, March 11th, 2011
For those of us that have been involved in DRTV overseas, we know that DRTV’s growth is coming like a freight train, particularly in Asia.
The following release gives you some insight into DRTV’s role in CIGNA’s business strategy in Thailand.
CIGNA Insurance Announces 2011’s Key Business Strategies
and Launches New DRTV to sell “1 Care 2” Policy Plan
Posted by on March 3, 2011
Bangkok–3 Mar–CIGNA Insurance
Management, and Direct-to-Consumers Channels integration. The Company sets to launch new Direct Response TV Commercial to offer “1 Care 2” policy aiming to tap the family generation for the 2 consecutive year. CIGNA Thailand targets Y2011 Sales from all channels to exceed THB 1.5 Billion.
Mr. Gary Wayne Denson, Chief Executive Officer & Country Manager, CIGNA Insurance Public Company Limited, an expert in affinity-based telemarketing and direct distribution business specializing in Personal Accident and Health insurance products in Thailand said that the Company has again been successful in its sales mission which has grown over 300% during Y2008-2010, owing to its continued successful implementation of the first three-year strategic road map since Y2008. To continue its success in Y2011, the Company focuses its key strategies on 3 initiatives which are:
1) Affinity Business Partnerships: to increase the numbers of major Business Partners (BPs) and to expand a horizontal penetration within existing BPs. The Company aims to bring the Insurance more closer to Thai people through various marketing campaigns with BPs such as the campaign that CIGNA has partnered with GSM advance to offer Personal Accidental Insurance for GSM advance customers free of charge for 3 months.
“Our core business model is based on the affinity partnerships. Therefore, the growth of our business partner numbers is very important to the growth of our business. We’re proud to say that our business partner numbers have tripled over the last 3 years, most of which are the country’s leading financial institutions, plus major companies in the telecom, retail, automotive, and IT sectors” Mr. Denson added.
2.) Customer Value Management (CVM) which is the unique strength of CIGNA around the globe that is used to help CIGNA’s Business Partners to drive effectiveness through targeting relevant and meaningful offers to their customer segments — and where CIGNA’s products meet a buying need. Over time, CIGNA is migrating to a model where its approach integrates the customer, product and channel dynamics. This also enables CIGNA to optimize the customer contact management strategy on behalf of its Business Partners. CIGNA Thailand is striving to utilize this unique selling point with every BP to produce greater customer satisfaction & superior financial results for both CIGNA and BPs.
3.) Synergy of all sales channels, especially Direct—to-Consumer Channels, the channel that creates a direct demand from the consumers which has been another strategic initiative of The Company since early 2008. Being happy with last year’s Direct Response TV (DRTV)’s success, the campaign earned overwhelming response from the Thai consumers, which resulted higher than planned sales value. Thereby, CIGNA Thailand will aggressively pursue the DRTV channel again this year.
“Last year we’ve overwhelmed with about 100,000 incoming calls from airing the DRTV and also achieved THB 100 million sales target (DRTV and Internet); we are extremely satisfied and assume in being the pioneer in Thailand that we have created a movement to the market in this channel significantly. There are number of insurance companies that now play in this channel but focus on a different target groups. For CIGNA Thailand, we are still focusing on the target group of the family generation as last year and we launch “1 Care 2” policy plan to the market today”. said Mr. Denson.
The new DRTV campaign will promote the “1 Care 2” insurance policy, which covers both yourself (a prime insured) and another loved one who is either the prime insured’s father, mother, spouse or son/daughter. The prime insured, aging from 15-59 years old, will be covered with both Personal Accident Insurance Plan and also 5 critical illnesses: Invasive Cancers, Heart Attack, Stroke, Kidney Failure, and Coma ranging from THB 200,000 to THB 800,000, plus reimbursement on medical expenses from an accident, with maximum coverage of 30,000 baht per accident (motorcycling included), with no limit on the number of accidents within the protection period. In addition, CIGNA Care Card will be provided to the insured to allow them to enjoy cash-free payment for medical expenses in case of an accident if the insured receives medical treatment in any of the hospitals under the CIGNA agreed partner network. Moreover, Global Emergency Services 24 hours a day will be provided to the insured, allowing them to have a peace of mind when they travel, anywhere in Thailand and across the globe.
Also, the loved one of the prime insured will be provided the maximum coverage of THB 300,000 lump sum benefit when they suffers loss of life, dismemberment or total permanent disability due to an accident, plus reimbursement on medical expenses from an accident with maximum coverage of 10,000 baht per accident (motorcycling included), with no limit on the number of accidents within the protection period. CIGNA Care Card also provided for 1 year coverage (for those who buy plan 3-5 only). The benefit of covering the loved one will go only to the prime insured who pay the premium by credit card, without any additional cost. The loved one could be the prime insured’s either father, mother, spouse or a child whose age between 1-70 years old. The premium of “1 Care 2” plan starts from 7 baht per day (for the prime insured with age between 15-25 years old and buy the Plan 2.)
In addition to DRTV channel, CIGNA also offers “1 Care 2” plan through the online channel via CIGNA Thailand’s website. It aims to serve the new generation of consumers, who love to purchase products via the online channel. For those who interested in the product can leave their name and phone number on the website, for next step follow up from CIGNA’s telesales specialists who will provide information in detail and complete the sales process.
“CIGNA Thailand will synergize our all sales channel as much as possible whether on telemarketing, internet and other channels which will be launched in the near future to maximize the benefit from every channel to ensure a convenient, easy and enjoyable consumer experience. CIGNA Thailand sets the sales target (ANP) of DRTV and internet in Y2011 to exceed THB 140 Million, which means 40% growth from last year.” concluded Mr. Denson.
For Y2010 overall business performance, CIGNA Insurance Public Company Limited recorded Net Written Premiums as of December 2010 of THB 717 Million, jumping 122 percent from THB 322 Million of Net Written Premiums as of December 2009. Number of Policy in-force is about 570,000 policies as of the end of Y2010. The Company has set the Y2011 sales target (ANP) of all channels of THB 1.5 Billion, 50% growth from Y2010 sales results.
For the original article, please visit http://www.tivarati.com/news/106222
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Know Your DRTV Audience
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
It’s always interesting to look beyond the numbers. We have talked a great deal in this blog about the many misconceptions regarding TV. Namely, that the influence of TV advertising is waning, while all indications are that TV viewing is at an all-time high.
Like everyone else, it is fascinating for me as a marketer to watch the evolution of new technology available to reach consumers (mobile, i-Pads, gaming, 3D, e-books, online video, to name just a few). It’s particularly intriguing to us here at Eicoff because a day doesn’t go by in which we don’t see a new application for all the DRTV campaigns we currently air.
And yet, we continue to remind ourselves to keep our eye on the ball. It’s not that the new technologies won’t continue to grow in importance — they will (and, frankly, become a larger source of revenue for us). The larger message sometimes gets lost in the numbers however. For example, let’s take a look at the most recent Neilsen numbers for the week of February 21:
Source: The Nielsen Company. Viewing estimates on this page include Live viewing and DVR playback on the Same Day, defined as 3am-3am. Ratings are the percentage of TV homes in the U.S. tuned into television.
It’s one thing to look at the large viewership numbers – pretty substantial. However, we’ve found that it’s just as important to look at the types of programming generating the large viewership.
American Idol, CSI, Royal Pains, WWE Raw, SpongeBob. Now I am sure that there is a certain percentage of these viewers that own an i-Pad, watch video online or via mobile. However, I am equally sure that the vast majority of these viewers don’t.
The point is not that we shouldn’t target audiences via the new technology – that’s a no-brainer. The important thing to remember is that what may be cool to us marketing guys may be much slower to take hold with a much larger audience.
Don’t believe me, the next time you go to the DMV to get your license renewed, count how many i-Pads you see. In 10 years i-Pads will most likely be ubiquitous, but until then we have to remember what any comedian already knows: know your audience.
The impact the new technology is having on DRTV is both exciting and complex. The DRTV messages have to continue to appeal to mass audiences, but must be served up in a myriad of ways to allow the consumer to digest it the way they feel most comfortable (ie online, traditional TV, etc…).
As we continue to layer on new technology to traditional DRTV, it is critical that we continue to analyze who our audience is in addition to how we are reaching them.
For more information on Nielsen Ratings, please visit http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/top10s/television.html
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Adweek Poll & DRTV Buyers See Impact of Media Usage
Monday, December 13th, 2010
A recent AdWeek Media/Harris Poll revealed numbers regarding advertising acceptance that reflect what DRTV marketers already know about how consumers use media – there is often an inverse relationship between content engagement and ad effectiveness.
The survey found that the majority of consumers (63%) were most likely to ignore or disregard Internet ads. When asked what types of advertising they ignored the most, 43% chose banner ads while 20% selected search ads. Traditional media like TV (14%), radio (7%), and newspaper (6%) filled out the bottom of the ranking.
This is more evidence that consumers are less likely to pay attention to advertising when they are focused on, and engaged in, the content they are accessing. In most cases, Internet use is literally a “lean-forward” activity. When consumers go to a web site or search engine, they are seeking information. Unless your message is extremely relevant, or even helpful to the consumer, you will have difficulty being noticed.
The same premise holds true within each media vehicle. While TV fared much better than digital media in this survey, levels of viewer engagement will vary across different dayparts and programming. DRTV buyers take this into account when negotiating buys, and can gauge the impact when analyzing results. Consumers let down their guard when they are in a passive viewing mode, and are therefore more accepting of commercials. And in the case of DRTV, they are more likely to respond.
Consumers use media for various reasons, ranging from proactive information gathering to engaged entertainment, to passive relaxation. It is important for marketers to understand how this media usage and behavior will impact their communications plan.
The Adweek Media/Harris Poll “Ads People Ignore” can be found at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/649/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx
Rob Schmidt is an Account Supervisor at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
The 5 Myths of DRTV
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Despite the growth of the DRTV business in recent years and all the knowledge available about it online and elsewhere, certain misconceptions persist. Some of these misconceptions have been repeated so often by so many that they become full-fledged myths. At worst, these myths create flaws in the DRTV strategies of advertisers—flaws that can produce media plans, creative approaches or even offers that don’t work.
Awareness of what these myths are can help prevent the damage they do. Here are the most common myths we’ve observed and the realities they obscure:
You can’t sell and build a brand in the same DRTV spot.
This myth is rooted in the early days of DRTV, when the common belief was that every second of the spot must be devoted to motivating viewers to respond. For hard-selling DRTV pioneers, building brand or anything that didn’t focus directly on the offer benefits was wasted time. Over the years, however, we’ve found that brand-building and selling aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, delivering the brand message at the right time in the right way can actually increase response rates.
Late night and weekend slots are always the best times to run DRTV commercials.
Not always. Obviously, these are effective periods because they usually offer lower rates and the type of programming that DRTV thrives upon. But it may be that for certain offers, other slots are as effective or even more effective. We’ve found that there are instances when primetime can be effective for some direct response spots.
The most effective DRTV spots are ALWAYS two minutes in length.
For a long time, two minutes was the gold standard for DRTV. For many clients it still is. However, because of the diversity of offers on the air and the well-known brands using DRTV, even 30-second spots can work well. We’ve learned that the length of the spot should be shaped by the offer, by testing and by availabilities. The more flexible advertisers are when it comes to commercial length, the more likely they’ll produce an effective spot
You can’t sell products or services over a certain price point using DRTV.
Years ago, there was some validity to this myth. At one time, $19.95 was the cutoff. As viewers became more accustomed to buying via DRTV, as Fortune 500 advertisers helped legitimize many spots and as credit card usage for purchases became the norm, the old pricing limits became irrelevant. Nonetheless, some people in our industry still believe that it’s tough to sell high end offers, even though there’s a great deal of evidence to the contrary.
DRTV advertising has no impact on retail sales.
In some ways, this is the most persistent myth of all. For years, many people in our business believed that if people didn’t respond to a DRTV spot by calling the toll free number, they would never buy that product in a store; that DRTV commercials contributed nothing to creating awareness for and a predisposition to buy advertised products in stores. We’ve had clients who have run what are known as “dark tests” where they pull DRTV advertising for a period of time and measure how retail sales are impacted. They’ve found that store sales of their products decreased when the DRTV commercials were off the air and increased when they went back on. Clearly, direct response commercials have a positive, spillover effect on store sales.
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
DRTV’s Impact on Traditional Marketing
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
It dawned on me as I was watching the Olympics this week the impact DRTV is having on traditional marketers. While we didn’t see a preponderance of 800#/drive to web (though I saw some), the impact I spotted was more subtle.
There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the web’s impact on television viewing. We’ve discussed at length the misperception that TV viewing is declining — there is plenty of research recently published that shows that, in fact, TV viewership is increasing.
Digging deeper behind the “TV is Dying” headlines, I’d propose that what the “experts” really want to be saying is, “The :15 and :30 TV Commercial is Dying.” I suspect that general marketers are beginning to learn what DRTV marketers have known for a long time — longer length commercials are more effective than shorter length commercials.
Here are a couple spots from Nike and P & G that appeared frequently during the Olympics:
Personally, I love these spots — I don’t get tired watching them. The question I ask myself is, “Would I like them as much if they were a :15 or a :30?” Probably not.
As more traditional marketers become exposed to the benefits of longer length DRTV spots, I believe you are going to see traditional marketers shift the balance from :15/:30′s to :60/:90/:120′s. The same reason DRTV marketers know they generate more calls/traffic per dollar via longer length sports, smart traditional marketers will learn this is the strategy they will need to follow for TV to be effective for them.
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Choosing the Right DRTV Celebrity
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Or How Wilford Brimley rode in on a horse, and Liberty Medical rides out with a success story.
Working with a celebrity endorser can be an expensive proposition for an advertiser. And, as many advertisers through the years have discovered, it can be fraught with peril. But with DRTV, you can find out very quickly whether a celebrity is the right spokesman for your product.
Liberty Medical is in the business of home delivery of diabetes testing supplies and was committed to using a celebrity in their advertising. Liberty tried a number of very famous actors without success. The spots were pulled after short media tests, with minimal financial investment.
It turns out having an instantly recognizable name was not enough to resonate with potential Liberty customers. The spokesman had to know what living with Type 2 Diabetes is all about. Enter Wilford Brimley.
Click on the embedded video to see the spot created by A.Eicoff & Company, and hear Wilford Brimley’s story. The spot was a long-term success for Liberty Medical.
After the initial two-week test with Wilford Brimley proved successful, a national rollout followed. The difference was not the message or the markets where the spot ran. The difference was the simple fact that Wilford Brimley understood what living with Type 2 Diabetes was all about; he was able to connect with the audience. He knew that testing your blood sugar as often as your doctor prescribed was vital, even if it wasn’t the easiest or most pleasant thing to do. He offered a bit of advice, he did it in a compelling manner and there was no mistaking what he wanted people to do: “Call Liberty, they’ll help you live a better life.”
Liberty Medical built their diabetes testing supply business significantly on a Direct Response Television campaign featuring Mr. Brimley. This commercial, which ran successfully for several years, was also parodied on Saturday Night Live, featuring John Goodman in the role of “Wilford Brimley.”
I’m not sure how Mr. Brimley took the satirical piece, (I didn’t dare ask), but when your commercial is being parodied on SNL it’s definitely part of the consciousness of American television viewers. And that was a huge bonus for Liberty Medical. A celebrity is not always the right way to go in a television campaign, but when you can test it with a Direct Response Television commercial, you’ll know very quickly whether you made the right decision.
Terry O’Sullivan is a Group Creative Director at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Evolution of DRTV
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
When Alvin Eicoff created his own direct response agency 50 years ago, did he think direct response television (DRTV) would make products like the Snuggie a national phenomenon? Some may argue that he knew products like this would flourish with DRTV. In fact, one of Alvin’s first products he advertised promised to get rid of rats in your home and was quite successful. Though the products may be as unique as they were 50 years ago, small products are not the only ones using DRTV. Top Fortune 500 companies, who 20 years ago would have never dreamed of using DRTV, now rely on it to sell products, generate leads and build their brand. The following are four developments that helped DRTV evolve into the effective marketing tool it is today:
Call Tracking
The development of telemarketing call centers has become just as important as any other element in DRTV. When a person calls the number shown in a DRTV advertisement, they are directed to a call center where the call can be broken down into several statistics. Most DRTV commercials place a unique 800-phone number on their spot, specific to that channel/daypart. When a person calls one of the unique phone numbers, the call center can track which spot (channel/daypart) generated the call. The call can then be analyzed and statistically reported by aspects such as cost per call, cost per lead, and conversion rate, which have become one of the most important elements when placing media. These statistics help optimize where media is placed based on which channel/daypart/program produces the best statistics. Many call centers today possess real-time tracking technology that gives media buyers the power to know more data faster and optimize more effectively based on this data.
Internet
The internet has provided a new medium to which the viewer can respond. Many DRTV commercials also feature a URL the viewer can visit. Some advertisers are even placing unique web address in their DRTV spots, e.g., www.company.com/tv1. The use of a URL is a less formal response to a commercial, but can provide similar statistical feedback to advertisers. Also, though viewers may not remember the unique URL in a commercial, they may perform an internet search for the company advertised in the spot. If search has gone up, one can assume the commercial has had a positive effect.
Media Landscape
The television media landscape continues to expand. The number of cable networks is increasing and becoming more fragmented, making it easier to place longer length spots (typically 2-minutes or 60 seconds in length) and target specific demographics. For example, if an advertiser wants to target adults aged 65+, they are able to place DRTV spots on stations this demographic is likely to watch, and as a result, more likely to respond to. This type of strategy not only drives more leads, but more qualified leads as the audience viewing the commercial are the ones targeted.
Fortune 500 Companies
Twenty years ago, top Fortune 500 companies like American Express would have never dreamed of using an 800-phone number or a call-to-action in their television commercials. Having DRTV as part of their marketing mix was considered uncomfortable territory for these companies. Nowadays, these Fortune 500 companies are calling us to learn how DRTV can help generate leads and more importantly, sales. Whether it is driving people to a phone number, retail store or website, DRTV has been an effective ROI strategy for these top companies to produce results as well as build brand awareness.
With technology and the marketplace ever changing, the possibilities are endless for DRTV. At the current pace, advertisers in the next 50 years may have no choice but to rely on DRTV. Alvin Eicoff would certainly agree.
Adam Poll is an Assistant Account Executive at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
The Power of the DRTV Demo
Friday, January 29th, 2010
With the spirit of the state of Missouri in mind, buyers of your helpful product or cool innovation will often bring a simple demand: show me! Thus, as much as powerful language and nice imagery can enhance your product’s personality and its brand, you cannot underestimate the power of THE DEMO in your television spot.
This is especially important if you’re creating a direct response television commercial.
Over the years at Eicoff, we’ve put numerous products to that task in our DRTV commercials. Craftsman tools, Kenmore vacuums, beauty products, automotive… we’ve demoed it all. Along the way, we’ve learned quite a few things. Here are some.
Demos don’t need to be boring. Whether it’s the angle you shoot it at, the art direction or the sound effects, demos can and should be dynamic.
Think visual. Some demonstrations are made for television, others not so much. Make sure what you’re demonstrating is something that can be told visually. For example, you cannot show how a product smells.
Take your time. Longer format television spots help you help the viewer see your product’s value. Unless you have something that does one thing and one thing only, it’s beneficial to have extra time to give viewers a more complete picture and better understanding of your product. “Wow, it does that and that and that… sold!”
Run a test. It may seem like a total no brainer, but it’s always a good idea to try the demos before you film the demos. This ensures no hangs up on the shoot day and may actually create a thought or two on how to improve the demo.
Here are 3 examples of Eicoff DRTV commercials that work hard to tell a product’s story by utilizing the almighty demo.
Craftsman 2-in-1 Trimmer/Blower
Craftsman Clean ‘N Carry Powerwasher
Craftsman CompuCarve
Tim Burke is a Senior Vice-President, Group Creative Director at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
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