Someday All TV Advertising Will Be DRTV

In the most recent Response magazine, our own Tim Hawthorne takes a look at Christmas-time advertising. Our team charted TV for hours and found that nearly 70 percent of all commercials included a web address. Fourteen percent featured 800-numbers. In fact, many DRTV staples now appear regularly in 15- and 30-second spots -- direct calls to action, purchase incentives, and even free samples. Indeed, someday all advertising will be DRTV.

Response: January 1, 2008
By Timothy R. Hawthorne

Someday All TV Advertising Will Be DRTV

Slowly but surely, direct response is becoming the dominant television advertising strategy. To test this assessment, Hawthorne Direct staff analyzed five hours of prime-time network programming before Thanksgiving. We charted three hours of dramas and two hours of reality shows, spread across the four major networks. While the sample is not random statistically, it paints an illustrative picture.

Even in 30-second brand spots, direct response elements are common. The five hours we sampled contained 179 commercials, 125 of them unique (consecutive show promos counted as one extended spot for the network). Web site URLs appear in 61 percent of the unique spots, accounting for 69 percent of all ads aired, including repeats. Phone numbers appeared in only 13.6 percent of the commercials, but like Web addresses, this share will inevitably grow. With so many brands giving voice to consumers, marketers surely will provide them with someone to talk to.

Direct response advocates always refer back to data, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. The 16:9 aspect ratio has conditioned TV viewers to the letterbox effect - black bands above and below the main picture. For programmers this enables a cinematic experience; for advertisers it's prime real estate to isolate Web sites and phone numbers for additional emphasis.

The week leading up to Black Friday - the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday shopping season - included a disproportionate number of one- and two-day sale spots, but all relied on direct calls-to-action. Good DRTV stresses the need to act now - and so does today's lineup of prime-time commercials.

Savvy shopper warnings abound: "race to the Target two-day sale," "see us today," "shop Friday," "hurry in," "get there early." When sale dates don't expire, the calls-to-action fly just as fast and furious: "come into McDonalds," "go to http://www.jcp.com/," "ask your doctor," "share your story." Curiously, many commercials employing response-based commands do not display Web sites or phone numbers. eBay, amazingly, urges viewers to "shop victoriously," but doesn't show where they can do it.

Traditional image/awareness commercials' growing inclusion of incentives and premiums further underscore brand advertisers' shift to direct response strategies. Shania Twain introduces her new Starlight fragrance by offering free samples; Discover pitches its Motiva card by refunding a month's interest for making six straight timely payments; the UPS Store offers replacement guarantees for any contents damaged during shipping. Most familiar are DRTV-patterned offers, displayed plainly and prominently: "% off," "save $200," "get a free MP3 player with a $20 purchase." As DRTV agencies will tell you, numbers speak louder than words. That "a diamond is forever" is all well and good, but saving $200 is what inspires people to pull out their credit cards.

Prescription medicine commercials may best reflect the new trends. They average 60 seconds and utilize problem/solution presentations. They include brief testimonials and calls-to-action to "ask your doctor" or "see our ad in Newsweek." These ads don't resemble DRTV - they are DRTV. And in the middle of a "CSI" sweeps episode, they don't look out of place for a minute.

Timothy R. Hawthorne is founder, chairman and executive creative director of Hawthorne Direct, a full-service DRTV, print, mail and digital ad agency founded in 1986. A 34-year television producer/writer/director, Hawthorne is a cum laude Harvard graduate.