Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 35

5 KEYS TO CREATING A DR HIT
Most DRTV productions, even radio, print and web ads, need some tweaks to get the product offer just right. Harkey warns that the testing phase takes patience and time (and don’t forget money). Only make one or two small adjustments at a time so that you can quantify the results of the individual change. “Plus, quantifying allows for establishing a baseline to see how that change impacts results and how you model the ad moving forward,” Harkey says. Once teamed up, the agency and entrepreneur need to spend the right amount of time on the creative. As he says, don’t rush the creative. “Develop the best possible offer and take the necessary time to create the perfect spot,” he says. The best creative, he adds, is a collaborative effort between the marketer and the creative team. “As the owner of the product, remember that you are the most knowledgeable about your product, so don’t be afraid to offer suggestions to the creative team.” Even if a few rounds of tests don’t go smoothly, Heroux advises companies to stick with it. “Don’t give up on a product too early. The smallest of change on a creative can improve MER/CPO results drastically,” he says. “It’s realistic to improve order volume by two to three times with a better creative. So if two to three times more orders would not yield successful results, perhaps it’s time to call it quits – the product is not meant for DRTV.” product is worthy of shelf space. Often that means working with an agency that already has a relationship with the retailer to increase the likelihood of trust. Also, the retailer needs to be sure a company can produce enough quantity to stock its shelves. But even once enough of a product is made available to send out to retailers, an agency needs to make sure there is brand awareness so that consumers will actually buy the product. Heroux gave the example of branding Pajama Jeans. “We spent millions on media dollars, but our PR initiative was equally as important to creating awareness around the brand,” he says. And our experts warned to have a retailer upfront. “For the average new company coming in, the retail portion is critical and so is picking the right retail partner to get on board with you,” Harkey says. “The bottom line is, unless you have superior intellectual property protection, if you’re not set up to sell it in retail yet, the big guys are going

4. Have a Retail Strategy in Place
In 2011, a product cannot survive on DRTV alone. It must have a plan from the outset to go to retail. Why? “Media rates have increased over the years and consumer response has decreased because most successful short-form products eventually make it to retail,” Heroux says. “More and more consumers just wait for products to show up on store shelves.” But getting into retail can be tough. First, it means proving to retail that a

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November 2011 | electronicRETAILER

9/28/11 2:49:24 AM

Electronic Retailer - November 2011

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