Tag Archives: Kantar Media

Jan 13

Response December: Christmas Trees, IMS’ Annual Rankings and a Little Bit of AP

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Though the December issue of Response has been available online since prior to the holiday break, it’s time for a quick look back before we move along into 2014. Hopefully, if you’re one of our readers, you’ve taken a good look at the issue, but — if not — here’s some back story on the cover feature highlighting Balsam Brands entrepreneur Thomas Harman, as well as a number of the other key pieces in the issue:

  • THOR Associates’ Fern Lee, a member of our Response Advisory Board, can take great credit for the timeliness of our December cover story about Redwood City, Calif.-based Balsam Brands and its dip into the DRTV waters for its Balsam Hill line of high-end artificial Christmas trees. Harman, a business leader with a great entrepreneurial spirit and vision, founded Balsam Hill as an E-retailer in 2006 and saw the company grow exponentially in its early years. But after what might be called a slight misstep into DRTV in late 2012, the Balsam Brands team connected with THOR on a much more well prepared and researched campaign for the 2013 holiday season. If you missed the link above, here it is once again: ‘O, Christmas Tree …’
  • For the 12th consecutive year, IMS has provided its exclusive list of the top 50 long-form and top 50 short-form DRTV campaigns of the year to Response! Once again, health-and-fitness, housewares and beauty products are among the leaders in both categories. The IMS team also provides an intriguing look back at the top 5 long-form products for the past 10 years, and — for the first time — a look at the U.S. Hispanic market. Of course, you’re probably just asking yourself, “Who’s No. 1?” Well, if you missed the link above, click here to find out: The IMS Top 50 Infomercials and Spots of 2013

  • AP’s Bruce and Robin Stone.

    This month, the DRMA Spotlight is turned on Simi Valley, Calif., call center Applied Perceptions. Founded by husband-and-wife team Bruce and Robin Stone in 2001, AP — as they often call it — prides itself on being a profit center for clients, due to its powerfully specialized agent corps and ability to provide both sales and customer service capabilities for marketers of all shapes and sizes. If you missed the link above to this special update, click here: Built From the Ground Up. If you’d like to watch the video interview I conducted with Bruce Stone, click here: DRMA Spotlight Video — Applied Perceptions

  • The 2Q 2013 DR radio media billings results, provided by Kantar Media, finally provided a small ray of hope to what’s been a troubled media landscape throughout much of the year. The market was up an impressive 22.8 percent for the quarter, which made it DR radio’s best second quarter in six years. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 2Q 2013 DR Radio Media Billings Rise 22.8 Percent
  • My final Editor’s Note of the year seeks to sound a call to marketers across the direct, digital and data-driven landscape to look ahead — not back — and use the power of their position to help drive the new marketing universe. It’s unimaginable to me how often I hear folks in our world yearn out loud for the simpler times of the past — the good old “As Seen On TV” days — rather than focusing on how they can best be positioned to not only take advantage of new technologies to improve their businesses, but actually take their experiences and become the leaders they should be in this new age of consumer-driven marketing. If you missed it above, here’s the link: DR Marketers Must Choose the Future

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!