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Two-D Productions
Two-D Productions is a full-service direct response production company that specializes in the conception, development and execution of infomercials, commercials and digital content.  Our marketing and production expertise delivers a multichannel approach that sells your product, builds your brand and takes your business to the next level. Dena Levy is owner, producer and director.   What are the major benefits of direct response TV marketing? There are many benefits to DRTV marketing. One major benefit is that DRTV can create an instant need and reaction to a product or service. In addition, if you have a product that is highly demonstrable, DRTV is the ideal place to showcase it. There is really no other mass appeal marketing or advertising venue where we can directly demonstrate a product’s attributes to create that “Ah-ha” moment. This, in addition to testimonials and first-hand accounts and reactions of product users, is what truly sets DRTV apart. Lastly, DRTV is a powerful marketing channel that works synergistically with both new and old media to drive brand awareness across a wide spectrum of potential buying platforms. How do you determine whether a short-form spot or long-form infomercial will be most effective? There are several factors to consider. I like to ask myself three critical questions: 1. What is the cost of goods? 2. What is the TV offer price? 3. Can we sell the product (or tell the story) in two minutes as well as a 60-second spot, or does it require the long-form infomercial model? If I can’t justify short- or long-form after answering these questions, then I dig deeper. Is there a back end to the product? Are there line extensions? What other products do they have that we could also sell to boost the average sale? Is a celebrity spokesperson necessary to a successful DRTV campaign? There have been many successful DRTV campaigns with and without a celebrity spokesperson. After 20 years, I have found there is never only one way to be successful, and it does not start and stop with your celebrity endorser. Often the product genre or category dictates whether or not it is necessary to have a celebrity. A celebrity is useful as a channel stopper who can
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add credibility to a product or service if his or her involvement is believable and warranted. But, above all, you still have to have a good product that satisfies a need, solves a problem and can tell a compelling and demonstrable story. When testing an infomercial, what aspects do you look at to determine whether a campaign is a success? Direct marketers today should be looking at every channel to evaluate campaign performance. TV is no longer the only meter by which we determine if there is life in a show. Most of my clients hire me not just to do the creative and production, but to produce a fully integrated marketing campaign that can include customized landing pages, Web videos, online content, electronic PR and social media – and each channel has to be looked at to evaluate its merit both individually and as it relates to the campaign as a whole. What role should online video play in a modern DRTV campaign? It should play a significant role! Online video is a highly versatile marketing tool that is underutilized by direct marketers in my opinion. A product and/or presentation video should clearly rest on websites, microsites and landing pages, but there a host of other places where we now can embed a video element to increase views and brand awareness. Video plays a significant role in social media, electronic PR, email, online content, content sites and search. How have new technologies, including video on demand, affected DRTV marketers? Today’s buyer has a multitude of new places to make a purchase, and there are a myriad of ways that we can influence that purchase decision. Gone are the days of the “couch potato” where we played to a captive audience. Today’s buyers are anything but captive! They are online, on social media, interacting via mobile apps, chatting, posting, tweeting, downloading, texting and reviewing. They are no longer in one place physically or intellectually. You know, when I started my career in DRTV, if you had TV, print, telemarketing and direct mail covered, you were doing your campaign justice. Now we have to consider those traditional channels as well as a host of new channels including Web, social media, interactive media, mobile media, video syndication, online PR, email, SEO, PPC, SEM, etc. And, as a producer, my job becomes even more critical because TV and video marketing are more vital than ever.

electronicRETAILER | Direct Response Marketing and Production Guide 2012



Electronic Retailer - Marketing and Production Guide, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronic Retailer - Marketing and Production Guide, 2012

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