Direct Response Television

Term Paper # 107953

Advertising
Business > Marketing
Communication > Television

This paper discusses the growth of infomercials as a direct marketing medium.

3,238 words () | 23 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that direct response television (DRTV) is considered a powerful and profitable advertising medium by many major advertisers. The paper offers a brief history of infomercials and outlines the three major types of DRTV; long-form (infomercials), short-form and live home shopping networks. The paper discusses how the presenter helps infomercials to succeed and what causes infomercials to fail. The paper then looks at video-based advertising, a new approach to market products and services by integrating DRTV with emerging online video.

Outline:
Introduction
The Brief History of Infomercials
What is Direct Response Television?
Types of DRTV Formulas
What Causes Infomercials Growth?
How the Presenter Helps Infomercial Succeed
What Causes Infomercials to Fail?
Videoactive: The Next Step in Evolution with DRTV
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"In the late 1940s and early 1950s, commercial television was launched to fill the air time of TV stations which, at that time, ran only a few hours of network shows. Then, some advertisers recognized the profit potential in this new medium. They created the TV commercials that ran between 5 to 30 minutes or more which would later be called infomercials. It featured product presentations as a new breed of TV entertainment which also sold products by the millions.
"From 1962 to 1984, TV became popular. The advertisers began to compete for 60-second time slots, and also very little long-form infomercial media time was available. In 1962, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started new regulations that permitted TV stations to sell a maximum of 12 to 14 minutes of commercial time per hour. The long-form advertising was used only for religious or not-for-profit programming."

Sample of Sources Used:

Ackman, D. (November 13, 2002). The Darwinian World of The Infomercial. Retrieved July 29, 2008 from http://www.forbes.com/commerce/2002/11/13/cx_da_1113ad.html
Bliwas, R. (2006, September). URL as Effective as Toll-Free Number. Products. DM News' Essential Guide to Direct Response Television, 22.
Direct response television. Retrieved July 28, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRTV
(August 2, 2006). DRTV is more dynamic as compared to traditional advertising. Retrieved July 31, 2008 from http://direct-response-television.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html
Eisenberg, B. (January 10, 2003) A Man. A Plan. A Can Opener. Retrieved July 27, 2008 from http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=1566961