Direct Response (DRTV) with Brand Marketing

By Rick Petry

Many products are successfully sold via short-form direct response television, yet programs that are asking for the order, versus just trying to generate a lead, frequently require a full two minutes. The one hundred and twenty seconds is required because it takes time for a commercial to set up a problem, offer the solution in the form of the product’s unique selling proposition, and then do an offer build and provide the requisite order information. However, whenever a marketer is putting together a “deuce”, as the industry sometimes refers to it, they should also include a 60 second version of their commercial for the following reasons:

Two-minute short-form DRTV inventory can be challenging to clear depending upon what is happening in the marketplace. General advertisers pay a premium for guaranteed placement, whereas DR advertisers are immediately preemptible. Therefore the strength of the general media marketplace determines how much inventory is left over for DR and that inventory can ebb and flow depending upon a variety of factors. For example, if a show under-delivers the audience of a particular demographic that was promised to the general advertiser, the network or station may run free airings to make up the audience shortfall. This siphons inventory away from DR. - READ THE ARTICLE: Why Short-Form DRTV Marketers Need a 60 Second Spot

By Doug Engebrethson

Many companies, start ups, established DRTV outfits and others attempt to handle fulfillment of their products. We define fulfillment as shipping products, collecting payment and handling customer care. While this may seem like a good business decision, it is fraught with peril. The complexities of inventory management, payment processing, reporting and returns require expertise of staff and technology…most times entailing a significant investment. Investments in these technologies require substantial scale to justify the appropriate ROI. Often, but not always, this investment would be better directed to increasing customer acquisition and retention. Loyal customers who buy again because the quality, price and service were exceptional, is the best strategic course to pursue. Creating a good buying experience is akin to handling fulfillment and customer care in a professional manner. Far too often, the lifetime value of a customer is overlooked in building a brand.

Our top ten reason to consider outsourcing fulfillment follow and can be applied to most products and services. - READ THE ARTICLE: 10 Compelling Reasons for Outsourcing Fulfillment

By Justin Kilgore

The commencement of a new Direct Response campaign brings a myriad of choices for a client. Often times, the task of making these choices can be daunting, particularly for the inexperienced. One of the primary choices is that of selecting which call center will represent your company by handling the inbound volume for the campaign. In an effort to clearly and efficiently focus on this step, I’ve highlighted three core criteria a client can use to make the correct selection: product, media format, and co-vendor familiarity. By utilizing these three categories to help delineate their choice, a client can save time, effort, and resources needed to complete all of the tasks associated with a launch.

The first criterion mentioned is product, the basis for the campaign itself. What is the product or service being offered? What is the estimated price point the product will be sold at? Is the product technical in nature, potentially requiring a more in-depth sales approach, or is its purpose more self-evident, potentially requiring a more direct approach? Like DR campaigns themselves, call center vendors come in a wide variety of specialties. Approaching the product from this perspective can help focus the call center search to those vendors with a history of success in handling similar campaigns. According to T.C. Blumberg, CEO of Evolve Tele-Services, Inc., “Most of the major DR centers have handled the gamut of product types at one time or another, but each of us tends to have certain models that work better in our own environments.” - READ THE ARTICLE: Picking The Right Call Center For Your DR Campaign

By Marianna Morello

With more than 30 years of experience in the print media arena, I can confess that 2009 has been a bit of a shocking year, to say the least. Rates for print media have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years. I am buying opportunistic remnant buys at costs-per-thousand (CPM) that range from $1.25 to $8.00 for publications that would have never offered this in the past.

What does all of this add up to? A buying opportunity for anyone smart enough to get into the print media world. A number of clients have been bitten by the print media bug. They are reaping incredible returns-on-investment, with some reaching media efficiency ratios (MER) of 5.5 and better.

As we are all aware, the stock market and banks are not the places to invest your money right now. If you believe in your product, create a print ad and test the waters. Now is the time to dive in and see your profits grow. Print can give you a better ROI when you consider all the alternatives.

The DRTV industry has always felt that print ads do not pay out. On the contrary, during the economic crisis, print media is the cheapest way to invest money into your product or service, with as little as $3,000-5,000 enough to test a newly developed print campaign.

Remember one thing: you can always use another revenue stream, and print is a stream that keeps on flowing. Even after your short-form campaign or infomercial is off the air, your print ad will keep on returning responses for weeks and months to come.

Need more reasons to try print media? Here are nine reasons (courtesy of Magazine Publishers Association studies from 2007 and 2008) to give it a shot.- READ THE ARTICLE: Why Print Media — and Why Now?

By Todd Gelman

In today’s online environment, virtually everyone you speak with will tell you about all the different ways that you can drive traffic to your Direct Response website. Search Engine Marketing, display ads, email marketing, text ads, and of course social media are all ways to get more visitors to your site. It’s difficult to pick up a direct response industry magazine these days without finding an article that tells you as such.

But what about the other side of the equation? The other side that I’m referring to is a site’s conversion rate. Conversion rate measures the percentage of your site visitors that actually pull out their credit cards and buy your product. After all, what good is driving traffic to your site if the visitors who come don’t make a purchase? Most direct response marketers virtually ignore this notion. Rather than focusing on how they can increase their conversion rate by 20%-30% and generate additional dollars that go straight to the bottom line, their only web related concern is how they can get more Internet traffic. As such, they simply put up a simple landing page that is essentially an afterthought. This is surprising to see – given that this shoestring approach is probably costing them tens of thousands of dollars a month in lost revenue.

Here are some tips to ensure you maximize your odds at having higher conversion rates and increase your website’s contribution to your overall MER:- READ THE ARTICLE: Do you treat your website as an afterthought?

By Rick Petry

Testimonials, a staple of direct response advertising, may be a tried-and-true tactic for arresting consumer attention and eliciting response, but they must be handled deftly to avoid cliché and audience cynicism. So how does a marketer ensure they get it right? The following tips are designed to help assist you in avoiding the pitfalls and getting the testimonial mix right:

Look for Quality, Not Quantity: While many infomercials will feature quick sound bites of various consumers singing their product’s praise along the lines of, “It’s great!” “I love it!” “It changed my life!”, 20 years of focus group experience suggests that nothing tanks interest nor invites skepticism more than this tactic. One reason may be that the approach has been so overused that audiences simply consider these sequences one big unbelievable yawn. There’s a real distinction between someone who is an evangelist for a brand and someone who is merely satisfied. The best kind of brand evangelist is also a natural born influencer – it’s that ebullient force of nature we all know who freely extols the virtues of a product to all of their friends and inspires them to follow suit. This is the sort of testimonial you’ll ideally have in your marketing arsenal, but you must allow them time to breath and tell their story.

At the Same Time, You May Need Quantity: It’s easy to say, “Hey, go round up some brand evangelists,” but while you can try and screen for them, until you turn on that camera, you won’t know exactly what you’ve got. One very successful direct marketer suggested that a 10 to 1 ratio was required to cull out a broadcast-worthy testimonial! Those are pretty daunting numbers, but then when you consider the failure rate of DRTV programs, you have to ask yourself, “Do you want to solve this problem in pre-production or deal with it once the camera is rolling?” That brings us to…

Don’t Rush the Process: One of the biggest mistakes we’ve observed is this: the marketer says, “Testimonials? No problem! We get letters…” then proceeds to truncate the amount of time required to identify and line up great testimonials. Concurrently, the production train gets rolling until it runs head on into what one head of production wryly observed are the three most expensive words in commercial production – “Client will provide.” The entire process turns into a compromised, muddled mess with not only less than ideal testimonials, but fewer of them to choose from in the edit suite. Which is one reason you might want to consider this: - READ THE ARTICLE: Tips for Getting Great Testimonials

By Mark Lopreiato

Moving furniture, appliances, mattresses, hot tubs, HVAC units, cabinets and the like has taken on new meaning throughout 2010: supporting the fight against breast cancer. A.A.C. Forearm Forklift, Inc. (FF) has launched their newly pink-packaged, pink leverage straps! They’re proud supporters of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). In fact, a donation of $10,000 will be made by FF to help fund the charity’s work.

“My co-workers and I feel like we’re supporting women who look after their wellbeing,” said Mark Lopreiato, inventor of the Forearm Forklift. “All of us here are committed to help protect women’s health and we’re impressed that BCRF is the most highly rated breast cancer organization in the U.S. I found documentation that over 90% of the resources raised by the foundation go directly to research grants and awareness programs. They’re an efficient charity, with a great cause and we’re honored to support life-saving research.”

FF joins many other companies that have “turned” pink to improve awareness and fight one of the most common causes of fatality in women. “BCRF is honored to have Forearm Forklift as a dedicated partner in our fight against breast cancer,” said Robbie Franklin, Dir. of Mktg. at the foundation. According to 2009 findings from the American Cancer Society, women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 chance of developing invasive breast cancer in their lifetime and a 1 in 35 chance of dying from breast cancer.

ABOUT FF
Forearm Forklift moving straps have a patented design that employs leverage which makes the furnishings carried seem 66% lighter. They also encourage proper body mechanics which reduce the chance of potential injury due to heavy lifting. The straps are also easy-to-use and adjustable. They move furniture off the ground which keeps dollies’ wheels off your sensitive floors. Their suggested retail is only $19.95 for a pair. (www.BuyStraps.com)

Based in Azusa, California, FF is still owned and operated by the former mover who invented the product right after college in San Diego and who shortly thereafter founded the company in Pasadena more than 10 years ago. His company produces and distributes the straps which can be found at U-Haul, Home Depot, Target.com, Ace Hardware and Sears. More information and its complete product line can be found at www.ForearmForklift.com

With help from its one, two and five minute spots for both the English and Spanish markets, to date MORE THAN 6 MILLION PAIR HAVE BEEN SOLD! That’s also a testament of how well the product works and how they’re marketed and quality controlled!



“Without the spots airing on nationwide television, we couldn’t have achieved all the success we have enjoyed for more than 3 years now,” said Mark. “Our direct response campaign has turned our straps into a household name which translates to super-quick turnarounds at retail and big box placement is where the huge volume has been realized for us.” Mark added, “There are two things that I always recommend to people who are where I was ten years ago. First, buy patent abatement infringement insurance because it gives you access to millions of dollars per occurrence to fight against infringers. In fact, we’ve won every defense and earned some high dollar awards through judgments. Second, have a spot produced and invest in media. Buyers love As Seen On TV products. I recommend Direct Avenue!”

MORE ON BCRF®
The foundation was founded by Evelyn Lauder as a non-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical research. In 2009, nearly $29 million was awarded to 173 scientists across the globe. BCRF directs at least 90 cents of every dollar raised directly to research. And for the 8th consecutive year, BCRF has received Charity Navigator’s highest rating, four stars, thus outperforming over 99.8% of the 5,400 evaluated charities. The American Institute of Philanthropy has awarded the BCRF its highest possible rating of A+. BCRF is, in fact, the only breast cancer organization in the U.S. to receive these accolades. For more information, visit www.bcrfcure.org - READ FULL DIRECT RESPONSE ARTICLE: Forearm Forklift supports The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

By Chris Setser

ConnectFirst, a cutting-edge hosted technology company, offers a Cloud Routing Platform that is very useful for limiting abandoned calls, decreasing queue times and testing multiple contact centers from the same media campaigns.

ConnectFirst helps you manage your call traffic by allowing you to make use of multiple destinations distributing calls based upon your preferences. Allocation can be configured in many ways, so no call receives a busy signal or is placed in an infinite queue.- READ FULL DIRECT RESPONSE ARTICLE: ConnectFirst Cloud Routing

By Shari Thurow

When I ask online and direct marketers what they believe the definition of search engine optimization (SEO) is, in its simplest terms, they automatically say, “Making a site #1 in Google.” I understand this common perception. Because, classically, search engine optimization has been defined as designing, writing, programming, and coding (in XHTML) an entire Web site to maximize the chance that Web pages will appear at the top of search engine listings for targeted keyword phrases.

- Understanding Web Searcher Behavior and Search Engine Optimization

By Rick Petry

With the world mired in the thick of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, a number of products being marketed using direct response advertising are thriving above the fray. What are some of the common characteristics of these goods and their attendant campaigns that are bucking the tide? And what lessons can be uncovered that might help marketers and their supply chain attain similar success?

When basic security is threatened -- from job to housing to financial stability -- one natural course of action is to turn inward, to take stock. In that process, people come to terms with what they truly value. It has often been said that without one’s health, you have nothing, that all of the other things in life that may seem important are rendered meaningless. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a review of the Infomercial Monitoring Service (IMS) report reveals that health and fitness products comprise over one-third of both the top 25 ranked infomercial and short-form campaigns currently running. - Direct Response: The Hope for Recessionary Woes?

“When a sixty second ad can convince a consumer to grab his credit card, pick up the phone and order a product instantly, that’s my definition of a success” says Collette Liantonio, president of Concepts TV Productions. Success in Direct Response can also mean placing an order on the internet or calling to sample a product in a free trial offer. Success in Direct Response means getting the consumer to take instant action in response to the ad.

There are many different steps to creating a successful Direct Response Short Form campaign but the script is the blueprint that determines all the other elements. A great creative offer follows the ‘problem’/‘solution’ formula and engages the consumer’s attention within the first 10 seconds. For example, “Do you love cooking delicious pasta but hate the mess?” If the consumer relates to the problem, then we have successfully gained her attention. We then introduce the ‘solution’- the product or service being sold. The ‘solution’ should make the consumer’s life better and easier in some way. - Making a Successful Short Form Direct Response Spot What Will Make The Phones Ring? DRTV 101

By Jill Albert

You know that device you listen to day after day on your way to the office, it’s on at the gym, you in fact SING ALONG with it when your favorite song plays, yell at it when RUSH LIMBAUGH is ranting or your favorite team misses a shot. You have come to rely on your favorite radio station for traffic information and breaking news, as well as a recommendation for a new restaurant, how to entertain yourself in the coming weekend, what retailer is having a sale and how to survive in today’s economy. It is true… most of us have an emotional bond with our favorite radio station.

Radio continues to be a staple in America’s daily diet with over 90% of working adults listening two plus hours each day, and reaching over 94% of all people weekly. Radio provides target ability, relationship marketing, frequency as well as REACH and is present with just about every one of those emerging technologies that we marketers are trying to use to reach consumers. Internet users listen to radio more than any other media while surfing the web and over 45% of Internet radio listening is streamed to local stations.
- So what about RADIO?

By Angie Scheribel

The best opportunity for increasing return on your advertising investment right now is the Hispanic market.

If Hispanics are not on your marketing radar, the chances are you’re a few steps behind your competition. The U.S. Hispanic population is growing at a rapid rate and their buying power is growing with them.


According to Hispanic Market Weekly (March 2, 2009), Hispanic purchasing power has reached $980 Billion and is expected to climb to $1.3 Trillion by 2013. They are the fastest growing group in the U.S. accounting for 50% of this decade’s US population growth. With a population of 46 Million today Hispanics are expected to be a full 20% of the U.S. population by 2020. The community’s purchasing power represents the ninth largest economy in the world- larger than the GNP of Spain, Mexico, or Brazil, according to the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility

More and more advertisers have been seeing the need to reach this growing segment of the population. From 2000-2004, Hispanic directed budgets from the top 50 advertisers grew 87% (from $658 Million to $1.23 Billion). Major advertisers such as Proctor & Gamble and McDonalds have continued to increase their spend in the Hispanic market, and have seen continued returns for their investment. Hispanics are generally known as being very brand loyal, and see companies like McDonalds as being invested in the Hispanic market for the long haul because of their advertising efforts. Enormous numbers of household and personal products find Hispanics a 30 to 50% better prospect to make a sale.

- Marketing to Hispanics in a Down Economy

- By Alexis Rosenberg

In this weakening economy, many companies have cut their advertising budgets along with their workforce. This does not bode well for the advertising world at large. It becomes a domino effect with the result being Newspapers and Magazines, whose livelihood depend on advertising revenue, folding. To counteract this effect, DISH Network is in the fortunate position of expanding.

DISH Network’s main headquarters are in Denver. A little over a year ago, a New York advertising sales office for DISH Network was opened. This was spearheaded by Mr. Michael Finn, who came over from Viacom. Now, there are salespeople in both offices, establishing a greater reach into the marketplace.

Brian Norris, previously from Viacom and Lifetime, heads up the Direct Response team. By selecting a team of DR salespeople from throughout the industry, each person’s business relationships could be utilized for expansion.

Instead of standing by while revenue declined, our new office and expansion has helped DISH’s Direct Response business grow by adding new advertisers on the air. Changes need to happen when the economy is declining, but it doesn’t always have to be job cuts as DISH Network has proven.
Expanding further into the Market with the opening of a New York Sales Office

Testimonials, a staple of direct response advertising, may be a tried-and-true tactic for arresting consumer attention and eliciting response, but they must be handled deftly to avoid cliché and audience cynicism. So how does a marketer ensure they get it right? The following tips are designed to help assist you in avoiding the pitfalls and getting the testimonial mix right:

1. Look for Quality, Not Quantity: While many infomercials will feature quick sound bites of various consumers singing their product’s praise along the lines of, “It’s great!” “I love it!” “It changed my life!”, 20 years of focus group experience suggests that nothing tanks interest nor invites skepticism more than this tactic. One reason may be that the approach has been so overused that audiences simply consider these sequences one big unbelievable yawn. There’s a real distinction between someone who is an evangelist for a brand and someone who is merely satisfied. The best kind of brand evangelist is also a natural born influencer – it’s that ebullient force of nature we all know who freely extols the virtues of a product to all of their friends and inspires them to follow suit. This is the sort of testimonial you’ll ideally have in your marketing arsenal, but you must allow them time to breath and tell their story.

2. At the Same Time, You May Need Quantity: It’s easy to say, “Hey, go round up some brand evangelists,” but while you can try and screen for them, until you turn on that camera, you won’t know exactly what you’ve got. One very successful direct marketer suggested that a 10 to 1 ratio was required to cull out a broadcast-worthy testimonial! Those are pretty daunting numbers, but then when you consider the failure rate of DRTV programs, you have to ask yourself, “Do you want to solve this problem in pre-production or deal with it once the camera is rolling?” That brings us to…

3. Don’t Rush the Process: One of the biggest mistakes we’ve observed is this: the marketer says, “Testimonials? No problem! We get letters…” then proceeds to truncate the amount of time required to identify and line up great testimonials. Concurrently, the production train gets rolling until it runs head on into what one head of production wryly observed are the three most expensive words in commercial production – “Client will provide.” The entire process turns into a compromised, muddled mess with not only less than ideal testimonials, but fewer of them to choose from in the edit suite. Which is one reason you might want to consider this: - Tips for Getting Great Testimonials

By Beth Simonson Handler

Surprisingly New Low Cost Advertising Opportunities emerge amidst Economic Quake

The Global economic crisis has fostered bad news for industries across the board. In the world of Cable and Television advertising, there are a few who see the future looking much brighter as low cost high quality media has leveled the playing field, for businesses that absolutely must expose their products to the mass audience.Low Cost Media for Agencies, Media Brokers, Marketers and Entrepreneurs

By Joey Hastie

There are a number of ways to obtain your ROI goals using the available DR outlets. The question you should consider is, "Am I effectively buying the opportunities that are available to me?" The market is an evolving place and currently a majority of the DR efforts are focused on Television. Of course, this makes perfect sense. This has been the formula that has created a multi billion dollar industry for years. But the digital world is progressive and these changes have sparked an assortment of new opportunities for marketers to take advantage of. Targeting specific demographics becomes more and more of a fragmented process because consumers are accessing media in non-traditional ways. Advertisers using the old model of "broad" casting are finding that obtaining their ROI goals are becoming increasingly challengingMarketing DR Across Platforms

By Sean Patrick King

Let’s face it; the economy is in the gutter, the real estate market is on the verge of collapsing as the stock market did, and to top that all off thousands are losing their jobs each day. With out trying to sound too much like a politician, let’s have some faith in our leaders and each other and keep moving forward.

We are at a crossroads, much like a career change or new professional opportunity. Career minded individuals are going to keep their focus on the future. “What’s next, what can I do to change my situation, how can I improve.” Let’s use those same fundamentals to move forward with our campaigns. We need to take the same approach to DR that any career minded individual would use to move forward in their career.Keep Looking Ahead

By Frank Nichols

The old adage, "Throwing mud against the wall to see what sticks," has relevance across many businesses, especially those whose rate of success is directly proportional to the number of trials it takes to attain goals. It is appropriate in many forms of marketing where random learning plays a part in ultimate success or failure.

It seems to be the accepted and widely used methodology for designing media strategies for many extended DRTV campaigns — both long and short form. But, is that the best targeting methodology? Is there a better way?Throwing It Against the Wall

By Frank Nichols

The rapidly changing world of communications and advertising is beginning to fit the paradigms of exponential transition as defined socially by Alan Toffler in “Future Shock” and technologically by Nicholas Negroponte in “Being Digital.” Since society and technology are intrinsic elements of change in marketing methodology, it’s easy to see why the basic principles of direct response media are in a constant evolution that affects not only the increasing number of available media conveying advertising, but also the modes of delivery and, in turn, the economics of generating consumer response. It's Not Your Father's Same Old DRTV