Response Magazine - December 2008

RULES FOR DRTV SUCCESS

by Dick Wechsler

President, Lockard & Wechsler

In almost 40 years of planning, buying and analyzing DR media campaigns for large companies like Reader’s Digest and fast growing companies like Idea Village, Lockard & Wechsler has formulated seven basic rules that will lead to your success, no matter what product you’re selling, no matter what medium you’re using.

SEVEN

1

Make empirical, not emotional, decisions.

And base them on cold, hard, timely facts.

2Numbers are everything. They don’t lie. But they do have to be handled by experts so they give up their secrets and provide meaningful direction.

3Programs should work the first time, every time. In the right hands, results can always be improved, but not enough to resuscitate a program that’s dead on arrival.

4Frequency is the benefit of success, not the key to success. An expert direct marketing agency will help you run a successful campaign for all it’s worth, and advise you not to throw more money to the dogs.

5Never force anything. You can’t beat down a cycle. The key is in knowing what the cycles are and going with the flow.

6Don’t waste time; opportunities are fleeting. A great media agency will be able to identify them and pounce on your behalf.

7DR is a science. The discipline will lead you to success. Run hard with the winners. Cut your losers ruthlessly. Always take advantage of all the analytical tools and expertise available to you.

To give your campaign its greatest chance for success, come to an agency that knows the rules for success. Lockard & Wechsler.

You’ll benefit from decades of experience in all DR media, including short-form TV, long-form, radio, direct mail, FSIs and print.

Your media will be placed by senior people who have the long-term relationships necessary to get the best deals.

And your campaign will be managed with MediaPro™, our proprietary planning, buying and tracking system that enables us to dynamically track and analyze print, direct mail, broadcast and interactive campaigns.

One more thing. Your business will grow with an agency that actually believes in direct response ads like this, rather than one that reverts to awareness ads to promote themselves.