Why Long-Form DRTV Advertising Works So Well

Why did brands invest nearly $1 billion in Long-Form DRTV media during 2016? The answer is simple: An effective Long-Form campaign is a huge competitive advantage, and a way to make challenging sales goals suddenly look easy. Here are five reasons why:

1. You’ve got time to tell your story.Long-Form infomercials are 28.5 minutes long. You can say a lot about your product or service in 28.5 minutes, and the more you tell, the more you can sell.
Not only can you accomplish the basics of presenting a problem, a solution, and an offer, you can also:

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• Fully educate potential customers.
• Communicate all features, benefits and really hammer home the USP.
• Dramatically demonstrate your product or service in action.
• Showcase enthusiastic user Testimonials and Endorsements from experts.
• Deliver convincing proof of claims.
• Build a truly compelling offer and irresistible value proposition.

2. You can achieve several strategic objectives

A Long-Form infomercial can do so much more to sell product on TV. Here are a few other goals you can accomplish with an effective infomercial.

1. New product introduction.
2. Extend a product line.
3. Revive an under-performing product.
4. Create or expand a category.
5. Independent profit center – reach specific sales performance goals.
6. Self-liquidating Direct Sales – break even or profitability.
7. Generate pre-educated, highly qualified leads at low Cost Per Acquisition.
8. Drive retail traffic and sales (creates 3x to 10x DRTV sales).
9. Drive web traffic & conversions (60-70% of responses click online).
10. Increase brand awareness and comprehension.
11. Differentiate your product.
12. Optimize media ROI and performance.
13. Expand customer base.
14. Engage customers and build relationships.
15. Extend lifetime value of customers.
16. Lift effectiveness of all sales and marketing channels.
17. Become a powerful competitive advantage.
18. Deliver robust, repurposed video assets for use in social media channels.

3. You get precise ROI accountability and analytics

Unlike TV spot image advertising, every dollar invested in a Long-Form campaign is meticulously tracked and accurately attributed. You’ll always know:

• Cost Per Call
• Cost Per Lead
• Cost Per Acquisition
• Cost Per Order
• Cost Per Click
• Media Efficiency Ratio (MER)
• Retail Lift (measured at POS)

And you’ll know it right away! Every day, you have a precise picture of performance, based on variables that include show placement, time of day and week, unique testing of creatives, telemarketing vendors and scripts, and source attribution from 800 numbers and the Web. The result is the most comprehensive accountability in the world of advertising.

4. Your market segment has already enjoyed Long-Form success

Since 1986, Script to Screen has created over 600 DRTV campaigns spanning virtually every category. View some of the top, most successful DRTV campaigns produced by Script to Screen. The following are segments where successful Long- Form DRTV shows were the chosen marketing solution: Automotive, Beauty & Skin Care, Business Opportunity, Education, Entertainment, Financial Services, Fitness, Housewares</, Golf, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Health & Weight Loss, Publishing, Sports, Services, Technology, and Telecommunications.

5. You put your best salespeople to work—your customers.

Nothing sparks interest or closes a sale like a satisfied customer. Period.

This fundamental truth is underscored every day, as people check Yelp before they go to a restaurant; Amazon before they buy a new laptop; Angie’s List before they hire a contractor; Rotten Tomatoes before they see a new flick.

One of the most powerful elements in a Long-Form DRTV show is the use of real customer testimonials. Their genuine reactions and feelings connect emotionally with the viewer, and get them thinking, “Hey, maybe this could work for me!”

No other advertising venue delivers such a robust environment for real customers to tell their story. And hands down, those real customers are your best salespeople. Let them go to work for you.