Response Magazine - January 2013

screens as direct marketers test new media opportunities.

What are the three biggest challenges facing long-form DRTV media buyers/ planners? Abed Abusaleh, Havas Edge (responding for advisor Steve Netzley): First, the ability to track sales and leads that come in via the Web is a big challenge. Each year a higher percentage of customers are making their transactions online, and currently most Web attribution models are not accurate in determining which stations are driving the traffic. Next, the increase in the number of people that are consuming

their programming through streaming
video or mobile has had a negative im-
pact on the long-form space. People con-
suming their television via this format are
able to select the shows and episodes that
they like, which impacts the number of
people that channel surf the way the way
they used to. Finally, expendable income
has fallen during the past four years, mak-
ing consumers more hesitant to purchase
higher priced items from television. Con-
sumers have less access to and willingness
to use available credit.

Kevin Lyons, Opportunity Media/A&E Television Networks: Inventory availability (a lack thereof); the ability to get proper credit for retail/online results driven by DRTV purchases; and realistic target goals based on the first two issues.

Mike Medico, E+M Advertising: The three biggest challenges to long-form are: reading the test results for offers that appear marginal; maintaining a rate structure that will allow for continued profitability in a shorter period of time due to retail distribution coming sooner in the cycle; and accurately applying the increasing online and mobile response to specific media to optimize schedules

Medved: First, there’s an overreaction to supply and demand. A few timely misjudgments on anyone’s part can stimulate demand for media that is unsubstantiated and unsustainable. It starts a domino effect on the buying side. After a few weeks we often see a reverberation in the market where demand for time is then suppressed because the media is overvalued in relation to response. Next, the continued migration of phone orders to the Web makes attribution of low-volume avails a more difficult task. Finally, audience dilution — entertainment consumption is changing at an accelerated rate. More people of all demographics are using DVRs or IP-delivered content like Netf-lix to consume content on their terms.

What are the three biggest challenges facing short-form DRTV media buyers/ planners? George Leon, Hawthorne Direct ( responding for advisor Tim Hawthorne): The three biggest challenges for short-form DRTV planners are: maintaining cost-effective clearance rates as a result of more “brand” campaigns utilizing DR media; rate increases despite reduced viewership; and strong automotive spending in local markets pushing brand advertisers to national cable, thereby increasing rates.

Richard Stacey, Northern Response Intl. Ltd.: It’s hard to find and capture the right audience, fewer people are watching TV, and it’s harder to cut through the clutter.

Heroux: With the cost of manufacturing and production in China on the rise along with the Chinese Yuan, marketers are looking for lower CPOs and higher MERs to close the gap and run campaigns successfully. Media continues to be more fragmented, and finding enough inventory to run a campaign successfully is tough.

Medico: The three biggest challenges to short-form are: the shorter timeframe of products from direct response to retail; how to manage media under shrinking allowables; and inconsistent avails and rates over the flights. I’ll also include a fourth: accurately applying the increasing online and mobile response to specific media to optimize schedules

Savage: With more networks becoming

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