Tag Archives: short-form DRTV

Feb 22

Response February: Eyes on the Prize, Party Time in Chicago, and HOF Inductees

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RES0213_CV1The February issue of Response is now available online. From an intriguing look at an old-school direct marketer that’s transitioned with the digital times to the announcement of the inaugural class of the DR Hall of Fame, let’s take a look at some of the key pieces to the issue!

  • Our cover feature on one of direct marketing’s longest running success stories — Publishers Clearing House — saw its genesis from a meeting request at last October’s DMA show in Las Vegas. Let this be a lesson, vendors and agencies (or PR reps of vendors and agencies): if your clients are willing to powerful success stories, Response is interested in helping tell them! Of course, most everyone knows PCH today from their legendary “Prize Patrol” TV spots, where a giant check and some crazy balloons are presented to an unsuspecting sweepstakes winner at his or her front door. What you may not know is that PCH has ridden its history in direct mail and DRTV to massive heights in the digital direct response space, thanks to the work of Josh Glantz and his team. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: PCH Wins All Day Long
  • There are two items of note in our Field Reports (aka, news) section this month. One is an exclusive Q&A with Mercury Media CEO John Barnes about his company’s recent addition of iMarketing, a full-service digital agency, under the Mercury umbrella. The other is the announcement of our annual DRMA Chicago Reception, during next month’s International Home + Housewares show. The event is slated for Monday, March 4, at the Vertigo Sky Lounge, and, yes, contrary to the printed information, there’s still time to RSVP. Check out these stories and more DR news here: Field Reports February
  • In other DRMA news, Los Angeles-based Dial800 is the subject of this month’s DRMA Spotlight feature. We’ve been working with Scott Richards and James Diorio, the powerful duo behind this DR technology leader, for a few years now. They combine wisdom, work ethic and passionate belief in the services they’re providing professionals in the DR industry. To watch the video Dial800 has provided to go along with the Spotlight story, click this link: DRMA Spotlight Video on Dial800 or check out the print story here: Cracking the Code
  • Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results circles back to short-form DRTV billings’ 3Q results. Mirroring its long-form counterpart, while third-quarter was by far the weakest quarter of 2012 so far, the real story is that results stayed even with the same quarter of 2011, helping the overall outlook for 2012 remain solid. Since DRTV media in 3Q faced a huge Summer Olympics, as well as a building presidential campaign, there was some fear of a big drop. With a decent fourth-quarter performance, 2012 should end up as a second consecutive year of growth for direct response television media. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: Short-Form DRTV Billings Battle to Break Even
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note breaks the story of our newest addition to the Response family: the Direct Response Hall of Fame. With nine inductees in the initial class selected by the Response Advisory Board, myself and our publisher, John Yarrington, the group represents the best of the past, present and future of direct response marketing. You will have the chance to salute these industry greats on the afternoon of Thursday, April 4, at the Induction Ceremony on the Expo Hall Floor at Response Expo. Don’t miss it! And, if you missed the link to my the column above, here it is once again: Welcome to the Inaugural Inductees of the DR Hall of Fame

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Dec 18

Response December: A Beauty, CE Tools and the Big Top 50!

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Mally Roncal shimmers on the cover of the December Response.

Mally Roncal shimmers on the cover of the December Response.

The December issue of Response is now available online, and I’m happy to say we closed out the year with a strong book, hitting two key vertical markets — beauty and consumer electronics. Let’s take a look at some of the key pieces to the issue!

  • The story behind celebrity make-up artist Mally Roncal’s incredible foray into home shopping and DRTV isn’t all glitz and glamour. Certainly, while Roncal parlayed her stellar work for such celebrities as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Angelina Jolie — among many others — into the now-powerful Mally Beauty brand of cosmetics, her background growing up in suburban New York City was far from glamorous. It did, however, prepare her to take the airwaves by storm from her first appearance on QVC in 2005. With the help of DRTV production veteran Bob Caudill, our story on Roncal and business partner Don Pettit showcases two people who truly love what they do. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: Looking Beautiful, Feeling Beautiful
  • In a feature written by long-time Response contributor Bridget McCrea, we dig into the ways certain consumer electronics products are helping consumer electronics marketers utilize the tenets of direct response to sell their products. With the rise of smartphones and tablets as both marketing outlets and shopping devices, it’s our goal to continue to keep our readers abreast of the ever-changing technological landscape. If you missed the link above, here’s the story: CE Sells CE
  • One of our most eagerly awaited stories every year is the IMS ranking of the top 50 DRTV spots and infomercials of the year. Put together by Sam Catanese and his crack research and analysis staff in Philadelphia, this is the best-known annual ranking of DRTV success — and it’s appearing exclusively in the pages of Response for the 11th consecutive year! You don’t want to miss it, so — again — here’s the link: IMS Top 50 Infomercials and Spots of 2012
  • Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results takes a look at the DR radio space. Second-quarter 2012 results — from Response‘s partnership with Kantar Media —  continue the strikingly good news for 2012 thus far. The total of more than $11.2 million spent represents the best second quarter 2008. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 2Q 2012 DR Radio Media Billings Jump 15.1 Percent
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note takes on a personal bent as I discuss my thoughts on the creeping shopping frenzy that’s become known as Black Friday. With the event spilling over into Thanksgiving night, the irony of watching retailers and consumers take part in a festival of greed on the day we’re supposed to be giving thanks for more important things was just a little too much to take. If you missed the link above, here’s my take: Giving Thanks … and Slowing Down Greed

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response! Wishing you all a very happy holiday season, and all the best in 2013!

Nov 18

Response November: Positec Wins, FTC Spins and Short-Form Media Grins

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Positec’s Tom Duncan is a welcoming face for the November issue.

The November issue of Response is now available online, and there were some intriguing stories this month. Let’s take a look at some of the key pieces to the issue!

  • Positec Tool Corp. was a nominee for the 2012 DRMA Marketer of the Year thanks to the success of its DR-to-retail efforts for the WORX and Rockwell power tool brands. Our friends at Cannella Response Television linked me directly to Lindsay Hendricks, the company’s media manager, which resulted in the opportunity for an interview with Positec leader Tom Duncan, Rhonda Tate, the company’s head of DRTV, and Hendricks. The company’s first long-form campaign, for the WORX GT in 2007, drove more than $43 million in revenue in its first nine months, and Positec hasn’t looked back, finding success with nine other long-form DRTV efforts. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: DR Gives Positec a Big Edge
  • Following up my October Editor’s Note regarding the recent FTC actions — with astoundingly big dollars attached — against some DR marketers, we opened up the topic to our Response Advisory Board with a series of questions about what this means for the present and future of DR advertising. The responses, as you can imagine, feature a mixed bag from those who believe it’s merely business as usual for the regulatory agency to those who want to sound the alarm for an industry under attack. If you missed the link above, here are our advisers’ thoughts: What Else Is Up the FTC’s Sleeve?
  • Our DRMA Spotlight updates the industry on Swipe Payment Solutions and Curtis Kleinman, the company’s face in the DR space and the 2011 DRMA Member of the Year. Swipe continues to make waves in the payment processing space and, according to Kleinman, has seen close to a 400-percent increase in new clients since the beginning of 2012. If you missed the link above and want read more about Swipe’s services, values and expertise, click here: At Your Service
  • Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results, this time in the short-form DRTV space. Second-quarter 2012 results — from Response‘s partnership with Kantar Media —  are great news for the business. The total of nearly $1.184 billion spent represents the highest total for any second quarter since Response teamed with Kantar to publish and analyze short-form DRTV media in 2005. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 2Q Short-Form DRTV Media Billings Expand by $159M
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note leaps from those great media billings results to muse about how the industry will survive a second half of the year that saw the Summer Olympics and presidential election wreak some havoc on TV media availability. Do the great numbers in both long-form and short-form DR media from January-June mean that the business will weather those summer and fall storms? If you missed the link above, here’s my take: A November Surprise? 2Q DR Media Results Bode Well for Future

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response! Happy Thanksgiving!