The DRTV Centre, the UK’s specialist direct response TV advertising agency, shares eighteen vital secrets of effective DRTV advertising. 

DRTV (direct response television advertising) includes any TV ads that encourage viewers to respond directly to the advertiser, by calling an 0800 number, visiting a web site or sending a text message. Most UK DRTV commercials are 60 seconds or less – called “short form” in the US. 

DRTV can attract instant new customers and yield high returns. There are many pitfalls, however, and failure can be costly. 

#1. For the most effective DRTV script, follow the advice of the DRTV expert who recommends that it should follow a proven formula. He knows what he’s talking about. Many clients who are new to the medium want to break the rules – more often than not their products fail.

#2. The viewer’s attention must be captured immediately; the message has to be clear, relevant and quickly followed by a call-to-action (“phone now” for example, or “visit our website).

#3. A problem/solution scenario often works well – with the advertised product being the solution to the problem, naturally.

#4. Highlight the most important product benefits by featuring prominent titles on screen. Advertising agency creatives hate these - but they work.

#5. You might be tempted to use humour to capture attention. Don’t. Humour hardly ever works.

#6. Make it clear what response you want from the viewer. This is the call-to-action. Repeat it.

#7. Show and speak your 0800 Freefone number very early in your script and keep it on screen until the end.

#8. Crucially, use the most memorable 0800 numbers available. Response rates can be 50% higher for easy-to-remember numbers.

#9. TV spots - experiment with different lengths of commercial. For some products a 30 second commercial will pull response just as well as a 60, at half the cost.

#10. Branding can be a side effect of DRTV commercials but should never be the primary objective. Concentrate on maximising response. Brand awareness will result later, directly from DRTV success.

#11. Avoid peak time spots. Lots of low rating spots in cheap daytime will produce a steady response at lowest cost per enquiry.

#12. DRTV results are accurately measurable; take the advice of industry media experts with respect to analysis. Such analysis will tell you which TV stations are performing well, what time length is best, what time of day and day of week are most cost-effective.

#13. Note DRTV and PPC (pay per click advertising), when used in combination, are often significantly more effective than DRTV or PPC used alone.

#14. Never feature Twitter hashtags in DRTV commercials – they dilute response.

#15. Recognise that DRTV is a science. Identify winners using response statistics. Stick with your winners and ditch your losers immediately.

#16. Testing a new product or service on-air will provide more reliable guidance than focus groups.

#17. In judging success beware of emotional decisions. Base conclusions purely on facts.

#18. Test, test, never rest! Even modest improvements to the script or media plan will keep raising response rates.

David Pearson of The DRTV Centre stresses: “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. There are tried and tested ways to increase your chances of DRTV success. Use them.”

Although Google makes most of its revenues from advertisements on its own website and on millions of other websites, the company now also wants to add TV advertisements as a potential revenue stream. The company is currently testing a method for showing TV advertisements in an American city.

The method allows advertisers to show their advertisements only to people with a certain viewing habit. Just like on the internet, Google is able to collect data from its TV customers to profile them. The data allows the search giant to only show advertisements that possibly fit the interests of the users.

Google uses the same technology on the internet for years already, where it uses cookies and other ways to track which websites users visit, to only show advertisements that are relevant to the user.

The test with the new TV advertisements currently takes place in Kansas City, where the company operates its own fiber network and sells internet subscriptions. TV is also part of these subscriptions. Google emphasizes that customers can also turn off personalized advertisements.

USA source: myce.com

When online businesses expand their acquisition activity they experience diminishing returns from PPC, as they chase more and more generic search terms. 

They will then exploit affiliate marketing opportunities as well as social media. But again, these routes to market experience diminishing returns. 

If these businesses can increase their number of searches they can achieve greater scale… and if they can increase the proportion of brand searches versus generic searches…  they will incur lower search costs 

• Increase proportion of natural (free) searches
• Lower PPC costs 

TV (in the form of DRTV, direct response TV) has been shown to be the most effective offline channel for many of these businesses. 

DRTV generates immediate responses 

• Cost per Visit as low as £0.50, depending on the industry 

Visits can be measured on a TV spot-by-spot basis and optimised by programme in a similar way that PPC search terms can be optimised. 

But clients need a #DRTV commercial that efficiently drives a visit, and that requires a deep understanding of how creative should stimulate action, and not simply perishable brand name awareness. 

(with grateful thanks to our good friend Andy Sloan at All Response Media, London) 

Save the Children and Sainsbury's British Legion TV adverts were among the 10 most complained-about last year

DRTV can create instant customers and produce high ROI (return on investment) only if the advertiser fully understands how the technique works best. The DRTV Centre, the leading UK direct response TV ad agency, suggests that DRTV advertisers make the following 12 New Year Resolutions which encapsulate the most important ingredients for success: 

Resolution 1: Above all, appoint a specialist DRTV ad agency. Ordinary advertising agencies just don’t have the expertise to make DRTV work. 

Resolution 2: Grab viewers’ attention in the first 5 seconds. 

Resolution 3: Solve viewers’ problems. A problem/solution scenario often works well. 

Resolution 4: Show big on-screen titles to highlight your most important product benefits. Ad agency creatives hate these but they work. 

Resolution 5: Don’t play it for laughs. It might be tempting to use humour in DRTV to capture attention. Don’t. 

Resolution 6: Be direct and explicit. Make it 100% clear what response you expect from the viewer (this is the CTA, call-to-action). Repeat it. 

Resolution 7: Feature your 0800 phone number very early in your commercial and keep it on screen until the end. 

Resolution 8: Do not confuse objectives. Branding is a side effect of great DRTV commercials, not the other way around. Concentrate on maximising response. Brand awareness will result later, following DRTV success. 

Resolution 9: Trust response data. DRTV results are brilliantly measurable; take the advice of DRTV experts with respect to analysis. 

Resolution 10: React fast to your spot response analysis. Recognise that DRTV is a science. Identify your winners using response statistics. Cut your losers immediately. 

Resolution 11: Be careful with research. Testing a new product on-air will provide much more reliable guidance than using focus groups. 

Resolution 12: Judge with your head, not your heart. Beware of taking emotional decisions. Base your judgment purely on facts. 

David Pearson of The DRTV Centre comments: “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. These resolutions summarise tried and tested ways to increase advertisers’ chances of DRTV success.”

TV is proven by every major study to be the most effective form of advertising pound for pound. Nothing else comes close to its power to generate sales, create profit and drive business – and cultural – effects both in the short-term and the long-term.

There are all sorts of reasons for this peerless power. We could go on for days about it, but we don’t want to be greedy and hog your browsing time, so we’ve restricted ourselves to the straightjacket of giving you the top ten facts about TV advertising which explain why it works. 

Here they are: 

1. TV creates the most profit, pound for pound
2. TV has unbeatable scale and reach
3. We’re watching more TV than a decade ago
4. TV is the most talked about medium online or offline
5. All TV ads create response
6. TV is the new point of sale medium
7. TV is the dominant youth medium
8. TV is THE emotional medium and emotional campaigns are more effective
9. TV is the catalyst for other media
10. TV makes brands famous

But don’t take our word for it, you can click here be whisked off to a land of detailed supporting evidence.

Source: thinkbox.tv