Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 33

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There are many critical factors that go into the success of a direct response campaign. Ideally, a campaign begins with a detailed plan, followed by a test phase, a product launch and ultimately sales. But a lot of cooperation between product developers, agencies, media buyers and vendors are necessary to reach this end goal. So what does it take to turn an average direct response product into the next P90X or Jack LaLanne Power Juicer? Electronic Retailer spoke with experts in the DR industry to get their advice on building a campaign and a brand. Take a look at what they considered to be the Top 5 best practices.

1. Pick the Right Product
Let’s face it. All success stories start with a great idea. So from day one, a great marketing campaign needs a great product. When an entrepreneur or partner agency considers marketing a product, the first step is to ask, “Is this the right product?” The biggest mistake is to fall in love with a product and then find out that it doesn’t have a market. “Just because your friends like it, doesn’t mean all of America will,” says Stephen Harkey, president and founder of Dynamic TV Marketing. The product needs to, of course, be innovative, but it also should be demonstrable, appropriate

for a large demographic and able to be turned into upsells or extended once the product is branded. Cindy Minionis, vice president of marketing at Time Life Inc., looks for five important qualities when considering taking on a product to market. The product must be unique and demonstrable, have a high perceived value, meet specific margin requirements, have specific knowledge of the competitive set and, finally, have identifiable upsells. Minionis says it’s not enough to think about these product factors as an afterthought; instead, she recommends having them planned at the start of a campaign. “Upsells are critical and need to be established at the start of the campaign,” she says. “The number of upsells can vary, but campaigns typically include three additional products and then third party upsells.” Steve Heroux, CEO of Hampton Direct, believes a product must have mass appeal and be able to be produced at an affordable price. To decide if a product meets these standards, an agency should do preliminary market research to see its potential in DRTV and to review the product’s unique benefits. “When looking at our newest hit, Furniture Fix, we realized that almost 100 percent of people have a couch and by starting with a much larger demographic, this product has a larger mass appeal, and it addressed today’s economic environment,” Heroux says. Once the right product is chosen, the right platform for marketing that product is a critical next step. Robert Yallen, president and CEO of Inter/ Media Group of Companies, believes that if a product is appropriate for DRTV, short-form is usually the best way to market that product. With the economy the way it is, everyone is looking to get more bang for their buck. Therefore, limited funds create the need for prioritizing marketing channels. Yallen says that long-form can corner an advertisement because there are only certain times of the day that are slotted in a television line-up for these types of commercials. However, shortform DRTV can run more frequently

in more time slots. In addition, the production costs are significantly less. And since branding is so important in 2011, Yallen also advises that almost all products – minus the few exceptions – run in the DRTV channel. “Television is still the branding media,” he says. “TV is driving web and other mediums such as print and radio. That’s another reason in support of short-form: It supports other media better.”

2. Partner with the Right Agencies and Vendors
Anyone who has worked for a time in the industry will agree that there are nuances to DRTV marketing that only an experienced DR agency will understand. Therefore, partnering with the right vendors and marketing agency can make or break a successful campaign. Yallen is adamant that picking the right partners from the start will make all the difference in a direct response marketing campaign. There are several ways to go about this, but one of the best ways is a recommendation from others in the industry. Then, once a company has narrowed down the agency, production company, and telemarketing and fulfillment prospects – or if they have chosen a one-stop-shop – the next best step is to go through an RFP (request for proposal) process among the top contenders. And which partners are most important? Well, all of them, but experts stress the production and the telemarketing companies. If the show doesn’t work, the phones won’t work. Then if calls are coming in but are not being answered or handled correctly, the campaign is all for not. Minionis says that an inbound telemarketing script should be clear and concise and recommends using a live agent in the testing phase in order to understand how the offer is perceived and learn where any problem areas may arise.

3. Test Your Offer
Testing is a necessary part of all direct response campaigns. Even with the best offers and the best production, very few products hit a home run on the first try. 33

November 2011 | electronicRETAILER



Electronic Retailer - November 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronic Retailer - November 2011

Calendar of Events
Your Association, Your Bottom Line
Industry Reports
FTC Forum
eMarketer Research
IMS Retail Rankings
Jordan Whitney’s Top Categories
Lockard & Wechsler’s Clearance & Price Index
The Leadership Team
Call Centers in the Age of Facebook
5 Keys to Creating a DR Hit
Building a Voluntary Sales Force
Guest Viewpoint
DRTV
Legal
Teleservices
Payment Processing
Advertiser Spotlight
Bulletin Board
Advertiser Index
Classifieds
Rick Petry
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - cover1
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - dps1
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - dps2
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - dps3
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - dps4
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 2
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 3
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 4
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 5
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 6
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Calendar of Events
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Your Association, Your Bottom Line
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Industry Reports
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 10
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 11
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - FTC Forum
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 13
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - eMarketer Research
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 15
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - IMS Retail Rankings
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 17
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Jordan Whitney’s Top Categories
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 19
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Lockard & Wechsler’s Clearance & Price Index
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 21
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 22
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 23
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - The Leadership Team
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 25
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 26
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 27
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Call Centers in the Age of Facebook
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 29
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 30
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 31
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 5 Keys to Creating a DR Hit
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 33
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 34
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 35
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 36
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 37
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Building a Voluntary Sales Force
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Guest Viewpoint
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 40
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - DRTV
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Legal
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Teleservices
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Payment Processing
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 45
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Advertiser Spotlight
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Advertiser Index
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Classifieds
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 49
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - Rick Petry
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - cover3
Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - cover4
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