DRTV Media Blog

DRTV Media Rates and Rollout Strategies

2012-01-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

Direct Response TV Rates are based on supply and demand. After the upfront quarterly media buys are made by the largest corporate advertisers, media companies have inventory that may be used for spot branding buys (scatter media buys) and DRTV or Direct Response Television. Check back here often because we also cover radio which works a little differently.

Media rates flatten in the early part of the first quarter and slowly rise as we move closer to the important second quarter with many Spring and outdoor activities starting up again such as lawn maintenance, outdoor recreation, and Easter.

HOW TO ROLLOUT YOUR PRODUCT

Many of our clients understand the concept of a media test or tests to determine the best price points, offers and media strategy. But often we are questioned about the cost and execution of a rollout strategy.

Direct to Consumer: If your product is a Direct to Consumer product such as a supplement or skin care product that will rely on DRTV or DR Radio sales, a rollout can start slow and simply build and ramp up slowly based on sales and budget capability.

Lead Generation: Lead generation rollouts may be impacted by your call center or inbound telemarketing capacity issues. Once your lead generating DRTV commercial or short form infomercial is tested and you are within your allowable, a slow but steady ramp up can take place like Direct to Consumer. But if your phone room is small, steps must be taken to make sure all calls are answered and all leads responded to in a timely fashion. Also lead generating spots are well suited for Per Inquiry or PI distribution once the creative has been tested.

Direct to Retail: Many of the best known direct response products are consumer products that solve a problem and cost $19.95 or less. In the Direct to Consumer model often continuity sales or auto ships or reorders keep the backend very profitable so the marketer can afford a decent allowable cost per order. Check here for more on the allowable concept. The Direct to Retail model uses retail sales to complete the “backend” sales which are crucial to success. DRTV commercials drive retail sales. The retailers are looking for robust media plans in order to give you their precious shelf space. Direct to Retail rollouts should start with budgets of $25,000 per week and a strategy to be rated as an up and coming product. Often media funding companies are brought in to help with this type of rollout.

DRTV Response Rates-Allowable Cost Per Order

2012-01-02T10:13:00.001-05:00

DRTV Response Rates. $50 per spot DRTV. According to my research these two key words come up in many searches. So let’s talk it about because if you are looking for the latest 2012 DRTV Media information, The DRTV Media Blog is the place to get it. Please mark it or subscribe.

For those of you just getting started, DRTV is an acronym for Direct Response Television, which is a method of advertising on TV on a National or Local level in which the advertiser pays low, low rates which are pre-emptible or, in other words, remnant media. Savvy marketers and advertiser establish an allowable cost per order to reach sales goals that should be preset.

DRTV Response Rates are usually tracked via metrics known as Media Efficiency Ratio or Media Ratio or MER. Let’s define a few of these terms:

Media Efficiency Ratio (MER): The total number that decides an infomercial's overall success or failure. The ratio is derived by dividing total sales by the media cost. Sales/Media Cost = MER. This term is also sometimes referred to as Media Ratio or simply Ratio. You can track your TV commercial media buying efficiency on a single airing, a group of airings by station or a week, month or quarter.

Ad Allowable: Your ad allowable tells you how much you can afford on a cost per order basis. The ad allowable is the dollar amount determined to be the maximum media expense for each unit sold in order to generate a legitimate profit. To calculate your allowable add all of the revenue per unit including postage and handling and then deduct all of the expenses including cost of goods, telemarketing, etc. Here is a tool that may help you determine your Ad Allowable.

Cost per Order (CPO): The average cost of television media to generate one product order, determined by dividing the cost of a specific infomercial telecast by the total number of orders received from it. Compare this number to your Ad Allowable and you will know if you are reaching your goal or not.

Media rates ease up significantly in the first few weeks of a new year then gradually move back up as the winter nears its thaw. First and third quarters are the best TV media buying quarters as far as rates with second and fourth quarters having the most demand from corporate and branding advertisiers who pay higher rates.

Infomercial Airtime Cost

2011-10-29T17:11:00.000-04:00

Thanks for visiting the DRTV Media blog for the latest updates on infomercial airtime costs. Everyday our telephones ring with marketers looking for straight talk and information on TV and Radio airtime. We've been helping entrepreneurs, large corporate clients and product developers for almost 20 years now.

So let's talk Direct Response TV and DR Radio.

Short Form TV or DRTV:
Each year it's the same story. Rates go down in the first quarter, and it's easy to clear. There are many opportunies with TV viewing at it's highest levels of the year (think weather). Then rates begin inching up. Second quarter rates always jump because of the push for Spring and Summer activites. Now I know you think the economy is bad - but you can't sell anything unless you advertise. Check the financial news - the media conglomerates are all making money!

Long Form TV Infomercials:
A lot of marketers think this format is old school - but not the smart ones! And many companies with great products well suited for long form TV, want to test with short form to see if the investment is warranted. Not the smartest strategy either. I suggest you flip through the channels late at night or on Saturday and Sunday morning. You will see that the format is alive, that many great products are being introduced, explained, pitched and sold. So what's happening to rates? Long Form TV Infomercial Rates are flat! There are many opportunites here, and with a smart bulldog of a media buyer, you can make money with your product. Remember - the more you tell, the more you sell!

Short Form Direct Response Radio:
This format works great with soft offers, dietary supplements, and lead generation. With good inbound telemarketing you can convert soft offer leads into $400 sales! We know, because we're doing it! They key to DR Radio is finding remnant time at depressed rates. It takes a lot of work, but it pays off for the client. For example, if a station sells "retail" time at $150 a minute - we expect to pay $25-$40 per spot. If a national radio network is selling their programming at $1000.00 per minute, we expect to pay $200.00!

Long Form Direct Response Radio:
The more you tell, the more you sell! For nearly 20 years we've been explaining this and the smart clients make money! This is a tricky format to buy because the stations like to work long term deals. But savvy media buyers know that a product must be tested one or two weeks at a time. We call it Direct Response for a reason. What do these time slots cost? Anywhere from from $25 to $2500.00 per half hour. If your product does not demand visual demonstation or could work in a talk show format, give long form radio a try.

Thanks again for visiting, and, as you can see, this blog is a lot more than just DRTV Media. I've been buying, negotiating, planning and researching media for over 30 years, and I'm happy to share my knowledge and experience with everyone interested.

Direct Response Radio Rates – DR Radio Basics

2011-08-31T09:51:00.000-04:00

Learn all about Direct Response Radio Rates – right here! Since 1992, I have been active in the Direct Response Industry, primarily in TV. But back in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, I cut my teeth buying local spot radio across many stations and many formats. You could say – I’ve been around the block a few times. In the last several years DR Radio has grown steadily with the explosion of cell phone use. Oh my God….Just take a look around you, no one is watching the road when they drive – they are all talking, texting and searching on their mobile devices!

DR Radio or Direct Response Radio offers marketers another channel to reach customers. And radio reach is expanding with numbers starting to come in for streaming listeners who are getting radio from their computers and mobile devices. The world of media is changing and you better keep up with it.

So how does a marketer make radio work? Like DRTV, if you pay too much or your CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) is too high, your offer will not pay out. A seasoned Radio Media Buyer should have a robust history of stations that can offer low remnant rates and have worked for other offers. For example, we are negotiating with several CBS owned stations in large markets. Some laugh at our offers while others have open inventory and are happy a busy DR Agency has called with advertising dollars to spend.

Some examples of some sweet local deals recently:

- Sports station playing Dodger games at $10 per 60 second spot…plus bonus spots!

- Talk station in Philly with national personality at $25 per 60 second spot.

- Classic hits station in Atlanta with huge reach at $25 per 60 second spot.

- News/talk station in top 10 DMA at $6 per spot.

- We only buy Radio Prime time – Monday-Friday 7A-7P.

- No overnights or evenings which are dead times in radio.

Remnant Radio is also available on a National basis through nationally distributed networks that carry conservative talk like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham and music shows that appeal to different demographics like John Tesh. Buying these shows at remnant rates which can be as much as 75% lower than rate card is the way to make national radio pay off. Check back here frequently for the latest information on DRTV and DR Radio.

Infomercial Production - Long Form TV Productions

2011-08-25T06:11:00.000-04:00

Infomercial Producer, Ron Perlstein produces affordable, award winning, telephone ringing long form infomercials, short form infomercials and offers 19 years experience in the complex world of Direct Response TV or DRTV. We believe that Direct Response Television success depends on much more than producing an infomercial: it’s all about securing the largest market share in the shortest amount of time, putting the least amount of money at risk…thus the evolution from infomercial production to infomarketing.

DRTV Response Rates

2011-08-13T11:06:00.000-04:00

Looking for info on DRTV Response Rates? Well, you've found straight talkers and the right place to look -- right here at the DRTV Media Blog. So guys what are you looking for - exactly? I urge you to subscribe, follow, like, etc because this blog is for you to learn the latest trends in Direct Response TV, timely updates regarding DRTV Media costs (including how to find $50 DRTV Spots) and short form and long form Direct Response Infomercial costs.

DRTV Response Rates: (The cost of short form TV advertising) Media rates across the cable network landscape are holding up and rising as large brand advertisiers have not cut back, even in slow growth 2011. In fact, political advocacy TV advertising is on the rise, in a non national election year. Nonetheless, there are many soft spots to discover opportunites where cable networks or cable aggregaters are holding lots of unsold inventory. Your media buyer needs to be connected, smart, tough and have your allowable cost per order in mind when placing your broadcast orders. DRTV media costs must be low in order to achieve a profitable cost per order. Stay tuned here and learn how to buy 60 second national DRTV spots at $5 per spot. Up to 8 million households, prominent national networks - and these are NOT overnights - $5 DRTV Spots!

Last week we had a new client call us and ask for media rates and a test campaign while comparing us to another "marketing company." Folks - beware of any company that does not give you the rate for each spot and just gives you impressions or general information. We have seen this lately with fly by night firms offering thousands of spots as part of a "media blitz" and millions of impressions as part of the package deal for the TV Production. Professional DRTV Media Buyers and Direct Response TV Agencies show the rates and those rates are supported by invoices and affadavits from the stations with the exact same rate. We researched the so called media blitz and were able to determine that the client was paying a CPM over $28, which is more than Amercican Idol or Dancing With The Stars cost on a CPM basis. DRTV rates need to be very low to pay out. We created a plan for that client with a CPM of $0.52 and national coverage using our vast media relationships.

Make no mistake. DRTV, Direct Response TV, and TV Infomercials are a specialty that takes experience, savvy and a hard nosed approach to media negotiations. Direct Resonse TV rates change week to week and the market changes week to week based on supply and demand and most of all performance. Check back often if you want to learn how to lower your cost per order.

Infomercial Production and DRTV Media Agency InfoWorx Launches Pay For Results Per Inquiry Program

2011-07-28T06:25:00.000-04:00

Advertisers and marketers can now distribute and integrate their offers and products through TV, Radio, Online, Mobile, and Print, on a pay for performance per inquiry basis with limited out of pocket investment.

BOCA RATON, FL (July 28, 2011) – Infomercial Production Company and DRTV Media Agency, InfoWorx Direct launched an innovative pay for results, per inquiry advertising program for its Direct Response marketing clients. Per inquiry advertising empowers the advertiser to dictate a fixed amount they are willing to pay for a response or an order to their offer. Direct response advertising agency, InfoWorx Direct now offers and executes pay for results programs that span all media including TV, radio, print, online, mobile, and even out of home advertising.

"Per Inquiry advertising puts total control in our client's hands and allows for growth from the ground up. They can specify how many responses or sales they want and set a price they are willing to pay for each one. This allows them to use their performance metrics to maximize the potential of their campaigns,” Ron Perlstein, Executive Producer and Media Director at InfoWorx Direct explained. "With pay for results advertising programs, there are no surprises. The client simply decides how much response they want, and the platform delivers it. The InfoWorx Direct per inquiry campaign platform includes nearly every form of direct response advertising from television to pizza boxes."

"We designate one 800-number per campaign per media outlet, and redirect the calls to the marketer's call center for accurate tracking. One spot can be marketed across multiple channels, and each spot can be linked to 6 revenue touch points.", Perlstein continued. "The beauty of a per inquiry campaign is that the client retains total control. They can set the geographic campaign, designate their Direct Response Customer demographics, and even specify call center hour restrictions. This allows them to experiment with multiple media platforms and evaluate which ones are working best for them.

Recently, InfoWorx Direct has significantly enhanced its media buying intelligence, and introduced the economy-sensitive Demo long form TV Infomercial package that enables clients to introduce and test their products for a lower-risk investment. The innovative pay for results, per inquiry advertising program is another step to improve success and increase profits for all InfoWorx direct clients.

Since 1992, direct response television agency and infomercial production company, InfoWorx Direct, has established itself as a successful, award winning infomercial producer of both short-form DRTV spots and long-form info-commercials. InfoWorx has developed the most affordable turnkey infomercial model in the industry that offers clients award winning television and radio infomercial production as well as TV and Radio infomercial media buying services. The production and media buying agency specializes in all aspects of direct response advertising services and consulting, and offers an entire turnkey solution from script to sales for DRTV clients as well as specific services including production, media buying, telemarketing management, fulfillment, and home shopping placement.

For over 19 years, InfoWorx has established itself as a pioneer in direct response TV advertising, and has generated billions of dollars of major "as seen on TV success" for clients including Ageless Male, InfoFree.com, Database101.com, Emerson Electric, InventTech, SnorEnz, Rubbermaid, and iRobot's Roomba. For additional information on InfoWorx, contact Ron Perlstein, or visit http://www.infoworx.com/.

InfoWorx Direct, LLC, is a full service direct response agency and media buying service with an evolving infomarketing business philosophy. The InfoWorx scientific approach has led to profitable results and success for established companies and newcomers alike.

Per Inquiry Radio - Cost Per Action - Direct Response Radio

2011-07-09T13:16:00.000-04:00

There are over 10,000 commercial radio stations in the USA. Radio direct response advertising is on the rise. Think hands free cell phone use! Many stations do not sell out and accept per call or per sale advertising to fill out their inventory.

Smart direct marketers are using radio to expand their offers, test their offers, and as a standalone medium. Radio works best for lead generation or a risk free offer. One of our clients uses radio as their primary media, and has sold over 2,000,000 units of one of their popular products. Callers respond to a risk free offer and reach live agents who close the deal and upsell into continuity or a larger unit package

Payout: This is the dollar amount that the marketer pays when a call is placed and lasts for say 30 seconds. Marketers often prefer a “per sale” deal, but media outlets always prefer a “cost per call” deal since they are running the ads and generating a response. Think about it for a moment. You have a dietary supplement in skin care or men’s health. The radio station may have several offers in those categories. Which offer will generate the most revenue for the station and be the easiest sell to the station? Cost per call, of course! A smart direct response media buyer can help crunch the numbers to determine the marketer’s revenue per call. Remember, you are competing with other Per Inquiry (PI) offers, and the stations will jump on offers that give them the best revenue for their unsold inventory. Savvy direct response marketers determine a payout that is competitive in their category and costs less than the cost per call or order of their cash radio buys.

Telemarketing: Per inquiry radio advertising drives calls, and the call center or IVR must have the software and systems to track and source calls to each media outlet. Some Per Inquiry agencies may direct their own toll free numbers to point at a call center for better, more integrated tracking. If your tracking or call center is questionable, forget about per inquiry. Again, a good media buyer or per inquiry radio direct response agency will help with the setup to track the telemarketing.

Per Inquiry direct response radio advertising offers a low cost and scalable marketing strategy. Unlike TV, there is less cost in duplicating and customizing the direct response commercials for proper tracking. Check back here soon to learn more about TV Per Inquiry campaigns.

Direct Response Radio Remnant Media Tips

2011-06-18T15:48:00.000-04:00

Direct Response Radio – this advertising medium is growing again because of the use of mobile telephones and hands free driving. Remnant radio media. There’s lots of it. There are 4781 AM radio stations in the USA and 6224 FM stations in our great country. That’s a lot of ad space to fill! And radio listening can produce telephone calls which convert at much higher rates than web hits. So get your radio offers ready!

Here are 5 tips to produce compelling and telephone ringing Direct Response Radio offers.

1. Do not write a “rip and read” commercial. Consumers have learned to tune out “noise” and cramming 70 seconds of copy into 60 seconds is “noise.”

2. Test several radio direct response offers. Direct Marketing is a science. Direct Response Radio offers marketers an inexpensive testing platform for various risk free offers.

3. Repeat the telephone number 4 times! Make sure that a customer driving a car can key in the toll free number during the spot.

4. Know your audience. Smart marketers know how to catch their best customers by targeting the offer and product to the radio format and demographics. Your product may have use for everyone 8 to 80, but there is always a skew toward men or women, young or old, or in between.

5.Direct response radio rates vary widely according to market and supply and demand. Do not pay high rates! Air your offers only on stations with low CPM’s and always ask for bonus spots. Or make sure you have a bulldog for a media buyer!

Short Form DRTV-60 Second TV Infomercials

2011-05-28T16:49:00.000-04:00

Our clients and potential clients call with many questions. The first question is almost always about the cost of TV Infomercials or Short Form Direct Response TV. Here’s a link to one of our recent posts that may help answer some TV Infomercial Production cost questions. Infomercial TV Production costs vary widely but Short Form TV Media costs will represent the largest portion of a budget.

OK, OK, now you’ve decided that your product can work in a short TV format. Great, but how long should your TV Commercial be? 30 Seconds? 60 Seconds? 120 Seconds? 5 Minutes? Wow…..let’s see if your Short Form DRTV Infomercial guru can help!

Let’s face it media rates will drive the success or failure of your project. Unless you are deeply funded and have a long term branding strategy like a beverage company or an automotive marketer, you need frequency and immediate results and sales. Let’s take a look at the benefits of each length in Short TV Infomercials.

5 Minutes or 360 Seconds:
Pros: This format has many of the attributes of a Long Form TV Infomercial. You can tell a convincing story, include testimony that can touch emotional notes with customers, and still have enough time to pitch an irresistible offer. With this format you will have all the video assets necessary for shorter spots and interactive viewing on your web site.

Cons: The 5 minute format is in limited distribution. Most of the Discovery Networks offer them, including OWN as do many NBC Universal properties. But, there is not enough inventory for a full roll out. In addition, the short form TV media available make it difficult to fine tune your customer targeting which is a major benefit of Short Form DRTV spots.

2 Minutes or 120 Seconds:
Pros: This format is the standard for As Seen On TV product launches. There is enough time for magic product demos and the spots usually make an offer pitch for about 20 seconds and then the telephone number is pitched for 15 more seconds.

Cons: The 2 minute format is in limited distribution. There’s no chance to get your product on Lifetime or USA, for example. Most of the major cables have limited 2 minute inventory. And the rate is 400% over the 30 second rate! The world is changing and shorter spots are the trend.

1 Minute or 60 Seconds:
Pros: Goldilocks was looking for something that was “just right”. In one minute you can show negative shots, solve the problem, include multiple demonstrations and pitch a compelling offer. There’s not a second to be wasted, though. No time to say “call now” several times, no time to pitch the toll free number twice. But, nowadays 30% to 65% of the sales will come from e-commerce. Make no mistake, our world is changing, and the consumer knows that they do not have to call now. There is a lot inexpensive, cheap, if you will, media availability. Your spots can air on Lifetime or any other major cable network in a variety of distribution networks. Heck, we can get these on the air in over 27,000,000 homes for as little as $20 per spot.

Cons: You cannot waste one second or one word. If you have a high priced product, you need more time. The short form media cost is double the 30 second rate.

30 Seconds:
Pros: These spots are usually considered branding spots. However, we have been successful many times using 30’s for lead generation and a drive to the web. There is more inventory in this format at the lowest cost per spot than any other length.

Cons: You cannot sell a product directly with this length. There is just not enough time to tell the story and ask for the sale. Your messaging must be perfect and the call to action must be short.

The bottom line: In 2011 you need an integrated approach that allows the marketer to get lots of frequency with the shortest format that is feasible for your product. Please check out our earlier post regarding the benefits of Long Form TV Infomercials. Then, think about your product, your budget, and your price point.

6 Reasons Long Form TV Infomercials Work

2011-05-11T10:54:00.017-04:00

Here’s six reasons long form TV Infomercials give marketers and viewers alike a format that cannot be duplicated in any other way.

1. The more you tell the more you sell. A recent study shows that long form TV infomercials convert viewers into customers at better rates than shorter formats. Long form infomercial product buyers were motivated to make a purchase after an average of 2.8 exposures compared with 7.5 exposures for short form DRTV commercials.

2. Infomercial Airtime Cost and Availability. Local stations, local cable systems, satellite providers and small and large cable networks offer half hour paid programing. Rates have been flat for several quarters, while short form rates on national cable have risen over pre-recession levels. With long format TV Infomercials, marketers can find airtime for as little as $25 per half hour and high profile national airings for well under $10,000.00.

3. Call management and scheduling. Marketers know when long form infomercials will air (unlike short form schedules). Based on the cost of the airtime, reasonable estimates for call center staffing are made. This frees the marketer to work with small, sales based call centers that can truly impact conversions and upsell streams.

4. Cross platform capability. One long form TV production can give the marketer all of the video assets necessary for short form DRTV, online video ads, and point of sale videos. Testimonials can populate the official web site or multiple web sites and offer convincing sales messages and compelling emotional triggers.

5. Long Form Supports Higher Price Points. Want to sell a $200 food processor, juicer or fat free grill? Long form DRTV is the answer. Do you have fitness equipment, a business opportunity, or a DIY product? These categories and more have traditionally performed best on 30 minute long form TV infomercials.

6. Testimonials, emotional triggers, and demos. Previously, we mentioned emotional triggers produced by compelling testimonials. A long form TV infomercial can support longer testimonials – even up to a minute -- that could be heart tugging, emotion producing moments that simply cannot be achieved in a few seconds. On camera demonstrations fit the same category. Side by side demos, “torture track” demos, and kitchen demos take time that only a 30 minute show can offer.

These are just a few reasons why the long TV format means so much even today with our short attention span. Marketers should consider this format when working on new product launches or campaigns.

Media Buyers TV Report

2011-03-28T13:28:00.007-04:00

Here is your short form DRTV, Spring, 2011 update. As many of you know, in the second quarter TV media rates often rise. And 2011 is no exception. The year started out stronger than most expected, and by late January any media buying service working with national cable networks like CNBC or Bravo found DRTV clearance getting difficult. For those of you who are new to this blog, all Direct Response TV Media is pre-emptible by higher rates.

TV media rates often increase in the second quarter and this year we have had some major consolidation in the market as the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal takes hold. Comcast, while best known as the largest cable provider in the USA, has been acquiring cable networks with content for several years. E!, Style, Golf, G4, Versus, and Sprout have all been under the Comcast brand for several years, and now those networks all come under the NBC Universal umbrella.

Car sales are up, stores like Saks who were on the brink of extinction are back, and everybody is advertising. Rates will continue to push up through April and much of May….until we reach the summer season, which always brings some relief to short form TV media rates and is the perfect time to test new offers.

Small networks with limited national distribution still offer the best opportunities for direct response television marketing. There are over 100 cable networks, giving viewers many choices to surf their TV…looking for just the right programming. Remember our advice – your media buyer better be smart.

Infomercial Media Cost - 2011 Update

2011-02-05T11:37:00.010-05:00

Are you trying to learn about the cost of infomercials? For production costs, check out these award winning TV infomercial production packages. But remember, the production fee is a one time cost that should be amortized over the life of your direct response advertising campaign. Media costs ultimately will comprise the largest portion of your entire budget. That's why your media buyer better be smart and understand the direct response TV media market.

So here is the Ron Perlstein 2011 media cost update. The 4th quarter of 2010 finished strong with rates pushing higher in short form DRTV. Media rates during the first three weeks of January, 2011 came down about 10% from late fourth quarter and are now gradually making their way back up. January was surprisingly strong with rates on networks like CNBC and BRAVO working their way higher.

What about long form TV infomercial rates? Well, it's kind of the same story, just different reasons. Half hour paid programming rates were on the decline in 2009 and 2010. As a result, TV networks, especially Discovery owned networks have replaced infomercial airtime with programming. Discovery Health has become OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network)with no long form paid programming. Bottom line -- long form rates are firming up now, too.

DRTV media is a fluid marketplace that changes as the conditions and basic law of supply and demand change. Stay tuned for more updates as 2011 unfolds.

Infomercial Cost-Cost of Infomercial Media

2010-05-29T15:54:00.004-04:00

Infomercial costs can be confusing. First of all, nowadays, the word infomercial refers to all direct response television and radio advertising. The cost of infomercial production can vary widely, and you must make a distinction between short form TV infomercials and long form TV infomercials. For pricing click here.

Infomercial media costs can also be complicated. Short form infomercial airtime is sold on a remnant or pre-emtible basis and the rates change week to week and quarter to quarter. Even with the recession short form rates have gone up because large corporate advertisers are demanding more airtime for their dollars.

Long form infomercial media costs are highly negotiable. The cable networks by and large release long form TV avails month to month. Most local broadcast stations work through rep firms and there is a lot of airtime presently available.

Remember, you need a smart media buyer who knows the ropes and how to squeeze the most out of a budget.

The Cost of Infomercials

2010-03-07T12:41:00.004-05:00

Each day the telephone rings in our offices with questions about budget. This blog exists to answer the most common questions about what I call the wacky, wonderful world of infomercials -- my world! So let's get right to it.....

TV Production: In order to air a long form infomercial, you must produce a half hour TV show. Like anything, production budgets vary greatly from low-budget talk shows with the author of a book pitching to the camera to higher budget shows with multiple cameras, varied locations, celebrity talent, etc. A low-budget talk show style infomercial can cost as little as $20,000.00 and a beautiful high-end show with about a week of shooting and a 12 person cast would cost around $75,000.00. Remember, the investment you make in production is a one time cost. You can create short form spots and utilize the video assets on the internet and more - so we always recommend putting a few extra dollars into the TV production.

Media and Airtime: Ok, so now you have a show. where do you air it, and how much does it cost? Again, of course, you get what you pay for. If you air on a local cable system's classified or infomercial channel - what are the chances that anyone will see it? These types of "stations" provide the cheapest airtime and to have any chance of success you must air your show frequently or on a pay for performance basis. These type of infomercial airings should run under $50 and as low as $10. Now what if your show airs on a network (think ABC, CBC, NBC) and has a clean lead in? What is a lead in? -- the previous program -- think Jay Leno's prime time show killing the ratings on the local newscasts. That's the importance of the lead in. I know in my house we watch the local news, network news and therefore, the TV is often on the local NBC affiliate when we turn on the TV. So even though the station is a local station, and even if it is a small market, those airings can cost $1000 - $5000.00. Maybe in your house you watch a lot of CNBC during the week to track your millions. Well there are a lot of infomercials on CNBC during the weekend, and, of course these are "primo" national spots costing well over $10,000.00 per airing.

Well, we could go on and on. The bottom line: Your media buyer better be smart and experienced.

Infomercial Media Rates

2010-02-28T11:53:00.005-05:00

“How many airings will we get?” “I think my infomercial media should air on Lifetime.” “How much does infomercial media cost?” The questions keep coming, and we have the answers here at the DRTV and Infomercial blog.

Lets start with some basic information. The largest and best known cable networks now reach about 90 million TV households in the USA. Broadcast networks have been losing audience to cable for a generation. So make no mistake, the best known cable networks have plenty of demand for their limited inventory from the largest brand marketers out there. For example, back in January a :60 second direct response spot on HGTV would clear for about $2500.00 with :120’s costing double. The rates go up each month as we closer to second quarter. Remember, when it comes to media, it’s all about supply and demand. And even the nest media agencies have to pay the rate that will clear. Cable networks do not give their inventory away because they like the agency.

When selling a product with a hard offer, it is generally known that a two-minute infomercial will work the best — so as you can see large networks are not efficient methods of testing and may not be the best medium until you have a large roll out in retail.

We generally recommend media tests in the $10,000 to $20,000 range using the most efficient media available, which is usually lower tiered national cable networks, not local cable.

Using the example above, we ran our client on DIY (which is owned by the same cable family as HGTV) but has a smaller cable footprint and is much more infomercial and direct response friendly. We were able to clear on DIY at rates from $250 to $700 for two-minute airings.

Another efficient media buying strategy is satellite networks like DirecTV and DISH. These networks work best for lead generating offers because they do not have 2 minute inventory available. You can buy 26 HD cable networks on DISH for as low as $50 per :60 second airing.

Infomercial media rates change on a daily basis, and the market is fluid and demand is heavy even in this tepid economy. You see it pays to advertise and everyone realizes that TV infomercials are effective channels of distribution

DRTV Media Cost

2009-11-28T16:00:00.012-05:00

How many spots will I get? How often will my infomercial run? Can I just run my infomercial in one or two markets? Will my infomercial run in the middle of the night? How much does prime time cost? Questions, questions.....we've got answers. This is the blog for serious infomercial start ups, experienced DRTV entrepreneurs, and direct response marketers looking for an edge.

When discussing DRTV (Direct Response Television) costs -- always remember there are four components to a DRTV campaign.
-- TV Production
-- Media planning and placement
-- Inbound order capture (through telemarketing AND web)
-- Fulfillment

TV production costs can vary widely, and we are seeing a trend lately that is disturbing. In order to defray production costs many marketers are using inexperienced direct response producers. We have always said that TV production is the fun part, but that does not mean anyone can do it. Perhaps you can figure the production part out or find help from an experienced DRTV media buyer, but the wacky, wonderful world of direct response media is complicated and we do not recommend navigating this portion of your campaign without a serious direct response media buyer -- pit bull. That's right you must be tough, know when the media cost is too high, and be on top of this ever changing landscape to find true values.

Direct response media is the largest part of your budget and too many marketers are looking for instant results without proper testing. Remember, you should crunch your numbers, establish an allowable cost per order, and keep testing offers until you hit the sweet spot. For example, we recently started working with a new client that produced the short form TV infomercials themselves -- and placed the media themselves. They were buying "cheap" cable spots at about $2 a spot, but after careful analysis, we showed them that their cable buys were poorly targeted and in very limited distribution. In addition, they thought they could get more bang for the buck from short form, when in fact, their product line is much better suited to long form TV infomercials. Two dollars a spot may sound cheap, but at $100 per call, this media plan was very expensive. So how much does TV media cost? It's not what you pay, it's what you get. A good DRTV media buyer knows value, knows how to buy "fire sale" inventory, and is a tough negotiator.

Infomercial Advertising On TV

2009-11-07T14:21:00.012-05:00

Every day our telephones ring with entrepreneurs and established companies alike asking the same questions about TV advertising cost. In addition, since Billy Mays tremendous success and tragic death, many advertising and marketing executives are looking to get started with infomercial advertising on TV. This blog is for all of you, and hopefully we will "see" you here often for the current state of TV advertising rates, infomercial production costs, and media planning services.

In our last blog we talked about short form infomercial inventory being tight and expensive. The cable TV networks have gone "all in" after the upfront quarterly media buys that were mostly reserved for the big four networks (ABC,CBS,NBC and FOX) before the recession. Direct response television advertising depended on unsold preemtible media buying to make their offers payout. Well -- our DRTV inventory is being sold to major branding marketers looking for impressions and ratings - not orders! For example, last week a major cable advertising network called after we negotiated TV media rates for our client. They informed us that our rates would not clear and they needed another $100.00 per spot. We cancelled because our clients need cheap TV ads that can bring a profit.

So here's some food for thought. Long form infomercial television advertising rates are down, not up! Inventory is plentiful and highly negotiable. You rarely get bumped or preempted, and we are buying half hours for our clients as low as $40 in top ten markets like San Fransisco and Boston. When you do long form infomercial production, you have plenty of footage to create short form TV ads, Internet TV ads, and fill your web site with compelling demos and testimonials. The benefits of a traditional half hour infomercial are even more compelling in this "new" economy and Internet video era. The old saying "The more you tell, the more you sell" is more true than ever. We like to say there is much power in the half hour!

Direct Response TV Inventory Tight

2009-10-28T07:40:00.015-04:00

A tightening remnant Direct Response TV market is leaving many infomercial marketers desperate for media, as traditional advertisers snap up the preemptible air time that supplies DR. "This is probably the tightest time I can remember in my history with direct response," said Scott Boilen, to reporters at AdAge. Boilen's company, All Star Marketing is the company behind the Snuggie. "We were the industry that took what's left," he added. "And there's not a lot left right now."

The lack of remnant airtime is a result of large corporate marketers adding to their quarterly buys, along with networks having to offer remnant ad space as "make-goods" to make up for ratings shortfalls over the past years.

The networks are not at all displeased to see DRTV advertisers getting knocked out of some of the media they've enjoyed during this recession, because they typically pay lower prices than the high flyers. "In the malaise that was out there in the first six months of the year ... you saw a lot of direct response popping up in network prime time," said one media-buying executive. "Well, not right now."

We have been recommending shorter DRTV commercials and infomercials for months, and apparently that trend is catching on. With fewer avails at two minute commercials, Snuggie, which had launched last year behind mostly 120-second spots, has down-shifted to 10-, 15- and 30-second commercials, Mr. Boilen said, noting that other DRTV advertisers are also moving to shorter forms.

"All the consumer-products companies and other big advertisers have renegotiated their rates, so they're able to buy more time, and things are back to where they were [before the recession] or even worse for us, because people are advertising more at the lower rates to try to make up for lost sales," said A.J. Khubani, CEO of TeleBrands, marketer of such products as PedEgg and JupiterJack to AdAge.

TV Media -- 21st Century Style

2009-10-17T16:59:00.012-04:00

I've often said that television is the most powerful communication tool in history. I said it in the 90's when the Internet began, and I say it again today as the Internet continues it's incredible evolution. But direct marketers and advertisers need to evolve,too. And the Internet provides opportunities for direct response television(DRTV)and infomercial advertisers like never before.

In the 21st century, you can brand and drive prospects to your web site that converts them to customers. No need anymore for a call center, no need anymore for long form advertising on TV. Try it, you will see. Use 30 second and 60 second short form TV advertising to drive your prospects to your website where they can view a longer demonstration, get a free gift or newsletter for logging in, or convert that skeptical prospect into a profitable customer with outstanding lifetime value.

Today's consumer wants information, credibility and value. Your TV advertising campaign drives traffic to your web presence, just like brick and mortar uses the short 30 second television format to drive traffic into their stores. More than ever, prospects are bombarded by many messages and much competition in all fields. Therefore, repetition and consistency matter more than ever in your television campaign.You can run 4 thirty second spots for every two minute commercial. That's four times the gross impressions and very likely -- multiple impressions for much of your highly targeted audience.

TV Media Costs - Unsold Media

2009-07-20T18:37:00.006-04:00

We get asked every day about media costs. Has the recession lowered media costs? Where do I find TV and Radio media at the right price? Well, as I always say on this blog -- your media buyer better be smart! Please take a look a our last blog for a full report on third quarter media.

The fact is that there is much unsold media, and we have access to TV media on 98 cable networks with national distribution. Not only is this unsold TV remnant media available at low cost, we can target your best customers with research into age, sex, household income and more. In our database, we have five networks with distribution in over 40 million households, and the other 93 cable networks reach up to 15 million households. You only pay for the viewers who watch, that's how sophisticated the newer systems are!

In radio, our database contains 679 radio stations in virtually every market. Our media buying department can buy remnant TV and Radio direct response and infomercial media for up to 90% off rate card!

The key to lower media costs is uncovering unsold media, understanding the target audience, and buying media at the lowest cost per thousand.

SHORT FORM MEDIA REPORT 3RD QUARTER

2009-07-07T10:00:00.004-04:00

Third quarter is traditionally the short form media quarter with the lowest rates, highest avails and some unique opportunities. So you would think that this year, especially, that rates would be low, avails high and the networks just hoping to get some business. But there are several factors that affect rates and availability is one of the most important. General advertisers buy quarter to quarter based on “cost per rating point.” And the rates these large advertisers are willing to pay are getting lower each quarter.

It has been reported that the upfront Broadcast Media Market is down three to five percent over last year. When general advertising rates decline like this, broadcasters try to make up the difference with direct response rates. In the current market, the cable networks would prefer to sell inventory at a 20-30 percent discount to general advertisers than it is to sell that same inventory to the DRTV market at a 50-70 percent discount. In addition, more and more general advertisers are placing “hybrid” or blended direct response media buys. They are using DRTV rates and placing “scatter” buys on inventory that may have been earmarked for direct response advertisers. Like we always say on this blog….your media buyer better be smart!

Long Form Infomercial Media Update

2009-03-26T14:44:00.008-04:00

So you’re probably thinking that since the financial meltdown of 2008, long form infomercial media costs have crashed. Well in some cases this is true. But remember, this marketplace works by the basic economic law of supply and demand. And direct response is hot in 2009! Moreover, long form infomercials that are driving retail still need the high profile airtime that is only available on major cable networks. So are rates for long form thirty minute infomercials down or not? The answer is yes, but as we have written in this blog repeatedly – your media buyer better be smart – and tough! And the marketer must hold their ground when negotiating rates.

Don’t be afraid to use the old fashioned take away! That’s what we do when stations and networks refuse our bids. We walk and keep looking for value in media. What we are seeing is a lot of local broadcast airtime opening up to long form media buyers. It’s cheaper for a broadcaster to sell half hours then buy programming and try to sell spots. You can find half hours in smaller markets for $50 and $75 bucks or just a few hundred in the most desirable weekend slots. That means just a few orders can make these offers pay out. Make sure you have worked out the metrics, know your allowable cost per order and stick to it. If an airing does not pay out, demand a make good from the station or tell them you will not keep airing.

The TV infomercial, and what we mean when we say, infomercial, is a half hour long form show….is still the easiest area of direct response for the entrepreneur to launch a product nationwide. Not only can you tell your full story, but your media buys can be truly tailored to a start up budget. The cost of producing an award winning TV infomercial is a fraction of the ROI this form of marketing returns. In addition, you will be able to pull two minute and one minute short form direct response television versions and have lots of video content for your online strategies.

Check this blog frequently for media DRTV media updates.

DRTV Equals Cost Per Acquisition

2009-02-09T06:34:00.002-05:00

Back in the day, it was easier to succeed with Direct Response television. Nationwide cable media costs were much lower, general advertisers did not use Direct Response TV as a branding medium, and there was much less competition for direct sales to the consumer on television. Now, AS SEEN ON TV SUCCESS requires a compelling media strategy, a bull dog of a media buyer, and infomercial television production that captures the audience’s attention.

But one thing that will never change is that DRTV and infomercials work based on the concept of a pre determined cost per acquisition. It is the concept of an advertising allowable or media cost per order. Great media buyers buy nationwide airtime to a media cost allowable, and know if an offer is working from the first direct response media tests. Customer acquisition costs and great DRTV media buying go hand in hand.

Infomercial Media Funding

2009-01-19T06:41:00.007-05:00

After 16 years working with entrepreneurs, startups and inventors, we have learned the challenge of funding an infomercial or direct response TV campaign. And there's good news! Since DRTV is a direct to consumer selling science, small media tests of as little as $5,0000 to $7,500 can interest large investments in a media funding roll out.

InfoWorx finds media funding partners for our clients. In order to qualify for media funding, a marketer must have a merchant account through a large direct processor. Recently, we helped a client gain an approved merchant account in less then a week, so there's always a benefit to leverage InfoWorx' vast network of colleagues and strategic partnerships.

Media funding partners will not ask for personal guarantees, but their contract will require their loans to be paid through the flow of revenue into the merchant account. An expert consultant can help navaigate the complex landscape of direct response marketing. And even find media funding as high as $50,000 to $100,000 per week. Media funders can be persuaded to work with multi pay offers and even free trial offers if the test data supports a roll out.

Direct Response Media Costs Down

2008-12-19T07:06:00.010-05:00

You know the saying is that everyone gets hurt in a recession, it's a matter of how much. But in my business -- the direct response media business, that sometimes is not true. You see media costs, like all costs, are driven by the number one economic law....SUPPLY AND DEMAND. Like many firms today, media companies are cutting costs, laying off workers, and hunkering down as advertising revenues decline. It has been widely reported that the Super Bowl is not sold out, and networks like NBC are restructuring their business models. Advantage - direct response marketers. We buy media to an "allowable" which is the media cost we can afford on a cost per order basis for the client to make money. Read this sentence again, if you do not get it yet. In Direct Response we measure the number of leads or orders compared to the cost of media. With media costs down across the board offers that could not work in 2006 or 2007, can now "pay out."

Of course your offer must still create the impulse for the buyer to call or log in to your website. Infomercial and successful DRTV strategies must always have an almost irresistible offer in good times and bad. The good news is that the cost of testing, the available short form and long form media is up and media rates are down.

Online Video Ads Reach a Large Audience

2008-11-28T07:09:00.006-05:00

As online video grows, and it’s audience grows, more data is available as to who and how often they are watching. Remember infomercials and direct response television are all about the metrics. Cost per order, cost per lead, cost per acquisition. As we at InfoWorx drill down into the vast new opportunities for infomercial products, we are finding many online video ad networks who are willing to work on a cost per acquisition model. Sometimes however, working at an auction based level with a low CPM can be even more effective then direct response rates found on mainstream TV.

Here are the top 10 Online Media Destinations (week ending Oct 19, 2008)

NBC Universal 7,1655.08
Clear Channel Online Network 5,2473.72
MSN TV 5,1833.67
AOL Television 4,2993.05
PBS 4,0772.89
Yahoo! TV 3,8102.70
ABC.COM 3,5022.48
DirecTV 2,8622.03
TV.com 2,1421.52
CBS Television 2,0801.47
Source: Nielsen Online, NetView

As new data comes in, check this blog frequently. In order to reach 21st century customers, you need a scientific approach that targets your best customers with the lowest cost per order. Online video now offers a new and exciting method to drive your brand straight to your web site with an irresistible offer.

DRTV Media Buying Made Easy

2008-11-09T12:27:00.008-05:00

Broadcast spending is down despite the election and the Olympics. Recessions, slow downs and fewer advertisers is often a good omen for DRTV marketers and their Direct Response Agencies. Why? Direct response television media buying rates are usually the lowest in the market. After all, you must make your irresistible offer or lead generating short form infomercials pay out according to your allowable cost per order. Check through this blog for more information on these important metrics and concepts for As Seen On TV Success.

Between January and August of this year television media buys fell 1.3% and removing political spends -- the decline is 1.6%. If you back out the television media costs surrounding the Olympic games....there is a year to year loss of $89.4 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

For Direct Response TV, this means that there is more cheap television inventory....and this makes DRTV media buying easy for smart, savvy media buyers.

Direct Response TV Viewers Also Online

2008-11-06T10:23:00.007-05:00

Media fragmentation is a controversial issue these days with so many offline and online alternatives for limited media budgets. Well there's good news! The heaviest TV viewers are also the heaviest online viewers, according to Nielsen Research. In fact Nielsen's TV/Internet Convergence Panel found that television viewing and online streaming are complimentary activities. You need not worry that your direct response TV audience is not watching. In fact, the study also find that the lowest consumers of television have the lowest usage levels of the Internet.

-- Your direct response lead generating offers can drive online viewers directly to your website.

-- More than 80% of people who watched TV and used the Internet had simultaneous sessions during the month.

-- While teens dominate streaming video online, 55% of men 35-54 also stream online and watch TV at the same time.

There is much discussion, concern and angst among marketers trying to understand behavioral changes among the audience. Certainly, TV viewers continue to provide a rich audience and conventional television the most compelling media delivery method.

DRTV Media Buying Requires Good Testing

2008-10-24T08:03:00.009-04:00

If you've been following this blog, then you know that we are here to educate you and position you for success in the DRTV short form and long form infomercial marketplace. I've talked with over 10,000 potential DRTV marketers in the last 16 years, and worked with hundreds of them. Successful marketers always test several factors to optimize their direct response products and services. Ask yourself a few questions when formulating your strategy.

1. For my short form product do I have enough premiums and stuff to create an irrestible offer?

2. Do I have an upsell stream or the retail backend to support a higher allowable cost per order?

3. Could DRTV or infomercials work better for me by gernerating leads and a drive to my website for closing the sale?

If you empower your DRTV Media Buyer with small test budgets to test various offers, premiums, and upsell stratgies, then your success rate will soar.

Google TV Ads Power Direct Response TV

2008-10-04T08:03:00.008-04:00

Google has changed our world in many ways. Most of us now have Google tools on our desktop and many powerful Google enhancements to our everyday cyber lives. In the spring of 2008, Google changed television advertising distribution and revolutionized DRTV media buying. Through their affiliation with DISH network, Google now provides an auction platform for cable network media in 14 million satellite households. What's more, for the first time in direct response history, advertisers have "overnights" that report total viewers, how long they watched, and in what program your short form infomercial or direct response TV ad ran. Google TV has already begun adding local markets to their inventory and recently cut a deal with NBC/Universal for even more inventory.

The impact of this new technology on entrepreneurial and established marketers is enormous. Now an experienced media buyer, direct response company, or turnkey infomercial / infomarketing company can shorten the testing process, substantially lower the cost of media tests, and make adjustments to a campaign on a daily basis.

The entrepreneur or infomercial product developer now has an opportunity to test more offers for less money in a shorter amount of time then ever before. At, my company, InfoWorx, we have embraced this new technology and utilize the latest research to target the client's most profitable customer, reach more viewers for less dollars, and use all of the new metrics to analyse response and make more money for our clients.

Direct Response Online Video or DROV

2008-08-15T07:00:00.011-04:00

As streaming technologies improve, and broadband distribution grows, direct response online video or DROV becomes an increasing opportunity for savvy marketers to find new customers. Of course, as always, it comes down to cost per acquisition or cost per order, so it is essential to pay direct response rates that are well below branding rates. Often, pre-roll CPMs are too high to support a direct response online video campaign, just as general broadcast TV rates are too high to bring in your orders within a reasonable allowable.

When considering a DROV campaign make sure you work with an experienced direct response media buyer who understands the metrics of DR. Remember, impressions may help your overall branding campaign, but direct response is measured in cost per order.

On the creative side, DROV is not DRTV! Internet viewers, shoppers and browsers have short attention spans. A drive to your web site is the goal here, so creative strategy may be different than a TV infomercial campaign.

Internet TV Preroll Ads Lower Cost Per Order

2008-07-28T06:36:00.005-04:00

Remember, direct response consumer selling equals low cost per order. Smart marketers are looking for new ways to drive sales and lower cost per acquisition. Internet video ads or pre roll ads of 10 to 20 seconds increase viewer response and involvement. Demand and supply for this new direct response interactive media is exploding because click through rates score five time as high as banners.

Mobile devices and podcasts are changing human behavior once again, and we are receiving content through our telephones as well as laptops and broadcast television sets. New opportunities have opened to reach younger, more targeted direct response buyers using all of the sophisticated targeting that keywords and modern ad serving techniques provide. Stay tuned to this blog to learn more about: podcasting, Internet TV, preroll, midroll and other Internet video formats. The Internet has the power and reach to lower customer acquisition rates and effectively find new groups of direct response and infomercial buyers.

Infomercial Media Funding

2008-07-21T21:53:00.007-04:00

Help! My Infomercial Is Not Working!

2008-07-12T20:36:00.006-04:00

I hope some of you keep returning for these infomercial blogs because I will continue to reveal the secrets to infomercial profits. I'm often asked about the infomercial rate of success. The answer to this simple question is easy. Direct marketing is a science. You test, gather data and test again. Infomercial success therefore depends on patience, determination and infomercial and DRTV marketing research.

At InfoWorx, we conduct pre-production research to test messaging, DRTV offers, and infomercial strategies. After an initial affordable media test, we listen to telemarketing call flow, non buyer disposition reports, and media performance by time slot, network, and region. Then we revise as necessary and test again. That's the science of DRTV.

My Media Buyer Better be Smart

2008-07-05T23:34:00.007-04:00

Well if short form DRTV media is bought on a preemtible, standby basis....what about long format infomercial media and airtime? Now this is where it gets confusing. And if your direct response television marketing campaign will succeed...your media buyer Will be connected to most cable networks, many broadcast stations, and all of the brokers holding long form infomercial media time. I told you it was confusing.

Each month most cable networks dispatch paid programming packages to their best customers...and they keep some of it, too! Some of the media goes to the same brokers month after month and year after year. Top slots, top shows...and for those time slots you pay top money. The skill comes with knowing value, knowing your product's audience, and knowing the best times to run at the least cost per acquisition.

Make sure your media buyer is smart.

DRTV Media Buying 101

2008-06-23T16:39:00.004-04:00

First of all, remember this: your media buyer must be a bulldog! Now, the direct response television marketplace is pretty complicated and requires some tough negotiation, media buying power, and lots of nationwide and syndicated media placement experience.

Let's start with short form media buying basics. Like broadcast media, nationwide cable media is sold to general advertisers for branding purposes on a CPM or ratings basis. We buy DRTV media strictly based on response and cost per order or cost per acquistion, if you will. The lower the rate, the lower the CPO! The stations want the highest rate they can get for their unsold, remnant, preemtible media and airtime. Thus, your media buyer must be a bulldog!

DRTV EQUALS COST PER ACQUISITION

2008-06-19T12:46:00.003-04:00