Gone in 30 Seconds
Infomercials are the only TV advertising that con- sumers choose to watch. After all, when consumers ee traditional TV spots, the choice they’ve made is to watch a program — not the spots.
Of course, if no one watched infomercials, it wouldn’t
matter. But, consumers stop to watch infomercials in
massive numbers.
So how do infomercials achieve this level of success?
And what lessons should brands advertisers take from
those of us who have achieved infomercial success?
Consumers respond to advertising that helps them
make smart purchase decisions. In research, consumers complain about the lack of information at
retail stores. They laugh at the idea that traditional
advertising helps them make purchasing decisions.
And, while the Web offers a wealth of information, it doesn’t offer effective demonstrations of
how a product impacts their lives. Infomercials
succeed by offering consumers communication and
demonstration that make products meaningful.
Effective communication is a process. Traditional
advertising usually limits itself to a single “big
idea” or mere “lifestyle” messages. By contrast,
infomercials persuade consumers through a communication process — moving them from initial
awareness to purchase. A long-form show does this
by layering a set of core messages so that each uncovers a deeper understanding of the product.
Product understanding generates far more value
than brand. The Drill Doctor infomercial spent
years on-air and drove nearly 3 million unit sales.
And the campaign built so much price support
consumers willingly paid $100 for a product that
sharpens $0.25 drill bits. By contrast, traditional
brand ads rarely generate dramatic price support.
Why? Consumers pay more for meaningful prod-
ucts than for mere brand. (And they pay the most
for a meaningful product
with a good brand.)
The creative idea
cannot become more
important than the communication. DRTV only
succeeds when consum-
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ers pick up the phone. And by counting phone
calls, we’ve learned that humorous DRTV spots
generally don’t work. We’ve learned that DRTV
messages must be carefully oriented around the
product and not simply a lifestyle. We’ve learned
that storymercials generally fail, because they don’t
bring meaningful communication to consumers.
Consumers only need about 15 seconds of concept. When agencies stretch 30-second spots into
30-minute shows, they fail. Why? Traditional advertising is based around big conceptual statements
that are important, but quickly absorbed. And
once interested by the concept, consumers want
to know more. Successful infomercials offer much
more — resolving objections that might stand between consumer interest and purchase.
Positive messages are most powerful. Overall,
infomercials are a generally positive art form. Products promise clear results. DRTV spots rarely spend
more than 10-20 percent of a commercial defining
the problem. Advertising delivers higher impact
when it communicates positive messages.
Don’t just “do” research — listen to it.
Infomercial agencies succeed much more often when they
are skilled at listening to research and executing
it. This means that focus groups can’t be about
verbatim transcriptions or tallying up “how many
said what.” Research must focus on how messages
change consumer perception of a product.
Ask people to take action. Traditional advertising
rarely asks consumers to take action. But infomercials always ask consumers to take action — often
purchasing the product. Experience proves that
with the right understanding of a product and the
right offer, consumers will take that action.
Don’t take a campaign off the air too soon. Phones
tell us when an infomercial stops working. By
counting calls, we find that strong campaigns
produce the same phone results for years. Brand
advertisers should resist the temptation to change
strategies just because they want something fresh.
Traditional advertisers need to overcome their prejudices and listen to the lessons of DRTV. Then consumers
might even begin to watch traditional advertising. ■
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