Response Magazine - September 2010

relating to content, testimonials and supers difficult to implement post-production. The biggest challenge, therefore, remains whether U.S. creatives comply with the more stringent European TV broadcasting rules in each country. Quite often, this means having to soften the sell or considerably alter the offer according to the local regulations. Also, whole product categories are banned on European TV.

“Do Not Call” list. Most DR E-mail campaigns are migrated from an opt-in list — so if you are compliant, you should have no challenges as a marketer.

Capitol Hill do not resolve their differences, and the BP clean-up efforts in the Gulf are not deemed successful.

What do you think of the rumored “Do Not Track” list and how it could affect the online portion of DR campaigns? Hawthorne: Again, as advocates of protecting consumer privacy, we support any online “Do Not Track” legislation. And its impact on DRTV’s Web orders is, at this point, relatively insignificant, since the majority of online orders are driven by DRTV, not Web activity.

Stacey: It’s difficult to speculate how a “Do Not Track” regulation may impact DR marketers without seeing it. Naturally, a complete ban would be limiting, while an opt-out or opt-in policy may be more workable. As with all regulations, there are trade-offs. Some consumers may actually find it convenient to be tracked and their preferences better serviced.

Garnett: Our clients are all in other industries, and they want leverage DRTV’s power for direct sales, but especially to turn all their channels alive. Many have continued to grow in the down economy because of their DRTV campaigns. In their other businesses, the economy appears to be turning around — although much more slowly than hoped for.

Lee: It will be interesting to see if this will take off and be as prevalent as the

If you were to tie my hands, I would say that the Internet has become one of our biggest marketing touchpoints. From social media to online video advertising to online couponing, the Internet is educating the consumer, selling products and pushing the consumer to the retail store.

— Fern Lee, Factor Nutrition Labs

The Brand
DRTV Agency

Innovative marketing through direct response television.

Yallen: The effect of the “Do Not Track” list on DR campaigns will depend on exactly what is covered in the actual verbiage of the bill. If the law only restricts sharing of personal data, then the effects of the list will be far less widespread than if they stop all cookie and pixel tracking. If the “sale” of personal data is restricted, the biggest impact will be in E-mail marketing. If it goes beyond the sharing of personal information, restricting cookie and pixeling of people’s browsers, then it will virtually end all retargeting capabilities.

Has the economy turned around for marketers in the DR business? What effect is the current economy having on campaign success rates, media rates and other areas? Fays: DR sales at MTV Networks have never been stronger in regards to demand/ price. Paid programming advertisers, however, have been greatly affected by the economy, leading many cable networks to evaluate if those slots are better sold through short-form advertising. There is a possibility of a double-dip/second recession coming our way if Wall Street and

Orsmond: Brand advertising spend on U.K. TV channels declined by 9. 6 percent last year. This is good news for home shopping marketers, in that TV airtime spot rates remain on par with 2009. And, for those with deep pockets, excellent forward buying deals can be done for both short-form and long-form DR if their products are already proven successes.

Stacey: We continue to see more short-form, lower-priced products with a retail back end. Higher priced products are still challenging. A bad economy is generally good for DRTV as HUT levels ( households utilizing television) go up when people stay home to save money. Media rates can also come down as traditional advertisers cut spending and more airtime becomes available. Generally, the bad economy has been good for our business.