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WHAT IS AN INFOMERCIAL
and
and
*The term infomercial (also called "advertorial") refers to a very specific
*form of TV advertising. Let's break apart the pieces and identify the
*parameters and ingredients of an infomercial.
and
 | 1. An infomercial is an advertisement. |
| 2. An infomercial must be program-long. |
| 3. An infomercial must solicit a specific |
| direct response from the viewer. |
and
| IT IS AN AD. First and foremost, an infomercial is simply another |
| form of advertisement. It is a commercial message, and as such |
| represents the viewpoints and serves the interest of the sponsor. |
| It is a "paid program."
* |
| IT IS LONG FORM. Unlike conventional 30 and 60 second TV ads, an |
| infomercial runs at least a half hour. The reason: a half hour is |
| the smallest block of airtime a TV station will sell without |
| interrupting its programming schedules. (NO program on TV is |
| shorter than 30 minutes.) |
and
| IT SOLICITS A "DIRECT" RESPONSE. An infomercial must solicit a |
| response which is specific and quantifiable. The solicitation and |
| the delivery of the response must be direct between the advertiser |
| and the viewer. |
and
and
| Unfortunately, the term infomercial is not universally understood |
| in the industry, and infomercials may be called different things by |
| different people. |
and
| The list of official sounding names, from "documercials" to |
| "long-form advertising" is "paid programming," is endless and can |
| be confusing: some term do not adequately define the scope of this |
| new form of advertising. |
and
| For example, the term long-form advertising seems to be a favorite |
| among media people. Unfortunately, the term describes only the time |
| aspect, disregarding purpose and content. Of course, it does reflect |
| the focus of those in TV circles, as opposed to the broader |
| perspective of those in the marketing community. What will become |
| of the term long-form advertising when paid advertising program |
| extend to an hour or longer? Will we upgrade the term to longer-form |
| advertising and then longest-form advertising? |
and
| By contrast, the term direct response advertising is obviously of |
| a marketing heritage. But like the former, the term is incomplete |
| because it does not qualify the medium being used. Mail order is |
| also a form of direct response advertising. |
and
| Finally, there are those who feel uncomfortable with the term |
| infomercial because it sounds too gimmicky or colloquial. |
| We think otherwise. More and more companies re accepting and using |
| the term infomercial, and because of that we feel it will stand the |
| test of time. |
and
and
*WHAT ARE DRTV SPOTS?
| The term DRTV spot as used in this report refers to standard length |
| direct response advertisements that are aired within or between |
| regularly scheduled programs. |
and
| Like infomercials, DRTV spots are designed to solicit a specific |
| direct response from the TV viewers. Unlike infomercials, however, |
| they are not program-length ads. Although standard length is usually |
| one or two minutes, spots may run anywhere from ten seconds to |
| three minutes. |
and
| You product and the type of response you are trying to generate will |
| dictate when DRTV spots may be more cost-effective than infomercials, |
| and vice versa. |
and
| SOLICITING A RESPONSE: Infomercials and DRTV spots are both designed |
| to solicit a specific response directly from TV viewers. What do you |
| want the viewers to do? What do you want to get? These are the two |
| fundamental questions you infomercial or DRTV spot must answer |
| effectively. |
and
| Regardless of which form of advertising you use, |
| certain rules always apply: |
and
| Be Explicit: Tell the viewers exactly what you want them to do. |
| Some advertisers get so engrossed highlighting the fantastic features |
| of their product, they bury their solicitation message and fail to |
| stress what they want the TV viewers to do. |
and
| Be Direct: Solicit a response that is direct - and measurable. |
| If your objective is to get the consumers to visit their nearest |
| shopping center to look for your product, this is not direct response |
| advertising/. Infomercials and DRTV spots require the viewer to |
| respond directly to you (the advertiser). |
and
| Must Be Measurable: The response must be quantifiable. Even if |
| you're running a simple opinion poll, the response must be something |
| that can be measured in a way that defines the success or failure of |
| either the advertisement itself or of the product being advertised. |
and
| LEADS OR SALES: |
| Infomercials and DRTV spots commonly solicit either a direct purchase |
| or an inquiry about a product. Again, be explicit. don't give the |
| viewer an option. If you do, your response mix will be inaccurate, |
| confusing, and counterproductive. |
and
| LEAD GENERATION: |
| A lead generation infomercial or DRTV spot asks the viewers to call |
| your toll-free 800 number and to leave their name and address to |
| receive additional sales information about you product or service. |
and
| SALES GENERATION: |
| A sales generation infomercial or DRTV spot prompts the viewer to |
| call your toll-free 800 number to place an order for you product |
| or service, paying by credit card or COD. |
and
and
and
| STICK WITH A SINGLE RESPONSE OBJECTIVE; |
| ANYTHING ELSE IS PURE WINDFALL. |
| Your infomercial that solicits viewers to make a direct purchase |
| may also generate calls requesting additional information. |
| Although these unsolicited calls must be treated as highly qualified |
| leads, they cannot be used to measure the actual success of you |
| infomercial. Since you principal objective is to generate direct |
| dollar sales, all the calls that generated leads must be treated |
| as windfall. |
and
*
| WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CUSTOMERS TO GO THE SHOPPING |
| CENTER LOOKING FOR YOUR PRODUCT ? |
| As a rule of thumb, infomercials and DRTV spots are never designed |
| to encourage retail sales. However, some consumers want to look and |
| see a product before they purchase it. Others don't have a credit |
| card or fail to note the ordering information provided in you |
| infomercial. |
and
| This large contingent of potential customers can provide you with |
| extra profits from retail sales generated by your infomercial or |
| DRTV spot. An increase in retail sales of a number of products has |
| been directly attributed to infomercials or DRTV spots. |
| For example, exercise machines like the ThighMaster and certain |
| types of sunglasses, like BluBlockers, have enjoyed increased retail |
| sales due to direct response advertising by the aggressive marketers |
| of those products. |
and
*
| CREATING A TREND. |
| Direct response pioneers like The JuiceMan and |
| The Juice Tiger sold truckloads of juice extractors with their |
| infomercials. These two competing brands, however, did more than |
| sell juice machines on television - they convinced consumers that |
| juice was important and showed them how juice machines can help |
| them lead healthier, happier lives. |
and
| Consequently, these infomercials helped the retail sales of almost |
| every brand of juice maker. With their new awareness, consumers |
| became receptive to the idea of owning a juice machine. |
| Suddenly a product line that once collected dust on department |
| store shelves became a top seller. Stores began merchandising |
| juice machines, allocating prime store footage to display different |
| brands. Without any new advertising effort, juice-making machine |
| manufacturers now enjoy additional retail sales that were generated |
| by The JuiceMan and The Juice Tiger infomercials. |
and
| This example proves that an infomercial may effectively sell |
| directly to a specific TV audience while simultaneously producing |
| retail sales. You can see how retail sales can be generated without |
| any additional advertising expense - since the infomercial or DRTV |
| spot which prompted the retail sales actually paid for itself through |
| direct sales to TV viewers. |
and
*
| OUTPERFORMING RETAIL SALES |
| Moving consumers from conventional retail buying to direct response |
| television buying is another triumph that demonstrates the power of |
| infomercial marketer. |
and
| Until recently, women bought cosmetics from department stores or |
| their Avon lady. Victoria Jackson began to sell complete systems |
| exclusively through television infomercials. The only way customers |
| could buy her products was by responding to her paid TV programming. |
and
| Prior to her infomercial, 3 out of every 4 Victoria Jackson customers |
| bought cosmetics exclusively from department stores. In response to |
| Jackson's success, Avon is designing an infomercial campaign of their |
| own. |
and
| A NEW FORM OF TV ADVERTISING Today's infomercials are a far cry |
| from the "long-form" televised sales pitches (5 and 10 minute |
| commercials) of the early '60s. This was when half-hour shows |
| sponsored by soap manufacturers gave birth to the term soap opera. |
and
| TV advertising three decades ago was largely confined to promotions |
| which: (1) told viewers that a particular product with certain |
| features existed, and (2) motivated viewers to go to the nearest |
| retail outlet to buy the product. Television then, in the strict |
| sense of the word, was nothing but an advertising medium. |
and
| Today television has evolved from a mere advertising medium into a |
| dominant distribution vehicle. Today's infomercials and direct |
| response TV commercials go beyond product promotion. They actually |
| give the consumer a means to directly purchase the merchandise being |
| advertised. Conventional TV advertising presents a product that |
| is available through retail outlets or a distribution network.
* |
| Direct response TV ads actually sell products direct to the TV |
| viewers. Direct response marketing remained the domain of mail order |
| and other print forms of direct marketing until television matured, |
| and advertisers began to recognize its direct marketing potential.
* |
| In fact, the terms infomercial and DRTV spots came into being because |
| television gives the advertisers a platform conducive to direct |
| marketing. |
and
| Coverage 98% of all U. S. households have at least one television |
| set. In this Electronic Age, TV has surpassed all other media as |
| our primary source of information and entertainment. |
and
| Cable TV 60% of all TV households in the U. S. have cable service, |
| providing a wide variety of channel selections in comparison to an |
| all broadcast environment. |
and
| Longer Hours Since we've evolved away from being a 9 to 5 society, |
| television executives recognized the profitable viewership base |
| found in late night hours. Remember when TV stations signed off |
| at midnight? |
and
| Airtime Availability With thousands of national, regional and local |
| TV stations, and with extended programming hours, airtime is readily |
| available. The growth of Cable TV, satellites, and superstitions has |
| brought television a long way since the time when we only had CBS, |
| NBC, and ABC. |
and
and
and
and
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