But first, take a deep breath. There are three important questions you need to ask yourself:

1. How will I know that my infomercial campaign is providing me maximum return on investment?

2. How will I track the performance of my program?

3. What will I do if my program underperforms?

Of course, On The Mark can help provide those answers to you before you spend a penny.

On The Mark has strategic partnerships with vendors who use some of the most sophisticated analytical metrics available to determine your ROI. An example is “maximum profitable media cost per order (CPO).” This is the most you can spend on media per each individual order you receive and still expect to make a reasonable profit.

Another tool used to measure your program’s performance is the Media Efficiency Ratio (MER), which is simply total sales divided by media cost. And these are just two of the many metrics we have at our disposal.

Of course, in order to get a good answer to question 1, we need to address question 2. On The Mark has built relationships with some of the most sophisticated call centers in the industry; they provide real-time call statistics and Web analytics. That data helps inform our performance tracking, so we know instantly if your program is doing well or poorly on a particular station and/or timeslot.

And that’s how we address question 3. If your infomercial doesn’t get the response we expect, we analyze the data to determine why. Then we work with our long-time media buying partners to adjust your airtimes and channels accordingly, making sure that your product or service reaches the maximum amount of potential buyers in your target demographic. And that translates to more orders and a higher ROI.

On The Mark has been running winning DRTV campaigns for more than 20 years—and we never forget the most important creed of our business:

Your success is our success.

A great looking, professionally produced infomercial is, of course, a central component to any winning direct response television campaign. Everyone knows the great “Vince,” for instance—that infomercial put that unnamed absorbent cloth product on the map.

But a great program isn’t the only component of a winning campaign. In fact, you can have an excellent product and a top-notch infomercial and your campaign could still fall flat on its face.

Read this article from the Direct Response Academy—the leading source of knowledge and training surrounding the DRTV industry.

If your DRTV company doesn’t have the total campaign experience or knowledge to oversee your campaign from beginning to end and ensure all of the various elements are working together in harmony, you could be in for disappointing—and costly—results.

For instance, suppose you’re marketing a physical product that must be ordered, packaged, and shipped in a timely manner to each customer. Does your DRTV company have a call center ready to implement your specific directions at a moment’s notice? Does it have a fulfillment center ready to package and ship your product to all of the eager callers watching your infomercial?

If the answer is no, you might be using the wrong DRTV company. And that’s where On The Mark comes in. With more than 20 years experience in the DRTV industry, we have the expertise not only to create a winning infomercial program that will pull in viewers and sales, but we also have the relationships and expertise to cover all of your bases—so you’ll know everything is being done to capture every possible sale and make your customers happy.

Even if you’ve already got an infomercial you’re happy with, you could be losing customers because the other elements of your campaign aren’t as efficient as they could be.

Could this be you? Call us today at (732) 741-7225.

It’s a fixture in Direct Response Television—the exercise or diet plan show with compelling testimonials from supple young men and women who have used the offered product and gone on to lose a hundred pounds and develop Olympic-quality bodies. They’re very effective, not to mention fun to watch. The marketer flashes a disclaimer: “Results not typical” to show that not everyone will look like the testimonials.

But now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is voicing its disapproval over the practice. It’s released a series of “Guides” designed to force marketers to more clearly state what a product’s “typical” results will be. A recent article in a popular trade magazine breaks down the FTC’s Guides.

Read the article here. 

On The Mark is all for solid regulations that create a level playing field for everyone. But this latest Guide—we’re not so sure. It seems to tilt the field against DRTV and in favor of traditional commercials that build brand awareness or achieve other marketing goals.

Think about it: When was the last time you saw an overweight person in a 30-second fast-food commercial? Or an intoxicated person in a beer spot? Should the marketers behind those ads be forced to run disclaimers in large type, stating that “People who consume our product will not typically look like actors depicted in this commercial?”

Of course not. That would just be silly. But the bottom line is that advertising—ALL advertising—is about creating optimum conditions and using them to promote a product or service. It’s not about what’s “typical.” And what’s good for DRTV should be good for all television marketing. If we start to go down this path, where will it end? 

Now, having said that, On The Mark is ready and able to work within these regulations to create winning DRTV programs for our clients. We thoroughly understand all the new guidelines and know exactly how to comply. We’ve been producing high-quality programs for 20 years—and we’ve adapted successfully to every change in the regulatory landscape. We’ve often found that things change for the best. DRTV is still one of the best ways to gain wide exposure for terrific products and services, and we’ll be here far into the future to help make your offering a productive one. 

What’s more, if you’ve already created a DRTV program with another production company, and you’re not certain it meets these new FTC guidelines, feel free to give us a call at
(732) 741-7225. We’ll be happy to take an objective look at your program, and fairly evaluate it for compliance.

In the meantime, picture this on your TV screen: Big-box discount store commercials starring actors who look like the people who really shop there.

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