ResponseWire

How Will Customized Search Affect Online Advertising?

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:43:03 +0000

As the use of customized search engines picks up steam and gains in popularity, the question of how this trend will affect online advertising begs to be asked.

While the customized search feature allows users the opportunity to craft a unique search engine platform, it can also help to narrow down an advertiser�s target market. As Internet surfers browse websites and utilize customized search engines, the engine then collects specific information on the likes (and dislikes) of a particular target market.

When it comes to customized search, one thing to keep in mind is that some search engines do offer clients the ability to provide search results for Internet surfers sans advertising. In other words, when an individual searches a site or sites via a customized engine, the results of the search will not display any advertisements on the results page.

When ad displays are allowed on the search results page, however, they are more likely to be considered relevant by the user, thus increasing the odds of the user clicking through to the advertiser�s website.

Clinton Kicks Off 'Serious' Ad Campaign

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:38:19 +0000

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton beefed up her political advertising campaign this week in preparation for the California primary Feb. 5, 2008. Clinton's political marketing and media team produced a spot entitled "Serious." (View it here on YouTube.)

In the clip, Clinton is heard discussing her multibillion-dollar energy program designed to help the United States end its dependence on foreign oil. Most of the shots are taken from an upbeat and energetic rally, and the spot ends with the words "Vote February 5^th" on the screen. This piece of political advertising can now be viewed online in its entirety on youtube.com.

Along with the California advertisement, Clinton also began running campaigns in parts of Connecticut, Georgia, Utah, and New Mexico. In all, it is estimated the Democrat politician is spending $4 million over a 10-day span before this year's Super Tuesday.

Clinton isn't the only Democrat candidate who has kicked his or her political marketing efforts into high gear. Opponent Barack Obama is advertising in most or all of the same states as Clinton. Early reports also indicate that he is also forking out millions to pay for the ads. (And now Clinton is reportedly using her own money, in the millions, to fund these political advertising efforts.) Additionally, Obama's spots are running on MSNBC and CNN.

DRTV and the Search Engines

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:34:46 +0000

Search engines are playing an increasingly important role in DRTV marketing. A large percentage of the Web traffic generated from an infomercial passes through the aperture of a major search engine, such as Google. Most marketers don't realize that their company name, product brand names and slogans can be "pirated" by search engine optimizers and directed to competitive websites. Often these websites are owned by authorized resellers, but they can also be owned by direct competitors, including knock-off artists. I run into this problem with DRTV marketers who are totally unfamiliar with Web marketing and, in many cases, have handed their Web business over to affiliates. Because they don't optimize their corporate website properly, the search engines can't find it and they end up selling their product at a lower price to the affiliates rather than directly to consumers. My advice: talk to a search engine consultant before launching your DRTV campaign.

- Tony Sziklai

How long do you want to live?

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 15:15:19 +0000

That�s the question every DRTV marketer must ask before they decide to launch a product. This goes beyond the costs of getting ready to launch a product on television; and, with success, sustaining the spending as long as the MER (media efficiency ratio) remains favorable. It literally means, �How long a life cycle are you willing to create for the product?�

Yes, you are the one who will determine how long this baby of yours will survive in today�s competitive marketplace. If you want to be a DR product only, life will probably be relatively short. In many instances, knock-offs will take advantage of the category awareness generated through your advertising and get to the store shelves in short order. This can cause response for your product to wane, so you end up dumping it on the retail market at a reduced price until the inventory dies away.

Those who take the fast track to retail get the benefit of distribution based on early success. However, being available on store shelves before creating sufficient product interest and brand demand can result in slower than anticipated sales and the ultimate loss of distribution. This, too, shortens the life expectancy of your product.

So, you might want to consider phasing your product into the market in hopes of it having a longer and more productive life. Because you�ll need inventory and funds for media support, DRTV products usually ramp up the spending until achieving rollout mode. This allows you to maximize the advertising investment in needed to optimize profits. The same kind of thinking makes sense when approaching the retail side of your marketing effort.

Go for selective distribution -- those who are spread out geographically and are willing to hold the price -- while you continue to reap the benefits of DRTV. On a planned basis, continue to add to your distribution network until the move can be made from class to mass retailers. The best time for this is when DRTV sales are peaking and before the copycats start offering their versions of your product. Once you decide to take this plunge, it�s important that all distribution gaps are filled as quickly as possible. This will allow you to generate volume at the store level before the DR sales slow down, which they surely will once your product is readily available at retail. That�s okay, because you can expect to sell many more units through retail outlets than through DRTV.

After that, it�s up to you to continue the marketing and advertising support needed to keep the product going. By doing this, it is reasonable to expect good sales, good profits and a good long life for your brand.

Could DVR be a friend to DRTV marketers?

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:32:56 +0000

More than half the television viewers using DVR (digital video recorders) fast-forward through the commercials when playing back the programs, research tells us. That�s probably not a revelation to most marketers, but claiming this is a benefit to DRTV (direct response television) advertisers may be a bit of a shock.

Consider the following. Most of those recording a show are not available to see it live, but they do want to watch it later. Many record their favorite show(s) just in case they are not home or can�t watch the program for some other reason. So, the actual numbers of those not being exposed to commercials is not known. However, it is safe to assume that the overwhelming majority would choose to view most programs in real time if they could � commercials and all.

The shows being recorded are usually a specific prime time series or big events, not the type of programs carrying DR spots, day time programming (such as �Soaps�) would obviously be an exception. Most DRTV spots appear in what is considered alternative programming, which normally do not meet the criteria for recording. On the other hand, late night programming -- especially the half-hour infomercials -- may lose some viewers to those preferring to play back the shows they missed rather than engage in channel surfing. Although, the greater problem for infomercials could be the on-screen TV Guide scroll, used by many to avoid tuning in to a paid program.

There�s little reason to worry about DVR pirating away a large number of potential DRTV buyers in the near term. However, as the penetration of these recorders continues to grow, both general and DRTV advertisers will need to address the potential fall-off in live viewers and what this might do to the effectiveness of their advertising spending.

Making Waste In Our Haste: You Don�t Need to Break the Sound Barrier to Get Retailers to Notice Your Product

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 15:00:47 +0000

Confident manufacturers sometimes foolishly rush to market with products that could sell much better if they were launched a little slower.

We�ve all been there. You have a great idea that you�ve turned into a product that�s blistering to be sold. You�ve rushed the manufacturer, air freighted cargo across great distances, spun out miles of marketing and sales materials, and alerted everyone that the derrick is about to burst. You can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and it�s shining a golden path to your retirement.

Yes� �We�ve� all been there. �We,� the ones that now know better, that is!

I suppose it is only human nature to want to get everything done as soon as possible so that we can find time to do more. We sometimes thrive on productivity. As members of today�s fast-paced society, we strive to do things quickly. I sometimes wonder why, and then I see a Fed Ex truck go by and it all begins to make sense. We have an innate propensity towards positioning ourselves to be successful so that we can demonstrate to others that we�ve accomplished more than they have. However, more often than not, we are simply making waste in our haste.

Ironically, we can actually be more successful by doing less and doing it slower. Certainly there are fewer mistakes and less waste if things are done at a more measured pace, or at least with better planning. Unfortunately, it is very hard to demonstrate this reasoning to someone with a new product.

I speak with experience on this subject as I�ve had four and five figure Fed Ex bills for years now. I have anxiously fired off sample after sample of products to buyers that I�m certain just can�t wait to see my shiny new products. The proper packaging, marketing materials, price list, etc. can always wait. Just get it packed and out the door because it feels so good to think that you are one step closer to having a successful product.

This is obviously not a commercial for Fed Ex (Not that the world would be able to thrive without them!) God knows, I�d be up a creek if I couldn�t drop a package off at Kinko�s in L.A. at 6:00pm and have it sitting on a customer�s desk in N.Y.C. at 8:00am the next morning.

So, after reading the above, why in the heck would you want to listen to me? I�ve fallen prey to my own desperation many times. Certainly you can find someone better than me to take advice from. Or can you? Probably not, because it takes experience on all levels to properly advise a new manufacturer. Furthermore, I�ve had substantial success in getting my Wizard Industries, Inc. (http://wizind.com) products to market. Notice how I take this opportunity to promote my own inventions!

So enough of the babble� I just wanted to point out that if you plan, think ahead, and don�t get impatient you can possibly see the light from the end of the tunnel without getting hit by the train. There are a gazillion ways to succeed without rushing if you can only hold out until the time is right to deliver the goods. As they say, �patience is a virtue,� �all things come in time,� �don�t rush to hurry up and wait,� etc, etc, etc�. You know the drill.

Here are a few things to consider before you launch your products and plan that next big rush job:

1. Sit on your hands until your product is totally ready for presentation. The first thing that kills a product is lack of completion when it comes to manufacturing, packaging, marketing materials, PR and pricing. It�s better not to send samples and information until all of the above are complete. In other words, don�t serve the eggs until they are cooked!

2. Chances are that the buyer you are rushing a package off to is not going to rip open the box as soon as it lands at his doorstep. He will likely follow up on the package he overnighted to someone more important than you.

3. Know who and where you are sending the samples or materials to! Retailers and the media receive loads of products each week. You are far from alone in the crowd of �buy my product� screamers. More than 90 percent of new products fail. Of the 10 percent that make it only about five percent do well enough to be called successful. The others are simply treading water until they die. The five percent that are true successes are invited to be in the top retailers, the retail giants. The other 95 percent are in the same boat as you are, wanting to get in front of a buyer that will put them in a store. Imagine the time it takes a buyer or whole departments of large retailers to sift through, pillage and donate products to charities or simply toss new products into the scrap bin. It�s a daunting task. In our office, there are so many samples that are not added to our system that last year it took several trucks to get rid of them. And we try very hard to sell everything that comes our way.

4. Follow up with every sample or piece of sales material you send out. It sounds like a lot of work but the returns are very worthwhile. Furthermore, pace yourself. Don�t send out more samples and materials than you can follow up on within one week of sending.
Here�s a test:
Do you read and evaluate all of the junk mail you get each week? Imagine how retailer buyers feel after seeing their desks buried under mail from manufacturers that feel they have the greatest thing since sliced bread. I bet most could open a Subway sandwich franchise and never have to spend a dime on bread if all of the sample products they receive really cut the mustard.

5. Remember the sermon above about not rushing? Well, there is one thing you can rush: responding back to a buyer when you are lucky enough to get an inquiry about your product. But in your speedy response don�t be overzealous and, above all, don�t blow the sale by rushing them to order.

If any of this is useful (and it all should be) please let us know. We�re in the same boat as you are. And it�s a large, wide, and very deep ocean.

The Invention Revolution and the Battle for Fame and Fortune Through Reality TV

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 14:49:58 +0000

American Inventor is an exciting new ABC primetime reality TV show from Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol.

Set to premiere in early 2006, American Inventor will undertake the biggest search ever for the nation�s best new invention. An embodiment of the ultimate American dream, the show will uncover the hottest new product and make a struggling inventor's dream come true. It will celebrate the best in homespun American ingenuity, and turn one person's idea into the next big thing. Or so the ABC.com web site says

Despite the network�s boasts, will American Inventor be �primetime reality� or just another Hollywood scripted show fabricated by marketing hype and wannabe actors, like its American Idol predecessor? Hopefully, ABC will attempt to keep it real and not engineer it in such a way that it is out of touch with true inventors.

Cowell�s claims to the creative conceptualizing of the program are suspicious. The original idea for the show was, in fact, registered with the Writers Guild of America and pitched to an NBC producer by the parent company of this magazine. Cowell maintains that he had a vision for the show while driving in his car. But hey� You can�t fight players as successful as ABC or Simon Cowell so we won�t go there. Since it is a show that promotes inventions and gives recognition to them we must bite our tongues and happily play along. Perhaps Cowell will appreciate our vigor and toss us a bone someday!

But will the show, as they have claimed, make an inventor�s dream come true? Or will it simply make an actor�s dream come true? We hope for the first scenario of course and we�re pretty sure the show�s consumer audience will agree. The last thing we need is for the glory of inventing to be made a mockery of in the name of profits for ABC and Simon Cowell. And that�s not because we dislike Cowell. We actually like him a lot. After all, he is an accomplished and deserving inventor in his own right.

If American Inventor is a legitimate search for �the best in homespun American ingenuity,� we�re all for it. Hopefully, the show will discover and challenge inventors in an interesting way, rather than milk the audience for weeks on end just to sell products produced by corporate conglomerates. Of course we also hope that it is not just a show designed to be an advertising vehicle for the likes of Walmart or other types of retailers that commonly rip off inventors or destroy true ingenuity.

With any luck, ABC and Cowell will realize that inventors are not like actors and that it is impossible to fake a successful product! All the voting, hype and glorification of an idea are not going to make it sell better, at least not in the long run. They could, though, easily make for an interesting creation of one hit wonder collectibles to be sold on eBay. But this would unlikely please a true inventor who would hardly benefit from his/her items ending up listed in eBAY�s salvage-clearance categories.

So Mr. Cowell and the execs at ABC, please do try to produce a worthwhile inventors� show. Inventors and the world they live in deserve a genuine form of acknowledgement and glorification. Being a true inventor is no easy task, especially in light of the way most retailers squirm when faced with a new invention. It is sort of like being Rodney Dangerfield. Inventors often get no respect!

Who has the guts to break away from the pack?

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 15:47:54 +0000

Selling means getting the order now. This is the primary job of a DRTV commercial. The role of marketing is to building a relationship with consumers. It takes time to create a positive attitude toward the brand in order to establish a meaningful long-term business beyond the DR base.

As a proponent of short-form DRTV and one who has a strong a belief that the ultimate goal for a product is to gain a place on retail shelves, I submit that most marketers in the industry suffer from a severe case of tunnel vision. Sure, everyone wants to get sales in a minute or two, but the reality of the marketplace suggests that most spots require a couple of airings in order to break through the clutter. So, the commercial has to be able to sell and have marketing legs, too.

My observation is that the names, packaging and, of course, the commercials for many DRTV products are hokey and have an aura of cheapness -- not the stuff that successful branding requires. Few have a sense of quality or present a product personality that might be considered friendly. This �feeling� comes through loud and clear to the TV viewer. Spend a few hours watching typical DRTV time slots on broadcast channels or anytime on the cable networks, and see what I mean.

Where is it written that people who buy from DRTV are hard of hearing, yet like fast- talking announcers? Who decided that schlock sells? What is the rationale for promoting a laundry list of features rather than concentrating on the benefits consumers will derive from using the product? After all, some style can be found in even the most functional of products.

While the ERA and the FTC may have something to say about claims, who�s taking a stand for taste, for writing and producing better advertising, for looking at the marketing opportunity from the consumer�s perspective? Those who do are bound to reap the rewards, but it takes guts.

Are Infomercials Dead?

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 14:21:11 +0000

Bob Dylan�s song said, �the times they are a changing.� This certainly applies to the world of infomercials. The growth of digital video recorders (DVR), instant on-screen information guides that identify paid programming, and the FCC now considering if consumers should be able to buy cable programming on an individual basis rather than in multi-network packages are some of the factors contributing to the notion that long-form infomercials may soon be a thing of the past.

Just two decades ago, FCC deregulation and the explosion of cable caused a shortage in program content making half-hour commercial time both abundant and affordable. Concurrently, the broadening use of remote control units allowed television viewers to sit back and surf through all the available channels at any time of the day or night to watch anything that might catch their fancy. Those who clicked on to an infomercial, and stayed with it long enough to be convinced they needed to have the product right now, could simply call an 800 number and use their credit card to order the product of choice.

So what will happen to the DRTV business if infomercials, as we know them, vanish from the scene? There will be more regular program content developed to appeal to specific audiences. These programs will be paid for by short-form, one and two-minute, spots which will generate greater combined income to the networks and local stations than the discounted price paid by an advertiser purchasing the entire 30-minute segment. This will free up significantly more short-form time, particularly in the area of targeted programming.

Consumers will be able to watch TV in real time or record the shows for viewing later. Of course, there must to be some consideration given to insuring that commercials are watched rather than zapped, as DVR home distribution continues to increase. There will be lots of logistical problems to overcome such as delayed ordering which will make tracking results difficult, but the people in this business are resourceful and up to the challenge. However, with the changes facing the industry, all must be watchful that technology does not to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Why Cutting-Edge Boomers May Hold the Secret to Marketing Success

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 15:25:28 +0000

The cutting-edge Boomers, those 50+, are recognized as the people who led the way to sweeping social alterations nearly four decades ago. Many of these changes still impact our lives today. They have created personal wealth and are not afraid to spend money on the things they want. The 50+ Boomers represent the front line of an army of consumers, some 76 million strong, consisting of those born between 1946 and 1955 (that means the first of them will be turning 60 in 2006). Yet, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau, less the 5 percent of advertising expenditures are allocated to this important demographic. With few exceptions, businesses who give these consumers the attention they expect and deserve can reap significant sales dividends simply by understanding and appealing to this under-marketed-to consumer group, because historically people over 50 dropped of the radar screen for most marketers and ad agencies.

To maximize results with the maturing Boomers, the media and the messages used to effectively reach and influence this audience often differs distinctly from the approaches that work for the under 50 crowd as well as those directed to folks on the other side of 60. So advertising � both general and direct response � that takes the �me generation� for granted, or ignores them all together, will produce little or nothing in terms of initiating trial or building brand loyalty which causes a product to be invited into the consumer�s home, time and time again. Rather, advertising that connects with the 50+ Boomer by recognizing their unique needs, wants and desires is the way to attract new consumers from this demographic group and retain them as steady customers.

There are a number of books and articles written about how to effectively market to this rich and growing consumer segment. My book, �The 50+ Boomer: Your Key to 76 Million Consumers,� is one of them. Whatever sources are utilized, the savvy marketer will sort out the similarities and the differences of the cutting-edge Boomer segment compared to other audiences, and determine the best means for tapping into this group of old friends who now represent a new frontier in marketing.