 |
 |
|
"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
| - R. Gregg Marketer of Senior Products |
|
MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
Q & A: Internet Plays a Larger Role in Infomercial Marketing
Published: 05/06 - DM News |
| |
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct, a leading multi-channel direct response
media buying firm. Koeppel Direct specializes in buying all forms of direect response media including
DRTV, online, print, and radio. DRTV News Weekly's Sarah Littman discusses DRTV in an age of media
convergence.
DRTV News Weekly: What elements make for a compelling infomercial?
Peter Koeppel: The product should be unique with mass appeal, with easily demonstrated features and
benefits. It must be offered at an attractive price point for consumers -- ideally $19.95 and under
for a short-form infomercial and $39.95 and above for a long form infomercial, and the call to action
must be compelling.
A great example of successful infomercial marketing for a relatively big-ticket item ($400) is the
Little Giant Ladder. They decided to employ stars of a PBS home improvement show as the show's host
and hostess, which was a really good fit. The show does a terrific job of demonstrating the 25
different ways the ladder can be used, including how it's light enough to be carried by a
woman.
How can direct response marketers best take advantage of the convergence of digital media
and television?
It's really important for advertisers to have an integrated, multi-platform direct response
approach, with a consistent look and feel from TV to the Web to print. People in the direct response
industry are used to testing new forms of media, so they're willing to try out new and innovative
ways to increase ROI such as podcasting, blogs and advertising on mobile phones.
The other day I was watching video on demand from Dish TV [and] there was a short-form Jeep
advertisement with the option to click on to a long-form spot. By clicking on get more info I could
bring up all the Jeep dealers in the area and find out more about the vehicle. Rupert Murdoch has
been doing a lot of this in the U.K. and it's just starting to take off in the U.S. I think VOD will
grow significantly over the next 5 years.
Clearly the Internet is playing a bigger and bigger part of infomercial marketing. Sixty percent of
homes now have broadband, and between 15 and 50 percent of orders from a direct response spot come
through the Internet. About 50 percent of viewers are online at the same time they're watching TV.
Some marketers might decide to drive sales directly to the Web, bypassing telemarketing
entirely.
Testing would allow advertisers to decide if they are losing upsell opportunities and if conversions
are significantly lower with this approach.
What are DR marketers to do in an age of the DVR?
Infomercials are less affected by DVR than your typical 30-second spot. A direct response spot will
take longer to fast forward through, and if the spot is visually compelling viewers might be
tempted to stop and look. It's important to have the advertiser's logo up throughout the spot
so the viewer will catch it even when fast forwarding.
Also, viewers don't tend to Tivo programming where DRTV spots air. DVR's are used most often to
record top rated programs on the larger broadcast networks.
On the positive side, as big brand companies advertise less on TV and more on the Internet it could
free up more direct response television inventory, with the potential of lowering media rates.
We haven't seen this happen yet, but I'd expect to see it occur within the next five years.
|
| |
|
|
|
