The right balance between branding and direct response

Today, many large well established companies want to diversify their advertising spending, but find brand preservation very important. Due to this reason, many companies are reluctant to enter direct response because they think it will “cheapen” their brand.

However, the truth is that focusing solely on branding could hinder the growth of a company. It is equally important to pay attention to the call to action and the offer being provided. Many of the top brands have now realized this and are continually abandoning the negative perceptions associated with "infomercial" advertising and have embraced the advantages of direct response.

For a corporate brand to succeed in a direct response campaign, it is necessary to bring together brand awareness with a unique selling message. With direct response advertisements, a company is able to better quantify campaign results while still reinforcing the established brand messages.

It is a myth that branding and direct response cannot work together. It is perfectly acceptable to have a slick creative soliciting some form of response from the consumer, by phone or the internet; in this type of campaign the creative will have a duel purpose and will draw the consumer to act, while still establishing brand. There is absolutely no conflict between direct response and branding. Even though the primary purpose of a direct response campaign is to drive traffic and response, every piece of communication that touches the customer represents a brand. Many travel and tourism companies have discovered this, as well as fortune 1000 companies.

Using DRTV to your advantage

Direct Response TV creates innovative advertising and marketing programs that effectively use integrated direct response channels to acquire new customers and sell products directly to consumers for leading national clients.

Nowadays Direct Response Television accounts for at least 25% of all television commercials. And nearly two third of the American viewers have watched an infomercial sometime or the other. Potential customers for DRTV are usually more affluent and educated. Although previously female customers outstripped the males, it is changing slowly but surely now.

Such statistics coupled with the low rates of advertising clearly indicate that DRTV is indeed a very profitable medium for your product or service. Today, DRTV is a sophisticated medium, catering to entrepreneurs as well as blue-chip companies. Not only is it used for selling, but also as a brand building tool, obtaining leads and for driving retail and internet sales.

DRTV in the travel & tourism industry

The travel and tourism industry is expanding its advertising efforts with DRTV because of its wide reach, affordable rates, and traceable media.

Direct Response Television Advertising offers inexpensive media, compared to traditional advertising, and can be exploited in many different ways. Travel and tourism companies have caught on to this new form of advertising and are taking advantage of it. These companies are creating television commercials that drive viewers to call now for more information, to call and place reservations and to also log on and visit the company website. With more and more people having access to the internet, it makes perfect sense to put a website and email address on the DRTV commercial and have people check out the resort features online or visit the state tourism board to see what fun activities the state offers.

Although DRTV has previously been used to generate orders, the new possibility of getting leads is being explored, with success. DRTV is a cost effective way in which a campaign can be operated on a moderate budget and is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to a travel & tourism website.

Media Buying for DRTV

DRTV is based on using TV advertisements (both short form - :60 and :120 seconds in length and infomercials- 28 minutes in length) with a compelling call to action that will encourage consumers to call or log on right now, in order to take advantage of the advertiser’s offer.

If you are planning to advertise your product or service via DRTV, media buying will be a crucial step. The nature of Direct Response media buying is very dynamic. A media campaign changes daily, with buys being adjusted according to the past day’s results. A good media buyer makes sure to use all the necessary tools to plan a schedule that allows the advertisement to be seen and heard by the highest number of viewers from the target audience at the lowest possible price to the client.

Media buying companies have a wealth of historical data and research tools including MRI, Scarborough, Adviews, Phersonicx, and many others that help aid in the planning process. These tools help to show and guide the media buyer on, which product/service categories perform the best on which networks, which media schedule will work well for a specific demo and which dayparts drive a specific clientele.

The effects of a Direct Response campaign can be seen right away because results are traceable, so media can be optimized in real-time. Every airing is tracked and profits or losses are measured and, if needed, revisions can be made mid-stream.