Take a step back and think about what it really takes to educate a consumer on the value of your product using long-form or short-form DRTV [1]. Understand that while the longer format [2] will afford you plenty of time to get your point across, the shorter 60- and 120-minute spots also serve as the perfect backdrop for an educational campaign [3].
For the complete article, click here. [4]DRTV [5] Connected: November 20, 2006
By Timothy R. Hawthorne
Maximizing DRTV's Educational Component
Make your DRTV campaign [6] an educational tool that gets the point across in a way that consumers will understand
When teaching difficult concepts, professors often use demonstrations and real-life examples to get their points across. Knowing that a textbook description of complex topics usually isn't enough to penetrate the mind of the average student, teachers rely on visuals and examples to bring the concepts to life and help their protégés get a grasp on complicated principles.
Put on your teacher's hat because DRTV works the same way. Unless you can truly educate consumers on the value of your product, you don't stand a chance at selling any significant volumes of it in the direct response [7] world, where longer commercial formats, 1-800 numbers, Web sites and well-honed pitches work in tandem to penetrate consumers' minds and compel them to place orders [8].
If you're not convinced of the value of an educational campaign, remember what you're working against: There's the retail clerk who deals with hundreds of items every day and doesn't have a clue as to how to use your widget in a real-life application. There are also millions of other ads attacking consumers from different angles every day, and tons of new options when it comes to products and services.
Rather than fighting these forces, take a step back and think about what it really takes to educate a consumer on the value of your product using long-form or short-form DRTV. Understand that while the longer format [9] will afford you plenty of time to get your point across, the shorter 60- and 120-minute spots also serve as the perfect backdrop for an educational campaign.
The key element here is the distinction between 15- and 30-second traditional spots, and the DRTV spots. Not only does the latter give you more time to tell your story, but it also gives you a built-in response mechanism in the 1-800 number and/or Web site address that's included in the show.
You also have a format that's perfect for educating the customer not only about your product or brand, but also about what the product or brand represents. Both the brand and the product have a set period of time within which they can develop a relationship with the consumer and allow you more storytelling time.
During this time, you'll want to focus on exactly what your product can do for that consumer. How can it change her life? How can it make his life easier? How can it make her healthier and fitter? How can it free up more time for him to spend with his family? Focus on these and other questions that really hit [10] home for the consumer, and use demonstrations, testimonials and other tools to get your point across.
Remember that testimonials bring a lot to the party by relieving the DRTV spot [11] or infomercial [12] from becoming self-directed, and by shining the spotlight on the very people who can help champion your message and teach consumers about the value of your product. Let them tell it in their own words, and serve as a credible source for the product's attributes.
It doesn't matter if you're running a lead generation [13] campaign for your sales team, driving consumers to a Web site, or ushering them into retail stores to purchase your product, the educational principles are the same: you're using an effective, accountable marketing channel [14] to inform consumers about the value of your product or service, and what it can do for them.
No other medium handles the educational task as effectively as DRTV does; yet so many marketers miss the boat when it comes to using the channel to teach their prospective customers. You can avoid falling into this trap by using your airtime [15] to tell a more robust story about your brand and/or product, and effectively "closing the loop [16]" on sales arguments and objections that might come up.
Timothy R. Hawthorne is chairman and executive creative [17] director of hawthorne direct inc, a full-service DRTV ad agency founded in 1986. A 33-year television producer [18]/writer/director, Hawthorne is a cum laude Harvard graduate.