What Is An Infomercial?

        The term infomercial refers to a very specific form of TV

        advertising.  Let's break apart the pieces and identify the

        parameters and ingredients of an infomercial.

        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.

        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.)

        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.

        Unfortunately, the term infomercial is not universally understood

        in the industry, and infomercials may be called different things by

        different people.

        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.

        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?

        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.

        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.

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.

        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.

        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.

        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.

        Regardless of which form of advertising you use,

        certain rules always apply:

        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.

        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).

        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.

        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.

        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.

        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.

        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.

       

        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.

        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.

       

        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.

        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.

        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.

       

        OUTPERFORMING RETAIL SALES 

        Moving consumers from conventional retail buying to direct response

        television buying is another triumph that demonstrates the power of

        infomercial marketer. 

        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. 

        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.

        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.

        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.

        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.

        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. 

        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.

        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?

        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.