DRTV News

The recent IPA Bellwether report makes slightly more cheerful reading than usual for the advertising business. For the first time in nearly four years, budgets are predicted to go up – just. And as you could have guessed, such growth that’s going looks like it’s going to come from on-line.

This pattern is hardly new, of course. But does this mean off-line advertising will soon be dead and the world will finally have gone digital?

Fear not, Luddites. The evidence is becoming increasingly strong (actually, overwhelming) that looked at overall, digital simply replaces retail as a way of conducting a transaction, rather than being a medium in its own right (social media excepted). Or put it another way, in the bad old days, you opened a shop or you printed and mailed a catalog. Now – at a fraction of the cost – you whip up a quick website and Bob’s your uncle.

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DRTV (direct response television) can attract instant new customers and produce high returns on investment. There are many pitfalls, however, and failure can be costly.

To celebrate its 15th birthday The DRTV Centre, the leading UK specialist advertising agency, is sharing the top fifteen secrets learned over these fifteen years.

DRTV includes any TV advertising that asks consumers to respond directly to the advertiser, by calling an 0800 number, visiting a web site or sending a text (SMS) message.

• To guarantee the best DRTV script, listen carefully to the industry expert who suggests that it should follow a proven formula. He knows what he’s talking about. Many clients who are new to the medium want to break the rules – more often than not their products fail.
• The attention of the viewer must be captured immediately; the message needs to be clear and relevant and quickly followed by a call-to-action (“phone now” for example).
• A problem/solution scenario often works well – with the advertised product being the solution to the problem, naturally.
• Highlight the most important product benefits by featuring prominent titles on screen. Advertising agency creatives hate these – but they work.
• You might be tempted to use humour to capture attention. Don’t. Humour hardly ever works.
• Make it clear what response you want from the viewer. This is the call-to-action. Repeat it.
• Show and speak your 0800 Freefone number very early in your script and keep it on screen until the end.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/699243#ixzz1uU6WtBOX

Some companies possess the false assumption that the direct response company isn’t needed to create a effective DRTV campaign. In this article I will reveal to you why getting a high quality direct reaction company is completely important if you wish to get the job done right!

Listed here are 3 places that getting a direct reaction company will vastly improve the potency of your campaign:

1. Efficient Sales Pitch. With DRTV marketing you’ll need a sales hype that leads your consumer to take a specific motion. Generally this is phoning an 800 quantity, or visiting a web site to get further information. The whole point of DRTV advertising would be to produce prospects and purchasers via consumer started action. When a customer triggers the product sales process, the chances for any successful conversion increase significantly. A direct reaction agency will help you style a highly effective sales hype which get customers to do this.

2. Achieving your specific target audience. Tv marketing won’t do a lot great if they cannot reach your target audience. An immediate reaction company will completely analyze your focus on census, and ensure your marketing gets to the best target audience.

3. Purchasing press for the best price. If your company is not careful, you may spend too much for DRTV advertising. Direct response agencies be aware of going rates to promote, and as such you can get specific advertising for the best price possible. In order to receive obtain the most from DRTV advertising you must employ a professional to oversee the process. Whilst DRTV advertising can be quite efficient, it can also be difficult and filled with risks. I motivate you to hire a direct reaction company which has substantial encounter in order to get the very best advertising for the money.

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Back in the day, DRTV used to be easy and decidedly not complex. You created a show or spot. You only had to track mail and phone orders. And media was cheap.

It’s a different world today, much more complex, much more to track, and media isn’t cheap anymore. Acquirgy’s new ebook, DRTV DERAILERS, identifies 12 of the most important stumbling blocks DRTV marketers face, all of which can negatively impact a DRTV campaign if not resolved. The eBook is available at: http://DD112.acquirgy.net for immediate download. DRTV DERAILERS outlines these issues and suggests remedies:

• Derailer #1: Website/Landing Pages
• Derailer #2: Online Shopping Cart
• Derailer #3: Information Inconsistency
• Derailer #4: Lack of Robust SEM Program
• Derailer #5: Lack of Accurate Tracking
• Derailer #6: Too Many Distractions
• Derailer #7: Not Using Video Footage Online
• Derailer #8: Customer Acquisition Links Broken
• Derailer #9: Not Addressing The “Free Shipping” Issue
• Derailer #10: Ignoring Online Competition
• Derailer #11: No Social Media Presence
• Derailer #12: No Video Site Presence

A slew of recent data now confirms what acquirgy has known for the last 10 years, that there is a very close symbiotic relationship between DRTV and SEM. And that match is becoming more and more important as tablets and smart phones are ever present as consumers watch TV.

The infographic with expert commentary, is available at: http://IG1.acquirgy.net, and features a tree with DRTV+SEM carved into the trunk inside a heart, supported by an extensive root system, which calls out the data points.

The tree analogy is a very apt one, said Senior Art Director Jonathan Rafert, because it highlights that a strong tree requires a healthy and deep root system. Adds IntelCenter creator Irv Brechner, at the heart of the root system are three key recent developments that have a direct impact on the DRTV/SEM relationship. They are:

• 88% of U.S. tablet owners use them while watching TV
• 86% of U.S. smart phone owners use them while watching TV
• 60% of U.S. computer owners use them while watching TV
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Children International, a leading nonprofit children’s organization, has launched a new long-form direct response television (DRTV) campaign. Children International’s direct response agency of record, Northern Lights Direct, developed the campaign and will also handle the media buy.

The 30-minute program, A Child’s Cry, features the stories of children in Ecuador and the Philippines, and is hosted by actor, Julio Cedillo, with a special appearance by Debbie Gibson. Both an English and Spanish version will be aired.

“We want viewers to understand that these children are real, their problems are real, and Children International sponsorship offers a very real, incredibly personal way to help them overcome their challenges,” says Andrea Waters, Vice President, Creative & Production Services for Children International.

Ian French, President of Northern Lights Direct, is proud of the DRTV campaign, and hopes it will do justice to Children International and all the children they support. “DRTV has been effective for Children International because of their important mission and reputation as a trusted nonprofit organization. At Northern Lights Direct, we stand behind their cause and are committed to helping them fulfill their mandate,” says French.

The campaign launches this week.

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DRTV can be enticing to direct response marketers because of its presence in all of our lives and to be blunt.

When it works well, it can be incredibly profitable because of its broad reach both directly to large numbers of prospects and because the presence of DRTV tends to improve all other medium’s results – direct mail, print, inserts, etc.

Unfortunately, when it doesn’t work, it can be very costly and painful. While there are no guarantees, if you make decisions about advertising on DRTV critically, you can dramatically increase the odds of your success.

Of all the decisions you’ll make regarding how to use DRTV, there is no more important choice than selecting the right product to promote.

Product selection
Though you need to be focused on converting the TV viewer to a buyer in selecting a product, it’s important to choose a product that represents your brand. When the first item sold is representative of your brand, it will make the potential of selling a second, third and subsequent item to that DRTV buyer a viable reality.

Direct response marketing is a marketing tactic which dates back to the first television infomercials and which can now be used as an effective marketing technique online.

In the 1970′s, infomercials began to take off as late night television advertising was beginning to take off, and advertising costs were very affordable and manageable. During the 1980′s and especially 1990′s infomercials really exploded in popularity as products in the convenience and self improvement niches became en vogue.

Just as they do today, the infomercials would generally revolve around one product in particular, and rather than a conventional commercial which would promote a product which you could later buy in stores, the point of the infomercial was to solicit a direct response (hence the term) from the viewing audience to get people to purchase that product immediately, typically by telephone.

Once the internet began to gain steam and popularity, savvy advertisers saw it as a perfect forum for promoting their products through direct response marketing and thus the mini site was born.

Marsha Kent, the pioneer in DRTV marketing talks profoundly about the importance of a good Call Centre in the DRTV ensemble. A responsive Call Centre, using a wide range of sophisticated software, answers inbound, or places outbound telephone calls. To handle the high volumes of inbound calls, and place outbound calls, the call centre should be suitably equipped. Ideally, a good, hi-tech Call Centre should have the following facilities:

• Customized entry system for placing orders with web access
• Scalable answering and call routing
• Caller identification with pop-up order screen
• Automation of call distribution environment
• Call recording facilities
• Call Centre reporting facility.

According to Marsha Kent , making use of the services of the Call Centre will take a big load off the marketer. Apart from the basic services that they offer, Call Centers are also equipped with other skills:

• Skills-based routing
• Upselling
• Save-the-sale
• Save-the-continuity
• Well-trained call centre staff
• Multi-lingual customer service.

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They don’t even have credit cards yet, but their voices and buying habits are already being heard – and heeded – in many households.

Answering the call is a group of manufacturers and marketers that have their fingers on the pulse of the children’s market. They work in a category that hasn’t historically ranked high on the DRTV charts despite the fact that it racks up millions of unit sales annually.

Targeted to toddlers, pre-teens, teenagers and their parents, fun and educational products often translate into successful retail, web and catalogue plays. That not only helps extend brand life – Kidz Bop, for example, is currently in its 14th version – but also ensures that the products reach multiple generations of children over time.

Market research firm Packaged Facts reports that the kids’ market reached over $21 billion in disposable income in 2010, and that families spent more than $115 billion on kids in key consumer areas, such as food, clothing, personal-care items, entertainment and reading materials.

The fact that kids have a lot to say about how that money is spent translates into major opportunities for marketers who get into the minds of these young buyers and figure out what they want.

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