5 WAYS TO PUT DRTV TO WORK FOR YOU
by Scott Aronowitz

(Published: ResponseTV, August 1997)

Lexus has used DRTV to find out who is interested in its cars and bring those people into its dealerships; Excedrin run spots to promote the brand and offer samples and health information, thereby building a relationship with customers; and Craftsman sells tools and reminds everyone theirs are the best. Even with short-form spots, as opposed to infomercials, brands that use DRTV always get a little something extra.

The assets of a DRTV spot fall under five primary headings, but are not mutually exclusive:

Direct sell. Probably the most obvious DRTV application, the direct sell can serve as a profit center for a campaign or simply a means to offset media costs without cutting into retail sales.

Lead generation. Your product’s story may not fit into a one-minute, two-minute or even 30-minute commercial. So instead of trying to sell consumers through TV, you get them to call for further information. Later you’ll be able to send them brochures, videos or other collateral to close the sale or drive them to their nearest retailer. At the very least, you have a name on file for further mailings.

Product sampling/relationship marketing. A form of lead generation, product sampling allows marketers to give consumers a taste of their products to encourage a purchase.

Continuity. A favorite of cosmetics and entertainment marketers, continuity programs bring consumers into the fold with an up-front sale or club membership, then keep them coming back through monthly or quarterly installments or through regular catalog mailings.

Brand awareness. Like traditional advertisements, DRTV spots and infomercials can create brand identity and help develop brands that are poorly understood by the public.


Cost per zillion

When it comes to brand promotion, DRTV is “probably the most successful and least talked about aspect of the business,” says Tim O’Leary, president of Portland, Ore.-based agency TV Tyee.

“It’s media efficiency,” he explains. “A typical brand manager would say, ‘I’ve got X million dollars to spend this year, and my only feedback is .... what those obscure tracking services are telling me.’ With DRTV you get immediate, measurable feedback.”

O’Leary says this asset, along with media rates that run about half of general ad rates, point to brand promoters getting “more bang for the buck.”


A brand on a mission

Sue Sjostrom, director of infomercial marketing for Sears Roebuck, Chicago, says the key challenges in promoting any brand name are truly understanding the customer and then developing the most effective way to communicate the brand message to that customer.

“In the case of Craftsman,” says Sjostrom, “we’ve found that there’s a great fit between brand positioning, our branding goals and DRTV.”

The spots convey the message that Craftsman is an innovator, which, notes Sjostrom, makes customers feel better about the brand in general.


All at once

Thanks to Burl Hechtman, former president of Los Angeles-based King World Direct and creator of the campaign, Craftsman became an innovator of another sort.

Hechtman determined that a DRTV spot promoting a strong retail brand could also be used to sell a product directly to the viewer. In effect, he says, “each ad does double duty, encouraging people to buy the product in either of two venues” at the same time.

The symbiotic relationship created by the “simultaneous DRTV/retail” approach can not only sell, but perpetuate sales and brand awareness. Every Craftsman spot pushes a particular tool, while at the same time remiding the viewer that what he or she is ultimately receiving is Craftsman quality found only through the 800-number or a trip to Sears.


The educated consumer

Auto maker Lexus already had a strong reputation for quality luxury cars when they went with DRTV, but a high-end automobile is a much tougher sell than a hand tool.

“It’s a matter of bringing qualified prospects into the dealership,” says Lillie Goodrich, president of Broadcast Marketing, Cos Cob, Conn., who produced the DRTV campaign for Lexus. A qualified prospect is one who is interested in a high-end luxury car and wants to know a good deal of information about it.

For this reason, Lexus uses a 30-minute infomercial to promote its brand, and the show does not feature the 800-number until roughly the 17-minute mark. In the meantime, viewers learn, via expert testimonials and detailed demonstrations, of the product’s distinctive engineering and design, safety and luxury features. The program includes segments on the quiet engine, temperature control system, theft deterrent system, high-quality stereo, unibody construction and professional finish, as well as commentary from current owners comparing the product to higher-priced competitors, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and even Rolls-Royce.

Ultimately, then, the qualified prospect is the viewer who watches all this with interest and then responds to the call to action, in this case to call the 800-number and set up an appointment with a local Lexus dealer.


You want a piece of me?

Arguably, the best way to win a consumer is to prove the value of your product by letting them try it once for free. Product sampling is nothing new, but DRTV allows marketers to raise it to a new level.

“Relationship marketing,” explains Goodrich, “is primarily based on trading information. You’re offering resources to your customers beyond product.” This includes both information – on the product, what it can do and related topics – and samples. Consumers may only see samples as free merchandise. But to marketers, they are the most tangible form of information. They report to the consumer exactly what he/she will think of the product.

Goodrich designed a DRTV campaign for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Excedrin, a popular pain relief medicine for many years, that conveyed health-related information about the product and then offered the consumer the chance to sample it with this in mind.

“The response,” she says, “has far exceeded any expectation. [The campaign] began as an experiment, but now [Excedrin] is committed to keeping it going.”


Pitfalls in the lion’s den

Not all DRTV campaigns for brand-name products will necessarily serve to enhance sales, of course. In some cases, they may even work against themselves.

MGM/UA Home Video has had success with DRTV, says manager of market development Susan Gebele, but its campaign has magnified some drawbacks to using the simultaneous approach and to promoting brand awareness.

When the company used DRTV to promote several of its series’ and special categories of motion pictures, many of the products were already available on retail shelves. However, while retailers may charge whatever they wish, says Gebele, “we have to keep [price points] at our MSRP or our retailers will get mad.” Add to this standard shipping and handling charges associated with TV purchases, and the manufacturer is essentially competing, unfavorably, with its own distributors.

Often this is not a problem, since many DRTV offers include no-extra-cost bonuses not available at retail. But it is difficult to find bonus products to connect with a home video.

The jury is still out on MGM’s unique strategy on the promotion side. With entertainment products such as motion pictures, peope have historically identified with individual titles or franchises such as James Bond rather than the studios behind them. But MGM seems determined to return to the “Golden Age of Hollywood” in their brand promotion as they attempt to have viewers identify various categories of film classics, most notably musicals and epics, with the studio itself.

“It’s a complicated issue when you have two brands at once,” says TV Tyee’s O’Leary. “You run the risk of consumers identifying with one more than the other.” In this case the question arises, would viewers recognize Leo the Lion at the expense of titles like Singin’ in the Rain or Rocky, or would the two enhance each other?

O’Leary says he sees the potential for a positive result. “If the goal is to re-elevate MGM to the status of its golden years,” he explains, “then I think this might be a good strategy.” Given the uncertainty at this stage, brand managers, especially in entertainment software, may want to follow the progress of MGM’s strategy as a test case.


So call now!

It’s fairly safe to say that DRTV will not be completely replacing conventional advertising anytime soon. But it’s always best to have a viable alternative.

When you want to inform the public about your product, 30-second spots on national media will certainly reach your audience. But when you want to know who that audience consists of, find out more about them, build a relationship with them and even sell them the product, both now and on down the line, the alternative is clear.