7th Annual European Market Guide
E uropean
Flavor
With the Internet and technology in general continuing to chip
away at traditional geographic boundaries, an increasing number
of American DRTV marketers are spreading their wings and flying “across the pond” to get a taste of some of the success that
companies like Thane, Guthy-Renker, ThermoSpas and Time-Life have already
achieved in the region.
And while most American brand advertisers have yet to catch onto the value of European
DRTV space in any significant way, Digby Orsmond, CEO and creative director at ARM Direct
Ltd., in London (and member of the Response
Editorial Advisory Board), says a more diverse
group of DR product marketers are looking to the
medium as a way to advertise their products and
services.
Working in Britain, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal, Orsmond says several international financial
services companies are currently testing DRTV in
Europe for the first time. For example, Clientele,
a major South African insurer, has tested DRTV
spots for its 50-plus insurance product in four European countries with considerable success.
“The strength of the Euro means that it is now
viable for companies to test Europe out,” says Orsmond, who sees the United Kingdom (U.K.), Holland and Germany as the strongest markets in the
region for American DRTV companies looking
to establish a presence in Europe. Other areas also
present opportunity.
“We recently had considerable success selling
an insurance product in Poland as well as music
products in the Czech Republic,” Digby explains.
“This is very encouraging as it indicates that the
more recent countries that have joined the European Union (EU) — membership now numbers
27 countries — are beginning to embrace home
shopping from their televisions.”
Much like the U.S., those marketers who
augment their DRTV campaigns with other distribution avenues are the ones that achieve their
ROIs faster. At Industex in Barcelona, Spain, for
example, Miguel Morales, director of sales, says,
“It’s not just about TV and calling the 800-number
anymore. Companies are using the TV for lead
generation, and rounding it out with mail order,
retail and E-commerce.”
Morales adds that many European DRTV
companies are generating 20 to 35 percent of their
overall revenues via their Web sites. Geographically speaking, Morales sees the U.K. market as a
natural starting point for American companies, but
says that countries like the Czech Republic and
Hungary — both in Eastern Europe — are emerg-
