Tag Archives: DRTV

Jan 17

Response January: Creative Genius, Media Matters and DRMA Leaders

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Response January 2013The January issue of Response is now available online. It was a pleasure to kick off the new year with a lot of positive stories and great news for the DR industry  Let’s take a look at some of the key pieces to the issue!

  • Our cover feature on the extremely successful Baby Genius brand of children’s music and video (and more) products started percolating during a meeting with Response Advisory Board member Denise Kovac in September. A line of products that’s had fantastic retail success for well over a decade jumping into DRTV is always of interest to us, and this story came with a bonus — the eventual cover subject became Larry Balaban, the creative mind behind Baby Genius since its beginnings. Balaban is one of those folks that is easy to interview because he so genuinely believes in his products, loves what he does and feels that he’s making a difference for his audience: parents and their young children. When you’ve done as many cover interviews as I have, it’s always a wonderful breath of fresh air to pick up the phone and find a guy like Larry on the other end of the line. Hopefully, it comes across in the story. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: Hitting a Marketing High Note
  • Our first quarterly Response Advisors Forum touches on the continuing expansion of the DR media market since the second half of 2011 and what to expect as 2013 gets underway. The topic drew out a big number of advisors who bounced back and forth on the reasons why the market is thriving, what the biggest challenges are for 2013, and how TV technology like DVRs, VOD and OTT are going to continue to affect the business. Best of all, the version of this story online is a vast expansion of the piece that appears in the print magazine, allowing each answer from each respondent to appear. Check it out now: The Future’s So Bright?
  • On Dec. 11 in New York, we were happy to announce that Nancy Lazkani of Icon Media Direct in Van Nuys, Calif., had won an industry-wide vote of her peers to earn the 2012 Direct Response Marketing Alliance (DRMA) Member of the Year award. Lazkani’s long history in the DRTV space is a well-known story to Response‘s readers, and her continuing commitment to bettering not only Icon’s fortunes but also that of the entire business does not go unnoticed. We caught up with the second winner of this prestigious honor for an exclusive interview. Don’t miss it: Lazkani Earns DRMA Member of the Year Honors
  • In other DRMA news, Temecula, Calif.-based OpenJar Concepts is the subject of this month’s DRMA Spotlight feature. We’ve known Adam Warren and Reno Renaldo, the team behind the three-year old company, for a number of years, and you’re not likely to meet a better duo — both as businessmen and people. Working with them on this story, especially while filming the video interview, was a complete pleasure, because not only are they good guys, but they have a damned good story to tell about a biz that’s crucial in our space. To watch the video interview, click this link: DRMA Spotlight Video on OpenJar Concepts or check out the print story here: They’re All the Buzz
  • Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results circles back to long-form DRTV billings’ 3Q results. While third-quarter was by far the weakest quarter of 2012 so far, the results — which were essentially flat when compared with 3Q 2011 — remained promising for the year as a whole. 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. Instead, should fourth-quarter results match 2011, the full-year 2012 will likely be long-form’s biggest since pre-crash 2008. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: Long-Form Media Billings Stay Flat in 3Q 2012
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note turns the idea of outlandish New Year’s resolutions on its head a bit by talking about setting reachable goals and how that can actually help make those resolutions stick. Before I share the link again, I want to thank those of you (and there were many more than normal) who responded to my December column about the new greed of Thanksgiving weekend. The feedback is much appreciated. If you missed the link to my January piece above, here’s my take: Making Resolutions That Stick

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!