If Content is King – Infomercials Rule!

March 21, 2020 – For those of you who say the infomercial is dead, we declare: “Long live the infomercial!”

Take a moment to unbundle DRTV video content, aka the infomercial, and you will find it more strategic than you may have previously considered.  Among the most amped up benefits of infomercial content that you will find are its: 

• Measurability
• Multi-Targetability
• Omni-Channel Repurposing
• Informational Capacity
• Value Driven Proposition
• Length Flexibility

Informercials Reinvented

Over the last 20+ years, our industry has seen a lot of change, but what remains constant is the need for brands to educate consumers on the features and benefits of their products and services. Video content lengths have evolved on both TV and digitally, from the traditional 28:30 long form show, to the 4 and 5-minute mid-forms, down to :60s, :30s and even :15s. Digital is driving down lengths even further down to the now ever popular 6-second pre-roll. However, despite the massive growth of digital, and the rising cost of television, the infomercial has found a way to reinvent itself.   

Regardless of whether or not you recognize a commercial as an infomercial you cannot deny that the approach is ever more present on all of our screens. Any time you turn on your TV, you can catch a variety of DRTV ads from relatively new start-ups, such as Peloton and UNTUCKit  to well-established advertisers who have discovered the power of the medium as have P&G, J&J, AT&T, Church & Dwight and others too numerous to list. Several D2C brands went from startups to multi-billion buyouts largely thanks to the power of DRTV – including Dollar Shave Club, zulily and Chewy.

D2C agencies and marketers are nimble when it comes to reaction time by modifying marketing tactics to suit changing market conditions. Our industry should take credit for having paved the way for “general” advertisers as they move from brand concept to brand value. P&G, specifically, has found the infomercial concept to be ideally suited to illustrate how their brands are becoming more focused on consumer value rather than on brand image.

CPG Giants Expand Spend in DRTV

A retail-driving infomercial campaign is designed for big marketers to leverage existing retail relationships and shelf space, and CPG giants are making bigger and bigger spends in the DRTV space. This is primarily due to the inherent media efficiencies generated by buying remnant media, which limits “wastage” as P&G’s Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard believes, and the medium’s capacity to test products and pitches and to prove product superiority – something that has been masterfully done by P&G’s Olay line of products.

As we all know, DRTV marketing, when done correctly, pays for itself and generates a positive ROI on the investment. As more brand advertisers are realizing its power, we will continue to see a migration of startups, CPGs and service-industry giants to DRTV and all of us will reap those benefits.

For more discussion about the Power of the Infomercial, check out the infographic in our APPROACH section and the eighth episode of our vlog – Speaking2Hispanics on our website, www.d2hispanic.com

Patricia Testa- Managing Partner – D2H Partners, LLC – 2020