Aug 22

Response August: Made in the Shade, Short-Form DRTV Billings and Olympian Examples

Here’s a look at some of the key pieces of Response‘s August issue.

Jonathan Hershberg and SunSetter headline this month’s issue.

  • Our cover story on SunSetter Products and its co-founder Jonathan Hershberg came to us via the team at DRM Partners and Pro Media Group. Fortunately, it came together much more quickly than planned, as we were looking at a late fall timeframe for this piece originally. But if you’ve spent any time in the media business, you know just how often things can fall through at the last minute. That happened to us with this issue, as our original cover bailed just before deadline. However, credit to the DRMP team and Hershberg for jumping at the opportunity with an intriguing story about a product not many would have thought would work in DRTV. Not only did SunSetter create a brand, it basically created its own home product category: retractable awnings. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is again: DR Shines Bright for SunSetter
  • With some staff shake-ups, it’s once again my full responsibility on the magazine to handle analysis of our quarterly media billings results. In the August issue, that means dissecting 1Q 2012 short-form DRTV results, courtesy of Kantar Media. Coming off a fantastic 2011 (especially in the second half, where year-on-year results were up nearly 10 percent on 2010), it was great to see that 1Q 2012 held strong, losing a microscopic 0.8 percent. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 1Q SF DRTV Billings Hold Steady
  • Finally, the London Olympics, NBC’s coverage and a powerful Twitter presence inspired my August Editor’s Note. NBC’s tape-delayed and heavily slanted coverage of the games roiled many early on, as the Twitter hashtag #NBCfail enjoyed a solid multi-day run trending worldwide. However, Twitter was also abuzz with overall Olympic discussion, and mobile usage of the social media tool was a key driver to NBC’s eventual ratings haul that broke viewership and ad sales records. Is this combination of TV, social and mobile something that DRTV marketers can learn a lesson from? If you missed the link above, here’s my take: Controversy Over NBC Olympics Coverage Gives Marketers a Golden Message

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!