• by Adam Bernard , October 3, 2001

In the olden days, if someone was in the market for a new car, the shopping process involved a number of trips to different car dealers, looking through a few brochures, and comparing the options in the latest Consumer Reports. Not anymore. These days the process may be as simple as popping in a DVD.

According to The Digital Media Marketing Organization's (DMMO) monthly newsletter The DMMO Report, major corporations are beginning to use video, DVD and CD-ROM for marketing purposes.

BMW polybagged a DVD in Vanity Fair Magazine featuring a collection of their short films, and Cadillac mailed 500,000 DVDs showcasing their new SUV Escalade.

As with all forms of advertising, one must find what works and what doesn't. for example, Steven Dworman, president of the Digital Media Marketing Organization, called the BMW campaign a "complete waste of money not compelling enough to sell one automobile," while dubbing the Cadillac campaign exciting and effective.

Dworman went on to add that use of DVD and CD-ROM for advertising is something he expects to see a lot of in the future, as the costs of making the disks go down.

The use of disks does have one major problem, though. DVD's are essentially opt-in marketing, as one can send out 500,000 but aren't guaranteed a single view of the actual DVD, so unless they are targeted correctly, or are sent out only to people who ask for them, they end up as nothing more than glorified coasters on the coffee table of advertising.

While Dworman claims response rates are as high as 60%, that number is inflated, as new forms of advertising are usually heavily viewed upon their arrival. Seeing where that number is six months from now will be a true test.