TV tactics.

TV TACTICS

IN the first part of this article on the tactics of using direct response TV, I covered product selection, offer structure, creative considerations and production. Now I will review the specialized world of direct response TV media as well as back-end opportunities provided by

If you find yourself in the position of meeting with an agency to discuss placing the media for a direct response TV campaign -- make sure that rating points, CPMs and program adjacencies are not part of your (or the agency's) campaign strategy. The world of direct response TV media is a very separate discipline with its own rules, objectives and vernacular.

The objective of any direct response TV campaign is an acceptable cost per order or cost per lead. The target or budgeted cost per order for a TV campaign is called its "allowable." The focus of every direct response TV media campaign is on achieving the most order volume at a cost per order under the "allowable."

Primary Factors

There are primarily two factors unique to direct response TV media. The first factor is a highly discounted rate structure. Direct response marketers are given an average of 80 percent discount off rate card for any direct to consumer campaign. The second factor is the unparalleled budget contro of media expenditures. Dependent on response patterns, a TV campaign can be expanded or canceled within three or four days' notice. No other direct response source can capitalize on consumer feedback to a campaign in such a short turnaround time.

Why does the broadcast industry appear to be so fair to direct response marketers? As you can probably guess, the broadcast industry gets something equally valuable out of it as well. Direct response TV marketers provide the broadcast industry with a flexibility in placing direct response spots that awareness advertisers, with their rating points, penetration and recall goals, cannot provide.

First, the broadcaster is allowed to "preempt" a direct response spot and only guarantees placement within a given period of airtime called a "daypart" (e.g., Monday-Friday, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.). Second, they can run the spot anywhere within the daypart. This flexibility is a very valuable tool to the broadcaster when they set up their weekly mix of programming and advertising.

In return, the direct response market is given a special rate structure and the right to cancel or modify a schedule that is not generating the required level of response.

The two-minute unit is still the most effective length for a spot that seeks an order. The death of this unit has been greatly exaggerated. While two-minute inventories are in great demand, there is ample airtime available for first and third quarter campaigns. In second and fourth quarter, two-minute time has always been scarce and remains so today. In my experience, I have never seen a two-minute spot beaten by a shorter length unit in a head-to-head test.

For pure inquiry response, as part of a two-step approach, 60- and 90-second spots can be effective. And if a 60 works, media can be bought throughout the year.

The expertise of a direct response media professional revolves around negotiating the best rates as well as anticipating possible pre-emption levels so that both volume and cost per response goals can be achieved.

In direct response the TV media planners also handle negotiations and execute the buy. These planners are market specialists, with in-depth knowledge of all the stations within a geographic region of the country. The relationships developed with the stations in a market are key to negotiating a discounted rate structure essential to the success of a direct response offer. These relationships are also a factor in reducing station pre-emptions. Knowledge of pre-emption history allows the media buyer to overbuy in a market in anticipation of pre-empted spots.

Media Control

The computer has revolutionized the working of the modern direct response TV agency. The opportunity of daily media control is maximized by a fully integrated on-line system in which counts are downloaded daily from the answering services into the system. In this way the media planner can assess daily the effectiveness of every station in every campaign and make the necessary adjustments. A manual system could never control the volume of response data generated by the hundreds of stations in a campaign rollout.

Discounted media rates are just the starting point of a campaign. It is the control of response data and the constant modifications of a schedule to maximize results that are at the heart of a successful direct response campaign.

Most of the disappointed advertisers we hear from have worked with agencies that did not have the capability to "manage" a campaign and adjust media allocations based on daily response feedback after the results started to come in.

Computerized response reports are generated weekly. They reflect the performance of every spot and cable station as well as back-end data reflecting upsell, credit card and mail percentages. Computer sorts of any type can be assessed depending on the advertiser's analytical requirements.

The management of the back end of a program is greatly enhanced by the computerized control of the data. Upsell, the second sale or extension of the term of offer, is a function of the ability of the answering service to successfully present the additional offer to the customer. The upsell percentages sorted by answering service can be compiled weekly, giving the advertiser the information needed to improve on these important statistics.

The back end in direct response TV is always considered the less glamorous part of the business. But the potential for profit improvement is nowhere as pronounced as in the opportunities to collect, upgrade, renew and generally increase the value of the direct response generated name.

TV is a "hot" medium. Response is often impulsive and not thoroughly considered. It is therefore imperative to quickly turn around and fulfill the order. Overnight phone transmission of customer orders is the speediest fulfillment route. In the circulation world, the trend to attached billing is growing; so that the ordered publication arrives with a bill in less than half the routine fulfillment time.

The telemarketing opportunity that occurs when the consumer responds to the TV offer is of critical importance. With a live prospect on the line, there is no better opportunity to cross-sell, upgrade or lock in a credit card order.

Another trend is to offer a bonus gift or other incentive to pay by credit card rather than the use of COD or a "bill me" order. These bonuses are not revealed in the commercial; but offered as a pay-up inducement by the inbound telemarketing operator.

Postage rates are expected to continue to rise, putting mailers under increased pressure to maintain profitability. Those marketers wholly dependent on any one source of response are in an unnecessarily vulnerable position. Direct response TV represents for many an untapped opportunity to reach the mass market. Now that the need for alternative business sources is drawing more and more attention to direct response TV, the medium will continue to grow in sophistication and effectiveness.

Joseph Shain has over 14 years experience in direct marketing and is president of Shain Colavito Pensabene Direct, an independent direct marketing agency specializing in direct response broadcast. Shain Colavito Pensabene Direct's clients include Time-Life Books, USA Today, Consumer Reports and Prevention magazine, among others. He can be reached at Shain Colavito Pensabene Direct, 655 Third Ave., New York NY 10017 -- 212/557-6050.