Does today’s consumer respond better to
short-form or long-form DRTV? Which of
these two formats are best supported by
other media, including online, mobile, print
and radio?
Fays: Short-form advertising during the
past 12 months is the gold standard in
direct response marketing. Paid programming is in desperate need of a few hit
shows to make itself relevant.
of being viewed by a larger audience.
Orsmond: In the U.K., it has been the
substantial growth of sales generated by
U.S.-style infomercials that has generated substantial DRTV product sales
during the past 2-3 years. U.K. TV viewers respond well to long form, and the
only problem seems to be that there are
not enough different and entertaining
enough shows available, which is why
only a few advertisers dominate this
sector. In our experience in Europe, if a
U.S. advertiser already has a successful
infomercial, then doing a 120-second
cut-down makes sense.
chosen to fight this with an ineffective
self-regulation program and by fighting off
regulation. That’s not enough. The problem facing our business is that it’s consumers who matter. As media prices continue to increase, we need the audience to
trust our work even more. That requires a
dramatic shift in business practices in all
areas — from product development, creative and production to the phones and
fulfillment.
Hawthorne: Tough question: I don’t
think short-form vs. long-form response
has varied much during the past 20 years.
It still all depends on the product and
offer. Which of the many other channels
best supports short form or long form?
Without hesitation, video-on-demand (VOD) will generate
more buzz during the next 12 months than any other medium.
Ever-changing viewer habits have dictated to Viacom that we
need to be educated on the evolving thirst for VOD.
— Brian Fays, MTV Networks
Hawthorne: Three letters: CPA. Cost-per-acquisition media ensures that the
best products/offers survive and thrive. As
media continues to fragment, more distribution channels will have to increase
their CPA inventory — a benefit to the
bottom-line driven DRTV advertisers.
Again, this is determined by the product.
For example, an intellectual property
DRTV product can hit a home run with
radio, whereas a skin product would not.
Print supports live seminar DRTV well,
but not much else. Online supports it all.
Given the current state of the DR industry,
what would you change to ensure its
continued health and growth?
Fays: The commitment from salespeople
to buyers to marketers to lock arms and
grasp the notion everyone can win in a
negotiation. Often, it is an “us vs. them”
mentality, and that often hinders the
overall success and potential growth of
the DR business.
Orsmond: For the U.K., DRTV media
buying agencies would like the U.K.’s
broadcast regulator to wake up to the fact
that this is 2010 and for them to revise
the Ofcom home shopping window rules
to allow infomercials to “generate leads”
instead of currently having to “sell a
product via credit card.” This would immediately open up the long-form market
to a substantial number of existing and
new TV advertisers, all of whom are keen
to test the power of the half-hour show to
generate leads. ■
Medico: I don’t think you can make a
head-to-head comparison in that for positioning, cost of media and calls-to-action,
both are usually very different. Short form
is best supported by other media, in that
short form commercials air across a much
broader daypart and have a better chance
Garnett: Shady business practices and
bad products continue to erode consumer
confidence. Industry associations have
For the complete and unabridged
answers to these and additional
questions from our esteemed
Editorial Advisory Board, find the
September issue now at
www.responsemagazine.com.
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