Infomercial Marketing – Infomercial Media Buying + Media Buying

Big brand companies today want to spend their budgets in many different ways. But brand preservation is very important for corporations entering direct response, and many companies are reluctant to enter direct response television because they think it would “cheapen” their brand.

However, the truth is that focusing solely on branding could hinder the growth of a company. It is equally important to pay attention to product innovation and demonstration. Many of the top brands have now realized this and are continually abandoning the negative perceptions associated with “infomercial” advertising and have embraced the advantages of direct response.

For a corporate brand to succeed in a direct response campaign, it is necessary to bring together brand awareness with a unique selling message. With direct response advertisements, a company is able to better quantify its campaign results while still reinforcing its established brand messages.

That branding and direct response cannot work together is a myth. It is perfectly acceptable to have a slick creative soliciting some form of response from the consumer, by phone or the Internet. It is a direct response advert and it is a brand builder. Direct response simply means having an element of dialog with the consumer and it doesn’t have to be to sell anything. There is absolutely no conflict between direct response and branding. Even though the primary purpose of a direct response campaign is to drive traffic, every piece of communication that touches the customer represents a brand.

If your product is one that requires a demonstration, infomercials are an excellent choice for advertising. Infomercials can run anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. The demonstration can connect the viewer to how the product can work for them. Demonstrations allow the product to be shown working for other customers as well. The time in an infomercial devoted to a testimonial can also greatly benefit the products success.

DRTV is rapidly gaining popularity among a wide range of industries as diverse as insurance and holiday resorts. Many big names like Apple, Proctor & Gamble and Dell are now frequent advertisers in DRTV.

In fact so successful has the short form DRTV medium become, that the big players are gradually starting to edge out the smaller enterprises. Innovators have always had to be on their toes to push their products in the DRTV arena, but now the criteria for a successful DRTV product have become narrowed. Usually, in order for a product to sell well on DRTV it needs to have uniqueness, demonstrability and mass appeal, however, with a highly competitive market, it is today more important to determine whether a product is high in utilitarian value.

A case in point is the Faraday Flashlight and One Touch Can Opener. The Faraday Flashlight enjoys enormous popularity due to its practicality and convenience. This success is now being surpassed by the One Touch Can Opener. The reason for this success is the same as that for the Faraday Flashlight – both are products that every home can use. The Faraday Flashlight uses no batteries, instead works on the Faraday principle of magnets and movement. The One Touch Can Opener cuts open a can by gliding on top of it automatically without the need for any manual pressure unlike conventional hand-held can openers.

Victor Grillo, CEO of Advanced Results Marketing, which handled both campaigns says, “Utilitarian products have a better chance of success as they have a longer shelf life; hence there is more sustainability in the market.”