• by Maria Scottoline , October 21, 2002

Here’s a question you are unlikely to read in a marketing textbook: What is the single most important demographic a marketer can target? Preteens? Women ages 25 to 39? Baby boomers?

Truth is, there is only one real demographic of any true economic consequence. Granted, it is narrow, and difficult to find. But of all demographic categories, the only one that matters is the buyer. It is the buyer, more than any prescribed label or category, who controls the success or failure of a product. It is the buyer who ultimately justifies the investment in media.

So it’s not coincidental that more companies are beginning to point their marketing budget toward the buyer and focusing less and less on gross rating points. In the world of Direct Response TV (DRTV), that may have always been the case. As DRTV matures and new technologies and approaches evolve, the ability to find, persuade, and capture the buyer — all within a sensible economic framework — sharpens. Focusing on this target requires a special appreciation for DRTV, what it is and how it works.

The Neilsen ratings are not a good indicator for determining the success of direct response advertising. Building an effective direct response media plan is more art than science, and should be based on one part previous experience and two parts real-time analysis. Media tracking software that allows companies to track each and every dollar spent — against actual sales — provides dynamic real-time data that marketers can use to adjust and optimize their buying on a day-to-day basis.

Some trends, though, do emerge. For instance, those networks and shows that appear to be "no-brainers" on paper because of their excellent ratings and audience followings often prove deadly to results. Their rates undermine the very economics on which most DRTV campaigns stand. Consumers, too, are less likely to break away from a favorite program to respond to a call to action. Daytime talk shows, game shows, music channels, and other "diversionary" TV programming tends to deliver the greatest likelihood of success. Are their ratings low? It matters little because DRTV advertisers are not buying gross rating points. They are buying responders across many media that deliver an acceptable return on investment.

High gross ratings and a successful DRTV campaign are not mutually exclusive — although poorly conceived and produced DRTV ads suggest otherwise. The truth, however, is that DRTV can support a brand and retail sales if the creative balances the consumer’s need for information with the marketer’s demands for response. Effective DRTV advertisements relate the problem directly to the consumer and then show the solution, through the company’s product, during 60-second and/or two-minute spots. What is the call to action? Surprisingly, it doesn’t have to be the immediate purchase of the product. Rather, knowledge is power, and the offer for more information, either via telephone or through the Web, is powerful enough to motivate the buyer to make the call or log online. Once armed with the new knowledge, the consumer becomes the one to close the sale.

Maria Eden and Cary Scottoline are the co-founders of Direct Response Media, a Wayne, Pa.-based direct response TV firm that works with some of the world’s leading direct response marketers. Contact them at www.DirectResponseMedia.com.