Outside-the-box products in DRTV

DRTV started off as a medium for unusual, unique or plain outlandish products, ranging from perpetually sharp knives, to gym products, to multi-utility ladders. For a long time this trend continued. Slowly things changed for DRTV. New products started to launch that broke the mold. Mainstream products like pharmaceuticals, computers, and even insurance made their entry into DRTV with great success. More and more of such non-conventional products continue to enter the DRTV fray.

An excellent example is an emergency response system for senior citizens launched by LifeFone which signed Advanced Results Marketing recently to drive a national consumer direct response television campaign. Another unique feature of this DRTV campaign apart from the product itself is the fact that it targets more to the caregiver than the senior themselves, which is quite a challenge. The creative makes an emotional call to the children of senior citizens, paralleling the care a parent gives a child with the care a child wants to provide an aging parent. The 30-second spot then demonstrates how a LifeFone pendant automatically calls the LifeFone Emergency Response Center. From there, the subscriber's designated doctor, hospital and EMT as well as family and friends are notified of the emergency.

Such unique and innovative campaigns keep the DRTV medium in a continuous state of dynamic and positive change, and keeps it abreast of all other advertising media.