and identify the parameters and ingredients of an infomercial.
- An infomercial is an advertisement.
- An infomercial must be program-long.
- An infomercial must solicit a specific direct response from the viewer.
- IT IS AN AD. First and foremost, an infomercial is simply another form of advertisement.
- IT IS LONG FORM. Unlike conventional 30 and 60 second TV ads, an infomercial runs at least a half hour. The reason: a half hour is the smallest block of airtime a TV station will sell without interrupting its programming schedules. (NO program on TV is shorter than 30 minutes.)
- IT
SOLICITS A
'DIRECT'
RESPONSE. An
infomercial must
solicit a
response which
is specific
and quantifiable. The solicitation and the delivery of the response must be direct between
the advertiser and the viewer.
Unfortunately,
the term
infomercial is
not universally
understood in the
industry, and
infomercials
may be called
different things by
different people.
The list of
official sounding
names, from 'documercials'
to 'long-form
advertising' is
'paid programming,'
is
endless and can be
confusing: some term
do not adequately
define the scope of
this new form of
advertising.
For example, the
term long-form
advertising seems to
be a favorite among
media people.
Unfortunately, the
term describes only
the time aspect,
disregarding purpose
and content. Of
course, it does
reflect the focus of
those in TV circles,
as opposed to the
broader perspective
of those in the
marketing community.
What will
become of the term
long-form
advertising when
paid advertising
program extend to an
hour or longer?
Will we upgrade the
term to longer-form
advertising and then
longest-form
advertising?
By contrast, the
term direct response
advertising is
obviously of a
marketing heritage.
But like the former,
the term is
incomplete because
it does not qualify
the medium being
used. Mail order is
also a form of
direct
response
advertising.
Finally, there
are those who feel
uncomfortable with
the term infomercial
because it sounds
too
gimmicky or
colloquial. We think
otherwise. More and
more companies are
accepting and using
the term
infomercial, and
because of that we
feel it will stand
the test of time.
WHAT ARE DRTV SPOTS? The term DRTV spot as used in this report refers to standard length direct response advertisements that are aired within or between regularly scheduled programs.
Like
infomercials, DRTV
spots are designed
to solicit a
specific direct
response from the TV
viewers.
Unlike infomercials,
however, they are
not program-length
ads. Although
standard length is
usually one
or two minutes,
spots may run
anywhere from ten
seconds to three
minutes.
You product and
the type of response
you are trying to
generate will
dictate when DRTV
spots may be more
cost-effective than
infomercials, and
vice versa.
SOLICITING A
RESPONSE:
Infomercials and
DRTV spots are both
designed to solicit
a specific response
directly from TV
viewers. What do you
want the viewers to
do? What do you want
to get? These are
the two
fundamental
questions you
infomercial or DRTV
spot must answer
effectively.
Regardless of which form of advertising you use, certain rules always apply:
Be Explicit: Tell
the viewers exactly
what you want them
to do. Some
advertisers get so
engrossed
highlighting
the fantastic
features of their
product, they bury
their solicitation
message and fail to
stress what they
want the
TV viewers to do.
Be Direct:
Solicit a response
that is direct - and
measurable. If your
objective is to get
the consumers to
visit
their nearest
shopping center to
look for your
product, this is not
direct response
advertising/.
Infomercials
and DRTV spots
require the viewer
to respond directly
to you (the
advertiser).
Must Be
Measurable: The
response must be
quantifiable. Even
if you’re running a
simple opinion poll,
the
response must be
something that can
be measured in a way
that defines the
success or failure
of either the
advertisement itself
or of the product
being advertised.
LEADS OR
SALES:
Infomercials and
DRTV spots commonly
solicit either a
direct purchase or
an inquiry
about a product.
Again, be explicit.
don’t give the
viewer an option. If
you do, your
response mix will be
inaccurate,
confusing, and
counterproductive.
LEAD
GENERATION: A
lead generation
infomercial or DRTV
spot asks the
viewers to call your
toll-free
800 number and to
leave their name and
address to receive
additional sales
information about
you product
or service.
SALES
GENERATION: A
sales generation
infomercial or DRTV
spot prompts the
viewer to call your
toll-free
800 number to place
an order for you
product or service,
paying by credit
card or COD.
STICK WITH A
SINGLE RESPONSE
OBJECTIVE; ANYTHING
ELSE IS PURE
WINDFALL. Your
infomercial
that solicits
viewers to make a
direct purchase may
also generate calls
requesting
additional
information.
Although these
unsolicited calls
must be treated as
highly qualified
leads, they cannot
be used to measure
the
actual success of
you infomercial.
Since you principal
objective is to
generate direct
dollar sales, all
the calls
that generated leads
must be treated as
windfall.
WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN CUSTOMERS TO GO
THE SHOPPING CENTER
LOOKING FOR YOUR
PRODUCT?
As a rule of thumb,
infomercials and
DRTV spots are never
designed to
encourage retail
sales. However, some
consumers want to
look and see a
product before they
purchase it. Others
don’t have a credit
card or fail to note
the ordering
information provided
in you infomercial.
This large
contingent of
potential customers
can provide you with
extra profits from
retail sales
generated by
your infomercial or
DRTV spot. An
increase in retail
sales of a number of
products has been
directly attributed
to
infomercials or DRTV
spots. For example,
exercise machines
like the ThighMaster
and certain types of
sunglasses,
like BluBlockers,
have enjoyed
increased retail
sales due to direct
response advertising
by the aggressive
marketers of those
products.
CREATING A
TREND. Direct
response pioneers
like The JuiceMan
and The Juice Tiger
sold truckloads of
juice
extractors with
their infomercials.
These two competing
brands, however, did
more than sell juice
machines on
television - they
convinced consumers
that juice was
important and showed
them how juice
machines can help
them lead healthier,
happier lives.
Consequently,
these infomercials
helped the retail
sales of almost
every brand of juice
maker. With their
new
awareness, consumers
became receptive to
the idea of owning a
juice machine.
Suddenly a product
line that
once collected dust
on department store
shelves became a top
seller. Stores began
merchandising juice
machines, allocating
prime store footage
to display different
brands. Without any
new advertising
effort, juice-making
machine
manufacturers now
enjoy additional
retail sales that
were generated by
The JuiceMan and The
Juice
Tiger infomercials.
This example
proves that an
infomercial may
effectively sell
directly to a
specific TV audience
while simultaneously
producing retail
sales. You can see
how retail sales can
be generated without
any additional
advertising expense
-
since the
infomercial or DRTV
spot which prompted
the retail sales
actually paid for
itself through
direct sales to
TV viewers.
OUTPERFORMING
RETAIL SALES
Moving consumers
from conventional
retail buying to
direct response
television
buying is another
triumph that
demonstrates the
power of infomercial
marketer.
Until recently,
women bought
cosmetics from
department stores or
their Avon lady.
Victoria Jackson
began to sell
complete systems
exclusively through
television
infomercials. The
only way customers
could buy her
products was
by responding to her
paid TV programming.
Prior to her
infomercial, 3 out
of every 4 Victoria
Jackson customers
bought cosmetics
exclusively from
department
stores. In response
to Jackson’s
success, Avon is
designing an
infomercial campaign
of their own.
A NEW FORM OF
TV ADVERTISING
Today’s infomercials
are a far cry from
the 'long-form'
televised sales
pitches
(5 and 10 minute
commercials) of the
early ’60s. This was
when half-hour shows
sponsored by soap
manufacturers
gave birth to the
term soap opera.
TV advertising
three decades ago
was largely confined
to promotions which:
(1) told viewers
that a particular
product with certain
features existed,
and (2) motivated
viewers to go to the
nearest retail
outlet to buy the
product.
Television then, in
the strict sense of
the word, was
nothing but an
advertising medium.
Today television
has evolved from a
mere advertising
medium into a
dominant
distribution
vehicle. Today’s
infomercials and
direct response TV
commercials go
beyond product
promotion. They
actually give the
consumer
a means to directly
purchase the
merchandise being
advertised.
Conventional TV
advertising presents
a product
that is available
through retail
outlets or a
distribution
network.
Direct
response TV ads
actually sell
products direct to
the TV viewers.
Direct response
marketing remained
the
domain of mail order
and other print
forms of direct
marketing until
television matured,
and advertisers
began to
recognize its direct
marketing potential.
In fact, the terms infomercial and DRTV spots came into being because television gives the advertisers a platform conducive to direct marketing.
Coverage 98% of
all U. S. households
have at least one
television set. In
this Electronic Age,
TV has surpassed
all other media as
our primary source
of information and
entertainment.
Cable TV 60%
of all TV households
in the U. S. have
cable service,
providing a wide
variety of channel
selections
in comparison to an
all broadcast
environment.
Longer Hours Since we’ve evolved away from being a 9 to 5 society, television executives recognized the profitable viewership base found in late night hours. Remember when TV stations signed off at midnight?
Airtime
Availability With
thousands of
national, regional
and local TV
stations, and with
extended programming
hours, airtime is
readily available.
The growth of Cable
TV, satellites, and
superstitions has
brought television a
long way since the
time when we only
had CBS, NBC, and
ABC.
Article by
www.contentmart.com