• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 17, 2003

Many Avails For DRTV Spots During War Coverage

As reported by Richard H. Levey for Direct Newsline, if a consumer saw a televised commercial during the war's opening days against Iraq, chances are it was a direct response spot. Open inventory soared between 50% and 75% during the first three business days after bombing started, according to Cheryl Green, vice president, media director of Advanced Results Marketing. "Most traditional advertisers pulled their campaigns" Green said.

As of (the first week in April), there was still between 20% and 25% more space than usual available, largely due to a handful of advertisers that have remained cautious, and have held off breaking new campaigns. But," ...a lot more people are coming back in," Bill Freeman, Advanced Results Marketing's president and CEO said.

One client, initially nervous about launching a new campaign, came back to the media mix. "They elected to run the full campaign. They can't afford to be off the air. Others in their category are going ahead," said Freeman

Time availability was, and continues to be, a function of the network. Some news-focused networks, such as CNBC, MSNBC and Fox News had so little available inventory during the initial week or two of fighting that even the inventory bought at fire-sale prices didn't make it onto the air, although airtime has since opened up.

But other networks, such as Animal Planet, Discovery or the various food and home channels, had the space from day one, if marketers were willing to buy it. And some were, especially at the discounts being offered. Most marketers are not trimming their ad budgets, preferring instead to add additional spots.