Posts Tagged ‘short-form infomercial’
Back to Basics: Maintaining DRTV Efficiency in a Tight Marketplace
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
DRTV became even more attractive to a wide array of marketers in late 2008 and early 2009 as media budgets eroded and CMO’s faced more pressure to justify marketing spend by way of ROI. New advertisers tested the DRTV waters, and inventory was available across a broad spectrum of broadcast, cable and syndication outlets. With more vendors willing to work with DRTV advertisers, availability was plentiful and efficiency came relatively easy. But as we face heavier scatter demand in 2010, and brace for a strong 2011 upfront market, it is important to revisit the basics of what makes DRTV efficient.
Wide Landscape
DRTV was born out of a growth in commercial inventory, and even as CPMs increase and avails tighten on top tier networks, inventory is still accessible on a national level. Make sure your media partner assesses the full scale of availability while building your tactical plan. Also, fight the temptation to limit your buy to stations and/or programs that you, personally, are familiar with. A good DRTV buyer can still reach your target efficiently by looking beyond the obvious.
Flexibility
Another staple of DRTV is flexibility. Stations offer buyers flexibility in rates and cancellation, and in return expect flexibility in placement. Allowing for leeway in response or impression delivery on a weekly and even daypart level will allow you to take better advantage of station availability, and improve efficiency.
Tracking and Optimization
This is elementary to traditional DRTV players, but many marketers who entered the space during the recession were content with driving phone or web response as a means to earn efficient DRTV pricing. But rate is only part of the equation. Tracking – both clearance and response – and campaign optimization based on this data is the core of a successful DRTV campaign. Make sure your media agency has the tools and experience to track and optimize down to the creative, station, daypart/rotation, and even program level. Also, remember that unique phone numbers and URLs by station and creative are instrumental in this process.
Testing
A good DRTV marketer knows that you are always in test mode. With the tracking capabilities available via DRTV, your campaign should continue to evolve each week based on testing new stations, dayparts, and creatives. Your media partner should identify the correct balance between core schedule spend and testing.
There will be a lot written about the return of the traditional TV marketplace in the coming months, and much will focus on increases in upfront and scatter demand and the subsequent impact on pricing. This more competitive marketplace will elevate the importance of traditional DRTV principles. The marketers and agencies that execute these principles the best will continue to thrive in an increasingly ROI focused environment.
Rob Schmidt is an Account Supervisor at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Packaged Goods and DRTV: A Growing Trend
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Over the past two years, we have seen a growing number of major packaged goods companies conducting direct response television campaigns, including P&G, Arm & Hammer, S.C. Johnson, and Clorox. Until recently, most packaged goods companies rarely considered DRTV because of two assumptions:
- It wouldn’t build the brand—the hard-selling reputation of DRTV seemed antithetical to the nuanced process of brand building.
- It would be difficult to reach their traditional target market cost-effectively.
What has become clear, however, is that both these assumptions are false. In terms of the latter issue, the proliferation of cable/satellite networks has provided packaged goods advertisers with a range of effective options to reach their markets. These networks, with programming content in everything from food to Asian culture to travel to senior issues, make it possible to create a highly strategic media plan. Perhaps even more important, these networks are very receptive to DRTV. Not only do they have longer-length availabilities for direct response spots but they are willing to provide direct response advertisers with lower, often substantially lower, rates.
In terms of brand building, the conceptual sophistication and production values of DRTV has increased enormously in recent years. At Eicoff, for instance, most of our CPG clients insist that their spots do double duty—selling as well as enhancing the brand. Many times, we’ll work with a client’s general agency to ensure that a spot delivers the right brand message. In some instances, this means integrating the themes of their general advertising into the DRTV spots – maintaining the brand-building elements of the original commercial but revamping it so it includes a response vehicle.
Not only have marketers recognized that these two assumptions about DRTV are false, but they have found ways to make DRTV their own. In other words, packaged goods advertisers have shaped this advertising tactic to meet their own objectives. Marketers have created DRTV campaigning designed to generate increased product sampling and driving customers to retailers to make purchases. While other packaged goods companies have used DRTV to increase high-value coupon redemptions, refine their database, test new markets and create higher traffic on their web sites.
Another way that packaged goods advertisers have shaped DRTV is through the use of 60-second spots. Many traditional DRTV spots are two minutes in length, but packaged goods advertisers have found ways to make 60-second spots achieve their goals. The additional 30 seconds provides the time necessary to include the information and product demonstrations that shorter commercials don’t allow. Using everything from testimonials to dramatic vignettes, they are able to tell a compelling story because of the additional seconds at their disposal. This story can involve an explanation of the “green” nature of their products to a delineation of the advantages over competitive products.
Be aware that all packaged goods DRTV advertising contains a call to action. It’s not sufficient to flash a URL or 800 number. These response devices must be accompanied by a specific request—redeem a coupon, participate in an online product comparison and so on. Without the combination of a specific request and a response vehicle, these companies won’t be able to qualify for DRTV rates.
This packaged good/DRTV trend is also driven by the times in which we live. DRTV’s ability to deliver immediate, measure results confers accountability on the advertising. ROI is crucial to advertisers today, and DRTV provides concrete evidence of ROI. Packaged goods advertisers relish being able to correlate dollars spent versus sales made or other results (web site hits, coupon redemptions, etc.) It will come as no surprise to anyone that in our current economic climate, accountability is crucial to advertisers. And of course, it’s equally important to viewers. Packaged goods advertisers tell us that respondents often are drawn to these commercials because of the perceived value of an advertised product—they felt they were receiving a better deal on a product sold direct than they would receive in a store.
Finally, DRTV offers significant media savings. Because of the way that direct response television is bought, savings can be as much as 40% to 60% off the rate card. Obviously, this savings depends on many factors, but there’s no question that direct response spots provide bargains that can’t be obtained through traditional buys.
Given all these advantages, what’s surprising is not that so many packaged goods advertisers are using DRTV but that more haven’t hopped on the bandwagon.
Steve Millier is a Senior Vice President at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Nielsen Confirming Growth of DRTV and DR Radio
Friday, April 16th, 2010
The following excerpt from a recent Nielsen report confirms what most of us have suspected: The number of DRTV and DR Radio spots are growing.
Act Now! The Rise of Direct Response Advertising
April 16, 2010
While global ad spend has softened in many sectors, one format, the direct response ad, or infomercial, has seen a remarkable 18% growth in total units in the U.S. since 2007 according to Nielsen. In total, direct response comprises 14% of all TV advertising, a figure that may continue to grow as blankets with sleeves, super absorbent towels and language learning CDs gain a mixture of mainstream awareness and web virality.
An analysis of a single week of all direct response national TV advertising shows that 88% of all U.S. TV Homes (or 101 million homes) tuned to at least one national direct response ad — on average those homes saw 32 such ads during the week tracked. Over 15,500 DR commercials units aired across national TV for the week we reviewed.
What may be somewhat misleading about the chart above is that the increased number of spots are most likely longer length spots. Our suspicion is this graph would be even more dramatic if detailed by commercial time rather than units. Either way, this is one more indicator that DRTV and DR radio is on the rise.
Bill McCabe is EVP/COO at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
Building Value Takes Longer Than 30 Seconds
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
What motivates a person to buy a product? Without getting into discussions on supply and demand, it all comes down to one word: value.
“What does this product mean to me?”
“Why should I choose this product over that one?”
“And why should I pay that much?”
As a marketer, you’d better have convincing answers to all these questions. But telling your product’s whole story and overcoming barriers to purchase, all within the confines of a fleeting, 30-second commercial, is a tall order.
Enter, DRTV.
DRTV’s longer format – 60 seconds to a full two minutes – allows you to build value, which, not surprisingly, has to happen before a sale is going to occur. A longer format commercial is perfect for effective storytelling. It strikes up a longer conversation, and it engages the target with more compelling illustrations. It educates consumers about your product or service. It can identify problems, and pose solutions. These spots don’t just allude to product features, they can explain and even demonstrate the benefits and advantages the target will experience. All this builds value with every passing second.
More compelling stories build greater value. As value increases, the issue of price decreases. When you reach critical value, the barriers to purchase crumble. And a sale is made.
Lest you conclude that DRTV is the realm of the slicers and dicers and kitchen magicians, none other than David Ogilvy has proclaimed that direct response was his first love, and later it became his secret weapon. See for yourself.
Jim Madsen is a Copywriter 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.
Where Emerging Media and DRTV Overlap
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
There is much focus these days in the trade publications on emerging media. It is a very broad term that often scares traditional DRTV clients. It should not. Much of what makes emerging media exciting overlaps well with traditional DRTV:
- Highly measurable
- Easy to target specific demographics
- Platforms that are conducive for response
- Pricing models that allow for low-cost testing
It is true that the emerging media world is very broad and rapidly changing market. In this post I would like to focus on a few of the key areas where emerging media and DRTV overlap:
- Alternate buying platforms (Google TV, Admira)
- Interactive TV (TiVo, RFI)
- Online Video
One reason these all work so well is that they are rooted in the power of utilizing video to drive response and serve as a new way for the ad to generate response. Alternate buying platforms are the easiest emerging media tool for a DRTV company to grasp. You are buying the same media and running the same creative, but the buying process is more intelligent due to some very exciting technology from companies like Google and Microsoft (Admira). We have had great success using these platforms as additional tools in our media tool box.
Interactive TV allows the consumer easily respond to a call-to-action — most often via the click of a remote. TiVo has proven a very successful tool for our clients. Their platform is very advertising friendly- especially with the addition of show tags and pause screen tags. We are now able to advertise on shows that typically are off limits for DRTV clients. RFI capabilities are currently rolling out on other platforms and should be a great tool to generate cost-effective responses in 2010.
Online video has been the hot medium for the last two years. Unfortunately, the large growth in online video consumption has not been matched in ad spending by DRTV-minded advertisers. That may change in 2010 as the number of consumers watching longer-length videos increases and the cost of online video ads comes down. The willingness of ad networks and publishers to test CPC (cost per complete call) and even CPS (cost per sale) pricing is also increasing, which is a very good sign for the DRTV market.
This was just a very brief skim of just a few of the exciting emerging media tools our clients are using to generate immediate, measurable results. More to come…
Matt Cote is Associate Director of Emerging Media at A. Eicoff & Co., one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.
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