Direct response television (DRTV), once a yell-and-sell arena for hawking Ginsu knives, the ThighMaster and other unusual products, has become an integral part of the integrated marketing communications mix for the likes of American Express, Dell, and the mother of all advertisers, Procter & Gamble. Primarily utilizing short-form spots of 30 to 60 seconds, these blue-chip companies are tying their messages to Web initiatives, offering coupons to drive traffic to retail stores, and leveraging the economic advantages of the medium to enjoy a greater return on investment.

“Direct response TV has evolved dramatically beyond obscure brands,” says John Andariese, CEO of TVi Media, a New York–based media sales company. “It is no longer seen as just filler for networks.”

Unlike longer infomercials, short-form DRTV is perfect for products that are easy to use and cost under $30. According to Chrissy Still, creative director for Advanced Results Marketing (ARM), a Marlboro, Mass.–based DRTV company whose diverse clientele includes Mandalay Bay, the Nevada Tourism Commission and Carvel, a campaign can be tested for as little as $50,000, including production and a media buy of one to seven days. This puts DRTV well within reach of cost-conscious growing business owners and associations seeking new customers and members, especially since a 60-second spot costs only 30 percent to 70 percent of what traditional advertisers pay. (Networks charge lower rates because DRTV buyers are subject to having their spot bumped if a higher-paying advertiser comes along.)

Enticing too are the built-in response measurement tools. And because DRTV spots are usually purchased two weeks in advance, marketers can quickly respond to changing conditions in local markets. “The power of direct response is its immediacy,” Still says. “Within one to seven days of testing, you’ll know whether the product is going to bring the ROI you need to merit a full-scale launch. How many types of marketing can you say that about?”

Universal Appeal
P&G is viewed by many as a bellwether of the new movement toward short-form DRTV. The company’s biggest marketing initiative in 2005, a $100 million push behind the new mouthwash product Crest Pro-Health, featured a blitz of 30-second DRTV spots that asked consumers to log on to a special Web site or call in to retrieve discount coupons. Such a tactic, experts point out, allows companies to quickly measure the success of their program and build a database of customers quickly.

“As more blue chips get into this area, the quality of the creative element will rise,” says Beth Vendice, president of ARM. From cruise lines to financial services, it’s hard to find an industry that isn’t sold on DRTV. Increasingly, companies with more complicated products are using the medium to drive customers to their Web sites, where the sheer depth of information results in better conversion rates. No matter the size of your company or organization, Vendice says the tried-and-true formula for DRTV remains the same: show the features and benefits of your product or service, provide testimonials, and offer a premium.

ARM’s short-form DRTV campaign for Faraday Flashlights reaped $35 million in sales in 2006. The success of the spots, which demonstrated the flashlight’s usefulness in real-life situations, steered ARM away from products that were “unique, demonstrable and appealing” toward those that had “a universal appeal.” One such product, the One Touch Can Opener, was promoted via a short-form DRTV spot that ran on a mix of networks, including NBC, ABC, Lifetime and Animal Planet. The campaign generated 25 percent more sales over the first eight months than the Faraday spots earned.

The marriage of television and the Web gives DRTV the power — and economic advantages — over other media, says Lynn Fantom, chairman and CEO of ID Media, a digital and direct media services firm in New York. “What’s new is that more and more networks also accept a URL as the response mechanism to qualify for DR rates,” she adds. “This saves the marketer telemarketing costs and gives the consumer the option to engage on the Web, often their preferred environment.”

Indeed, ARM’s Vendice finds that when a spot includes both a URL and an 800 number, more people go to the Internet. “The world is changing, and a large number of people prefer not to pick up the phone and talk to someone,” she says.

Tying It All Together
Simply pushing someone to a Web site from a DRTV spot isn’t enough, however. The sales and educational messages need to be consistent across all media, experts say. Just as marketers have traditionally used unique 800 numbers for specific DRTV campaigns to gain granular insights into the effectiveness of different networks or stations, they are now using dedicated URLs for the same purpose.

“The more sophisticated the client, the more carefully they examine conversion by response channel — and those results vary by the product category,” Fantom points out. “The old common wisdom that phone always converts better because of the push you get from a telemarketer does not always hold true.”

Online search, spurred by DRTV, also yields excellent conversion rates because most consumers proactively seek more information on products and services, Fantom says. “Of course, another important, and related, question is, did another medium prompt that search query, and how should that initiating medium get credited with the search that brings a return? It’s highly beneficial for our clients to be in a de-siloed environment where we can look at that kind of intermedia dynamic,” she adds.

De-siloed environment? Intermedia dynamic? Yes, DRTV has come a long way since the days of the Ginsu knife.

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