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Hubspot’s 7 Things about DRTV

“It’s no secret that a large number of brand advertisers have warmed up to the idea of adding DRTV commercials to their marketing portfolios” opines Tim Hawthorne, in his article 7 Things Brand Advertisers Need To Know about DRTV. At Hutton Miller, we’re thrilled to be part of DRTV’s foray into advertising of all sizes and across all industries. However, DRTV is really “a different animal,” one that requires a seasoned approach. For those coming fresh into the DRTV sphere, Hawthorne does a great job breaking down how brand advertisers can approach and understand DRTV:

(These points are condensed. Read the full article here.)

1. Traditional agencies and DRTV experts don’t always mix. Several brand agencies have “added” DRTV capabilities to the lineups, but DRTV is a different animal. It requires expertise, selling strategies and messages that traditional agencies haven’t mastered.

2. An agency with deep DRTV expertise is always worth its salt. Because traditional agencies aren’t equipped to orchestrate DRTV campaigns, it’s always best to work with one that has deep experience working in the medium.

3. DRTV isn’t all about boisterous pitchmen hawking their wares while toll-free numbers flash garishly. Production values have improved dramatically, as have the selling techniques and messages that go along with them.

4. DRTV is highly accountable and measurable. These features not only allow companies to connect directly with consumers in innovative ways, but they also enable efficient, fast decision making when it comes to media buys, advertising messages and other critical campaign components.

5. Image spots and DRTV work together beautifully. DRTV commercial… push consumers to take action. Because it integrates so well with other efforts, DRTV becomes symbiotic with advertising that’s already in place.

6. Direct response picks up where branding leaves off. Established brand names are less important to consumers these days. Relatively unknown Victoria Jackson spent just $15 million in media to create a brand — solely through infomercials — that came to earn tens of millions of dollars.

7. If you aren’t using DRTV your company is missing out. Companies that run multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns without DRTV leave a big piece of pie on the table for their competitors to eat up. DRTV provides a distinct channel of communication and distribution that supplements any current marketing program already in place. And it does so without cannibalizing any other media.

“To companies looking to integrate DRTV into their brand portfolios for the first time, a good first step is to examine how the medium can synergize existing campaigns that are running on TV, radio, print, billboards, direct mail and the web. By setting up a business where cost-per-order serves as a fully accountable metric in a real-time 24/7 environment, you can drive both direct and retail sales at the same time. That’s where the synergy comes in, and it’s where DRTV really shines.”

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