A Guide to Direct Response Television (DRTV)

Direct response television (DRTV) is a form of marketing that uses commercials to solicit an immediate response from viewers. DRTV campaigns are often used to promote products and services. The goal of these campaigns is usually to sell directly through the TV commercial itself.

DRTV campaigns can be broken down into four categories: direct response, impulse buying, extended viewing, and pre-emptive purchasing.

Direct Response

This is a campaign designed to solicit immediate action from the consumer or viewer. The advertiser may ask for money in exchange for an offer of some kind (i.e., product trial). Examples include “call now” or “order today” requests on commercials, encouraging viewers to order directly through TV ads rather than online.

Impulse Buying

In this case, the advertiser wants to get viewers’ attention and then try to sell them other products while they are watching a commercial break. The goal of Impulse Buying is typically not direct sales but rather to build brand awareness for later purchases by driving traffic through television commercials that lead consumers to online shopping or their brick-and-mortar store.

Extended Viewing

These campaigns aim at creating loyalty amongst valued customers with extended exposure via DRTV in between airing blocks, just like a television show.

Preemptive Purchasing

This campaign is used to get customers to purchase a product or service before they see the infomercial that will be selling it, i.e., pre-empting an ad rather than responding to one. Preemptive purchasing campaigns encourage viewers who may not even know about the advertised product and entices them with bonus offers such as free shipping or early access if they take advantage of the advertisement immediately via a TV commercial (instead of waiting until after the show goes off the air during another airing block).

How to Choose the Best DRTV Format For Your Business

The first step when choosing the right campaign is to identify your target audience. What do they like? How much money can you realistically hope to make from them?

Once you’ve answered these questions, choose the DRTV campaign that will work best for your business. If you sell multiple products or services on TV, consider using more than one type of campaign to maximize your television advertising potential.

For example, you might use a direct response campaign to sell one item and an impulse buying ad for another. Or, perhaps your customer purchases frequently from infomercials but doesn’t buy as often online–in which case you should try a preemptive purchasing campaign instead of going the usual route with extended viewing or direct response.

The Bottom Line

Each DRTV campaign format has its advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your business and what types of products you sell, one campaign type might be more profitable than another.

For over two decades, Vistamax has been working with brands, companies, and entrepreneurs around the world to help them grow their businesses through direct response television, providing everything from scriptwriting services to producing custom infomercials.

If you want to learn more about how direct response television can help your business, contact us today for a free consultation.