descriptive term into their search engine instead of
remembering a Web address the way they might recall
an easy-to-remember phone number. This could mean
trouble for marketers with strong DRTV creative, but
without a solid SEM strategy.
“There are lots of infomercials and short-form
DRTV spots airing where there is no search presence,”
says Irv Brechner, EVP of corporate communications
at Acquirgy. “If someone sees an ad for Schticky Lint
Roller and they aren’t doing any paid search, but their
competitor Sticky Buddy is, that consumer will buy
from the competitor.”
One of Mercury’s clients is the wheelchair and
electric scooter manufacturer Hoveround, which has
been using long-form DRTV programs for about 17
of its 20 years in business. Even though its customers
skew older—generally 65 or above—the company has
moved quickly over the past five years to incorporate
new technologies into its marketing campaigns, urging
viewers to learn more about their products and place
orders for them online at hoveround.com.
“We’ve really started to keep TV more as a foundation of our marketing mix, but it doesn’t have to do
all the heavy lifting it used to,” says Jeff Hilton, VP of
marketing for Hoveround.
“DRTV is
a superior
medium
to tell the
story.”
Irv Brechner
EVP of corporate
communications,
Acquirgy
While television also remains the centerpiece of the
Home Shopping Network’s (HSN) marketing mix, the
24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week direct marketing
network has also been moving quickly to integrate a
variety of online channels into its offerings, realizing
that is where shoppers are heading.
“We provide unique, compelling content across
platforms to drive engagement and constantly pro-
mote back and forth between TV, online, and mo-
bile,” says Kurt Kostur, SVP of marketing at HSN.
“[We use] tune-in alerts via mobile, when-to-watch
signup online, host mentions, and promos driving to
online from TV.”
In March HSN LIVE—a concert series that markets
new albums—featured Lionel Richie directing fans
prior to the broadcast to go to the network’s Face-
book page for a live preshow with songs from his new
album Tuskegee. The page had an exclusive behind-
the-scenes special and provided the opportunity to
order the album.
The concert itself was broadcast on HSN, directing
viewers throughout to call or order the album through
HSN.com. When the show wrapped, viewers were
directed to catch an encore and live chat with Richie
through the HSN Facebook page. Richie sold 20,000
DRTV is the heart of Zestra’s touchy campaign
As much as the marketing
landscape changes, many of
the DRTV aspects that made
it attractive to marketers for
decades remain unchanged.
Direct response advertisements, particularly long-form
infomercials, allow marketers
to explain and demonstrate
their products to consumers
with a depth that is increasingly difficult in a digital world
where immediacy and rapid
sound bites dominate.
Infomercials are particularly
useful for a product like Zestra
Essential Arousal Oils, a topically applied product meant
to increase arousal in women. The product’s target
audience is women over the
age of 35 in a committed
relationship who are looking
to enhance their sex lives. But
a Google search for “sexual
enhancement,” or
similar terms is likely
to pull up search
results for Viagra or
products that don’t
necessarily cater to women in
long-term relationships.
“‘Sex’ is the most expensive
word on the Internet, and it
gets you to a language and
content that women aren’t
looking for,” says Rachel Braun
Scherl, president and cofound-er of Semprae Laboratories
Inc., which produces Zestra.
“You cannot build a new brand
in an undeveloped category
with online alone—it’s a combination that makes the difference,” she says.
The company has run 60-
and 120-second spots on
stations that reach
its core audience.
Featuring women in
the brand’s target
age range speak-
ing to the camera or
to one another in a
matter-of-fact,
conversa-
tional way
about sex,
the ads
allow Sem-
prae to explain the product in
a manner that breaks from the
traditional language of sexual
enhancement products.
DRTV in a digital world
Ron Perlstein, president of
Info Worx Direct, agrees that
as digital has taken off, in
many ways the value of DRTV
spots has increased. “I will say
what I’ve said since the dawn
of the Internet: Television is
still the most powerful mass
medium,” he says. “With the
proliferation of over 100 cable
networks, we can target virtu-
ally any demographic from
little kids to teenagers on up.”
As online and offline become
increasingly entwined, oppor-
tunities for DRTV appear
likely to grow even further.
Rob Medved, CEO of Cannella
Response Television, envisions
a future where viewers watch-
ing a DRTV spot can push a
button on their remote, allow-
ing for a direct order and deliv-
ery to their door of whatever
product is being advertised.
He calls this, “the i Tunes mod-
el,” likening such a situation to
the ease of Apple’s music and
media download service.
