• TV Week, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12 AM

With media under pressure, direct-response advertising is finally getting some respect. Clients often pay much lower rates for DR TV spots than traditional spots. The catch is that DR spots don't get booked until traditional advertisers have had a chance to buy them.

"The [broadcast media buyers] who get all the Super Bowl tickets are definitely calling us now, because clients are worried and they want to be paying the right price to get the right return," says Lynn Fantom, CEO of IPG direct response agency ID Media.

DR advertisers upped spending 27% in the first nine months of 2008, per Nielsen. Along with the "slicers and dicers" who sell gadgets on late-night TV, there has been a big increase in direct-marketing billings from American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and other major brands, says Fantom.

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