May 03
The retail industry is using e-mail to personalize its messages to consumers.
“It’s not just putting the consumers name in the subject line. We want to speak to the customer in a more intelligent way,” said Ryan Phelan, director of email marketing for Sears Holding Corp.
Marketing additional services
More companies are realizing the value of integrating the personalized message through all channels of communications. Retail marketers create an individual customer profile based on customer purchases.
For example, if a customer buys a new flat-screen television, a mobile message containing information about how to sign up for a warranty could follow.
Sears’ coupon campaign
Sears took steps to promote its new e-mail program by running a coupon campaign offering customers who signed up for the program a coupon for 10 dollars off their purchase. Since starting the promotion last June, Sears has experienced 50 percent increased participation in its e-mail list.
The takeaway from this trend is that there are many effective, newer means of reaching target markets in a highly relevant, personalized and cost-effective way.
adminUncategorized email marketing
Mar 27
Last year Black Friday managed to provide both online and in-store retailers some welcomed relief, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) report.
Turns out that 172 million shoppers visited stores; that’s up from147 billion last year. Total spending for Black Friday came in at around four billion dollars, averaging out to be about $327.57 per shopper. That is an increase of 7.2 percent from last year.
The driving force
So what’s behind the increases? “Pent-up demand on electronics and clothing, plus unparalleled bargains on this season’s hottest items helped drive shopping all weekend,” explained Tracy Mullin, NRF president and CEO. Holiday sales are not expected to continue at this brisk pace, but it’s encouraging that Americans seem excited to go shopping again.”
Black Friday turned out to be the busiest of the weekend, resulting in 73.6 million shoppers at stores by early morning in an effort to snag the best deals. Beyond that weekend, American’s have slightly increased shopping for the holidays, up 3.3 percent from last year’s 36.4 percent.
Sales are up
Where are shoppers spending their money? Over half of Black Friday’s shoppers turned up at discount stores; 43 percent at department stores; 36 percent at specialty stores and 34 percent shopped online.
Even though the NRF report is encouraging, the overall forecast for this holiday is modest at best. NRF predicts holiday sales this year will rise 2.2 percent, making this the slowest season since 2002.
adminDRTV
Dec 16
On its 30-year anniversary “microsite,” AdWeek tracks ad spending from 1978-2008.
Here’s what we can see:
• Television has had its ups and downs but is decidedly up over 30 years (about 7 ½ times up)
• Newspapers up and down, and up about 3 times overall, but down for sure in recent years (over the past decade)
• Magazines just slightly higher than flat over the entire 30-year period
• Internet tracked only since 1998 and only one direction (up) with the exception of a dip in the 2002-2003 period
adminUncategorized
Oct 23
A new study by Nielsen Mobile says that over 20 million U.S. households rely solely on mobile phones from home landline service. The findings suggest one in five U.S. households could be wireless by the end of this year.
Reducing household spending. Is there any surprise that so many are choosing to go wireless at home considering the current economic climate? Consumers are using every strategy possible to reduce overall household spending. The desire to trim away excess expenses is spurring this trend.
“Landline wireless substitution may be just the start,” says Allison LeBreton, Vice President of client services for Neilsen Mobile.
“As wireless data networks improve and speeds become more and more competitive with broadband, some consumers may cut the Internet chord as well, favoring wireless data cards and other access through carrier networks.”
Who’s going wireless? The Nielsen study revealed more important information to consider:
• The U.S. households most likely to abandon traditional landline phone service tend to fall into a lower income category. 59 percent have household incomes of $40,000 or less.
• Small households, with one or two residents, are more likely to eliminate landline phone service.
• Major life events like moving or changing jobs are directly linked to the decision made by a large number of households to rely only on wireless phone service. It is estimated that 31 percent of those who left landline service moved before doing so. 22 percent made the choice after switching jobs.
• Consumers who chose wireless phone service over landline service tend to use mobile phones 45 percent more per phone, and wind up saving around 33 dollars per phone.
Wireless versus landline phones. Wireless mobile phones aren’t for every household, and some consumers will always return to landline services because they are part of a bundled service they want to receive like satellite television or pay-per-view. And sometimes they will continue with what they know which continues to be the landline.
adminUncategorized
Sep 22
The 2008 Olympic Games is now officially the most watched television event in history.
“It’s been a cultural phenomenon,” said Alan Wurrtzel, president, research and media development of NBC Universal. “I can’t think of another instance where the country so universally gets behind an event and shares it like they have with Beijing, not with the widespread fragmentation we see today.”
Media buyers get a big surprise… NBC’s national prime-time ratings were through the roof. They exceeded the guaranteed ratings of 14.5 media experts were expecting by 10 percent. And it hasn’t stopped there. Even after the Games began on August 8, NBC was able to secure an additional $30 million in ad revenue, according to NBC Olympic President Gary Zenkel.
Internet as part of strategy. In addition to the television coverage, NBC included the Internet as part of its overall marketing strategy. The plan was to stream 2,200 hours of live footage on NBCOlymics.com. NBC Reports state the site received 46.2 million hits from unique users and represented eight million hours of online video viewing.
From a business standpoint, the NBC network and NBCOlympics.com achieved Olympic success.
adminDRTV media buyers, olympics, television coverage, television history
Sep 12
DRTV is quickly becoming one of the hottest options available for advertisers seeking affordable branding alternatives. The key to success using a DRTV campaign is to rely heavily on the promotion of a quality product.
Maybe it goes without saying, but promoting an inferior product will do much more harm than good. DRTV remains an affordable advertising option for many companies during a looming recession. In fact, the low cost of creating a DRTV spot has even spurred mainstream companies to allocate advertising dollars for DRTV spots.
Successful DRTV campaigns artfully combine testimonials, product/technical descriptions and a call to action. Many infomercials receive thousands of orders within minutes of airing the ad.
Fortune 500 companies are running brand commercials and adding an 800 number and or website in order to purchase media time more cost effectively, which is why infomercials can be so effective for these type of advertisers.
It’s true. Both broadcast and cable networks are able to sell DRTV slots well below normal rates. Sometimes these spots can be bought for less than one-third of the regular rate – especially if the network is motivated to fill any unsold slots.
Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor, makes an interesting observation about the economic climate’s effect on DRTV: “It seems there’s a direct correlation…the worse the economy is, the more active DRTV becomes.”
adminDRTV drtv campaigns
Feb 15
High-end fashion and luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton is set to launch its first-ever television advertising campaign on February 15.
The 90-second spot, which was shot in Spain, India, Japan, and France, features average people unlike Vuitton’s print media campaigns that star such notables as Mikhail Gorbachev, Andre Agassi and Catherine Deneuve. The television ad will be aired on cable and satellite television channels and in movie theaters across the globe.
While Vuitton has always been a well regarded and known name, the company has not until now developed a television campaign. The overall objective of the ad is, of course, to promote the company’s brand. “It is supposed to touch our clientele and views in ways that perhaps other media will not touch, Louis Vuitton Marketing Director Pietro Beccari said. This is a way to say Louis Vuitton is different.
Beccari also said that the company believes strongly that the television advertising will assist in reaching new audiences in China and other Western countries.
adminUncategorized
Jan 28
In today’s highly competitive and rapidly changing retail environment, it’s more important than ever to utilize a multi-channel direct marketing program to maximize sales across retail platforms. There are several proven and evolving marketing models that are being employed by savvy retailers, who understand how to optimize retail sales through direct marketing. We will explore some of these strategies, so you can consider how they can fit into your marketing mix.
Many online retailers are utilizing a combination of offline media including, infomercials, direct response television, print and radio to drive online sales. This type of direct marketing campaign is often referred to as a drive to web campaign. Online retailers are finding that consumers, who initiate a search online, after being exposed to an offline ad, are converting into a sale at a much high rate than those who come to their site through an online media channel. Many online retailers are deploying a paid search campaign that runs simultaneously with a DRTV campaign, in order to capture consumers who initiate a search after viewing a DRTV ad. At the same time, they are also implementing an SEO campaign, to help move up their site organically in the search listings.
Hybrid Campaigns
Another multi-channel retail marketing approach is a hybrid drive to web/drive to retail campaign, to increase both online and store traffic. Frequently, a multi-channel direct response ad campaign is used with this approach. Various media channels need to be tested to find the ones that deliver the optimum ROI. Offline media and online advertising, including paid search, email marketing, affiliate programs, behavioral/contextual and demographic targeting, and rich media can all play a role in a successful multi-channel direct marketing campaign. Social networks and blog networks are newer online mediums being explored by more progressive retailers. Remember that messaging needs to be consistent throughout the various mediums to maximize the impact of the campaign.
Understanding the Target Customer
In today’s more competitive retail environment, it’s increasingly important to understand who is your target customer and to make their retail experience both online and at the store level memorable and enjoyable, in order to increase your sales conversion rate and customer retention. Try to create a retail shopping environment/experience that is easy to navigate, appeals to the target customer and engages all their senses. Remember that online the consumer is always one click away from leaving your site. Retailers also need to understand the lifetime value of their customers and employ customer retention strategies to create customer loyalty and repeat purchases.
Multi-channel retailing is much more complex today, since it often takes place on several retail platforms, in order to gain the optimum results. Direct marketing programs need to be customized to reach target customers in a range of mediums and the shopping experience needs to be tailored to appeal to the target audience. Employing these strategies in your retail-marketing plan will help ensure a more successful 2008 for your retail business.
adminDRTV, Uncategorized
Oct 01
Infomercial media buying is a specialized type of media buying. Infomercial time is sold in thirty-minute blocks on both national cable and satellite networks and on local broadcast stations throughout the U.S. Infomercial time is generally available when regular programming goes off the air during the overnight and early morning time periods and during the morning and afternoon on weekends. Infomercial time is priced based on the size and viewership of the station or network and the size of market where the station is located. The most expensive infomercial time periods are on major cable networks on Saturday and Sundays.
Since there are thousands of local broadcast stations and hundreds of cable and satellite networks, in order to buy infomercial time successfully it’s important to work with a seasoned infomercial media buyer. An experienced infomercial media buyer knows the stations and networks that perform best for certain categories of products targeting particular types of audiences. A knowledgeable infomercial media buyer also knows how to negotiate the most favorable rates for their clients. For example, the rate card for an infomercial time slot might be $1,000, but a savvy infomercial media buyer may know that particular time period is only worth $500 and will be able to negotiate a substantial level of savings for a client’s infomercial campaign by utilizing this type of knowledge and expertise.
adminDRTV, Uncategorized
Sep 18
The iProspect study noted that all ranges of age, income and online tenure reported that conducting search engine queries has become more important to their use of the Internet over the last year. Since users report that the activity of searching is growing more important to them, then businesses need to make sure that their website is found by searchers. Exposing your target audience to your ads and url in multiple mediums will enhance their ability to find your website.
Not surprisingly, television drove the highest percentage (37%) of online users to perform searches, according to the iProspect study. Even in today’s more fragmented media environment, the power of TV remains strong and the influence of TV on online purchase behavior is growing. We have found that anywhere from between 30% to over 90%+ of customers make their purchase via the web, when they are offered both an 800 number and a website in a direct response television ad. Why is this happening? Many consumers feel more comfortable making a purchase via the web than through an in-bound telemarketing service. Also, over 50% of people are simultaneously surfing the web while watching TV, so it’s easy for them to log onto your site when they see your TV ad.
The bottom line is that if you’re not using a combination of TV, print and radio and online ads to reach customers, you’re missing a huge share of potential revenue. Infomercial companies that rely solely on one advertising medium are missing the mark. It takes a combination offline and online advertising to make a true impact on today’s consumers. So leverage your marketing dollars by using the synergy of DRTV and online ads to maximize the impact of your campaign. When you do, you will see your company’s bottom line results improve
adminDRTV, Uncategorized
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