How Smart Brands are Beating Recession with DRTV

How Smart Brands
are Beating the Recession
with
DRTVThe latest insights from DRTV pioneer Timothy R. HawthorneH A W T H O R N E D I R E C T - I N T E G R A T E D R E S P O N S E S O L U T I O N S
How Smart Brands are Beating the
Recession withDRTVHundreds of consumer product marketers are maintaining marketshare and profitability, even with significantly reduced advertising budgets
As a consumer product brand manager or marketing leader, the choices you makeover the next few months during "these tough economic times" can either make orbreak your brand, and either ascend or descend your hard earned career. It's likelythat you and your colleagues are currently facing a vast number of serious issueswith no simple, clear solutions. Lower revenues and tight cash are forcing mostcompanies to make defensive spending cuts that could erode market share, brandequity and profitable growth for years to come. Your general advertising budget hasprobably already been cut. Your new product launch may have been shelved. Younow have to justify all expenditures and wish you had more data to sell through theideas you were hired to deliver on.
A recent McGraw-Hill study of 600 businesses found that companies whichmaintained or increased their ad spend saw higher sales growth during a recessionand in the years following, experiencing a 256 percent increase in sales compared tothose who cut their budgets.
Our objective for this brief guide is to illuminate a fresh perspective of seeingopportunity within these trying times and provide you and your company with atactical vision for thriving in the midst of a recession.
10 Good Reasons to Test Direct Response TV Now
1. TEST AND LAUNCH FULLY ACCOUNTABLE CAMPAIGNSMany brand advertisers drastically cut their advertising during recessions seekingto conserve cash. Since branding is most often a long term investment, it becomesless important than a healthy balance sheet. You may not realize that manyconsumer product marketers in some of the same product categories that haveseverely cut their general ad campaigns are thriving and gaining market shareright now with accountable, integrated direct response television (DRTV) adcampaigns. They're measuring the effectiveness of creative execution and mediaexpenditures by tallying phone responses (800#) and web visits. They're analyzing
B e a t i n g t h e R e c e s s i o n w i t h D R T V - P A G E 1inquiry and order conversion metrics, along with website engagement andclick paths. They're using this data to make immediate data-drivenrevisions to creatives and media plans thereby maximizing effectivenessand efficiency. Warning: it can be addictive to get this much marketfeedback information this fast. And a revelation to finally know whichcreative executions really work.
2. GROW MARKET SHARE WITH SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER DOLLARSDRTV has proven to be highly cost-effective in driving customers toretail stores and lifting sell-through. For every product that a DRTVcommercial sells direct to a consumer, 5 to 12 units are typically sold atmass retail. For the cost of 30 seconds in prime time, advertisers canfund dozens of airings across a broad range of stations. Additionally, thedirect response metrics of a long- or short-form DRTV commercial canbe accurately tested with as little as $25,000 in media expenditures. Ifyour brand's TV budget has been cut, it is still possible to succeed witha DRTV-driven marketing campaign . and there's a measurable returnon investment.
3. MAKE IMMEDIATE TACTICAL CAMPAIGN ADJUSTMENTSA DRTV-driven marketing campaign delivers immediate, actionableresults. Properly managed, on a daily basis, every consumer response toa DRTV ad is matched with specific airings and measured against ROIgoals. DRTV media planners and buyers optimize media budgets byadjusting strategies, budget levels and renegotiating rates, with changesimplemented in days, not weeks. And marketers can create and test newoffers and compare against controls within weeks, not months.
4. REACH AND MOTIVATE TODAY'S DEMANDING CONSUMERSIn our new, consumer-driven, fragmented media universe, consumers areseeking more relevant information at more touchpoints. And, whentimes get tough, consumers do more comparison shopping. They trackdown the best deals, clip coupons and wait for discounted offers. Theytune out messages that are not relevant to the problems in... [download for more]