Direct Response Television Blog

It would make no sense to do use a drtv media buyer to put together a media plan for you and not include the web as a part of your overall strategy.

It will be a huge waste of money and resources if your drtv strategy does not include driving viewers to website that enables the user to sign up for your product or service. The cost of servicing the order in most cases is much lower by getting the customer to use the web as a medium.

Traditionally it was ok to flash the 800 toll free number and have the potential customer dial into and speak with a live operator or an automated ivr system.

Here are some common terms that serve as the foundation of DRTV / Direct Response Television:

call to action: also know as “CTA.” That portion or portions of an DRTV commercial that “asks for the order.” An infomercial can have 1, 2, 3 or more CTA’s. Each infomercial CTA is typically a minimum of 2 minutes long and generally reviews the product’s main features and benefits, and states the product guarantee, price point, warranties, “send check” address, 800#, credit cards accepted, etc.

daypart: refers to the various multiple hour segments of televisions 24 hour broadcast day. Dayparts are typically segmented as follows:
6a - 9a Early Morning
9a - 12n Morning
12n - 4p Daytime
4p - 6p Early Fringe
6p - 7p Early News
7p - 8p Prime Access
8p - 11p Prime
11p - 11:30p Late News
11:30p - 1a Late Fringe
1a - 6a Late Night

cost per inquiry: most often called “CPI.”   This is calculated by dividing the cost of media by the number of inquiries received (for example: a $1000 airing divided by 100 inquiries [people that call for a brochure or additional information] equals a $10 CPI).

cost per thousand: A simple and widely used method of comparing the cost effectiveness of two or more alternative media vehicles.  It is the cost of using the media vehicle to reach 1,000 people or households.  The CPM of any vehicle is computed by dividing the cost of placing a specific commercial in the media vehicle by the vehicle’s audience size and multiplying the result by 1,000.

direct response: also know as D.R. The marketing and sales methodology of bypassing standard retail stores to make a product sale directly with the consumer. Basic direct response channels are: TV, radio, mail, print (newspapers and magazines), catalogs, phone, electronic kiosks, on-line, CD ROM and the granddaddy of them all: carnival pitch men.

direct response television: known by its acronym DRTV. DRTV is the all inclusive term that describes anything sold directly over television, generally bypassing traditional retail stores. DRTV is comprised of three primary marketing subgroups of short form, long form (infomercials) and live home shopping.