Major brands are reducing traditional TV ad
spend — providing more opportunities for DRTV
television advertising,” she says. “I hate
: If you’ve seen infomercials for the to say it, but it’s kind of exciting.”
NordicTrack in prime time on A&E, Both long-form infomercials and
ABC Family, or E; Snuggie blanket short-form DRTV spots, experts say,
spots during an evening slot; or learned have their own unique opportunities.
about the PedEgg during top viewing Short-form spots obviously benefit the
hours on CNN, you are witnessing a most from tighter TV ad budgets for
significant shift in television advertis- big brands. Before the recession, if a
ing thanks to the economic downturn. DRTV advertiser wanted to run its
Direct response television ads now ad during prime time, it would have
appear more and more regularly in to decide far in advance, and pay the
prime-time spots. same premium rate. But now, the time
In today’s environment, many indus- is not only available, but at a remnant,
tries are hard-pressed to find sectors direct response rate.
that are thriving. But in marketing, “We’re seeing tons of these fire sales
with major brands scaling back their — unsold inventory offered up at the
traditional advertising dollars, DRTV last minute — which is perfect for us,”
just might be that sector. Cardinal says. “We always have bud-
gets and money to spend as long as
rates are right.”
Traditional advertisers, she contin-
ues, don’t have that luxury. “General
marketers spend the money up front
and plan their quarters in advance.
They’re not typically positioned or sit-
uated to pick up deals,” she explains.
There are also opportunities for
marketers, in long-form formats such
as 30- and 60-minute infomercials.
Because the time slots for this type of
program are more or less fixed, supply
and demand plays a big role in media
placement, says Medved: “We’re see-
ing the relationship of the consumer industry where the rates continuously “This is when you really see the
“We’re in a time when, more than spending driving the cost of the media go up quarter to quarter.” economy come into play,” Medved
ever, ad dollars need to be account- down because the demand isn’t as high In November, Fox made a previous- says. “A product [like the GT Xpress]
able,” says Rob Medved, president and as it’s been in the past,” he explains. ly unprecedented move among major solves the meal-on-the-go problem,
CEO of Cannella Response Televi- Cardinal agrees, saying that response networks: It announced a two-hour which is a longstanding one in the
sion, which does media buying for levels from long-form DRTV spots slot for long-form DRTV marketers on housewares vertical. That kind of sell
products such as the GT Xpress 101, dropped going into the fourth quar- Saturday morning that had been previ- [will] thrive in this environment.”
a countertop electric cooker. “We’re ter of 2008, so those marketers began ously occupied by cartoons. Because of Cardinal says even higher-priced
in this era of accountability, and that’s cutting their budgets. “The long-form a lawsuit with 4Kids, the company that items can do well if they still seem
direct response.” world is really responsive to dropping produced the cartoons, the original to give value to