Infomercial Marketing – Infomercial Media Buying + Media Buying

Direct response television can be a hugely beneficial component to your marketing campaign. Choosing the best media agency should be high on the list of priorities. Once you have found a media agency, they will choose the best value at the lowest costs for your campaign. Plans are then made to produce your commercial and there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to production:
a) Design your platform
b) Create a budget
c) Estimate your returns based on budget
d) Keep a close tab on the results of what channels are working for you with your media buyer

DRTV is going great guns in today’s advertising world. A good DRTV campaign can be a gold mine for a product. Calls can literally pour in. But it is important to remember that every piece of the product sold is not necessarily because of the 800 number. Nor is a successful campaign merely a record of the number of pieces sold by direct calls placed by the viewers.

A good DRTV also induces sales by other means. Driving retail sales is one of the most important consequence of DRTV campaigns. What the viewer sees on TV is recalled better next time they are out shopping at the local store or supermarket. They see on the shelves what they saw on TV. It motivates them to stop and look, examine the product. This can often result in a purchase eventually. Another area which will benefit from a well planned DRTV campaign is internet sales. By placing the web site address in an effective and strategic manner in the commercial, it is possible to induce the viewer to visit the website and subsequently purchase a product.

Upsells also help push up the profits of a product. When a caller has placed an order, they can be offered related products or additional units, often at a discount. An add-on product, something that will enhance the present one or a better, upgraded version of it – these add significantly to the original profit on a product. Since upsells are executed at the time of ordering and not part of the commercial itself, they are extremely easy to modify and test.

Continuity programs are also very important where, with the permission of the purchaser, a set of products or replenishments are scheduled to be automatically shipped over a period of time. The income potential of continuity programs are tremendous and wherever possible should be integrated into the overall DRTV campaign.

In the past DRTV was conceived as a late-night presentation of somewhat strange gadgets and utility items. No longer. Fortune 500 companies now regularly advertise on DRTV. Big brands such as Black & Decker and Procter & Gamble have made their foray into DRTV busting the myth that DRTV is only for small time manufacturers working on a budget. DRTV has tremendous reach and is a very effective medium of advertising. Although the long form is experiencing a slight dip in slot purchase, the short form is increasing in popularity more than ever.

DRTV is an excellent medium for driving retail sales. According to an estimate, for every unit sold direct, up to a hundred units are sold in the retail shops. Unlike traditional advertising which is all about brand building, DRTV places more emphasis on demonstration and recall value. The length of the commercial (two minutes is still long compared to a 30 second traditional advert) makes sure the viewer is left with no doubt as to the name of the product or what it looks like. Even if they do not decide to buy it as soon as they see the commercial, they can be motivated to buy it when they see it on the shelf at the local store or supermarket. This is particularly true for houseware products.

In recent years, DRTV has also driven sales through another medium – the internet. Many DRTV spots carry not only an 800 number but also a website address. Victor Grillo, president of Advanced Results Marketing estimates that 25 percent of the sales of products advertised on DRTV spots are now conducted through websites.