August 2009 – Channel Crossing: DRTV

A Closer Look at Long-Form and Short-Form DRTV

By Michelle Short

There are unique differences between long-form and short-form direct response advertising, all which contribute to a successful campaign. While every DR spot should stand alone, the reality is they build on each other. It is profitable to balance long-form and short-form direct response campaigns for the same client. Any new brand or product has the added challenge of breaking through consumers’ mental sets, so balancing the two formats can be very valuable. Don’t choose one or the other. Instead, strive to effectively implement both strategies to maximize ROI.

Long form and short form create a symbiotic relationship and broaden your audience. Long form gives you more time to explain the product, show the product in use and create an attachment between the product and the consumer. Long form does the “heavy lifting” of educating the consumer, engaging the consumer and compelling them to purchase. With short form, consumers view the product during their regular programming in relevant programs in which your consumer is already engaged. This creates a point of differentiation between your product and others in its category. It also provides consumers with a quick outlet to purchase now in addition to reinforcing them to buy when they see the long form. The two formats build this relationship together.

PARTNER WITH MEDIA BUYERS
It’s imperative for media buyers of both long form and short form to work together, analyzing the results for stations that work well for both and exploring the range of opportunities that exist. This allows you to create a compelling presence and expand your reach. When done in silos, each competes with the other–but when executed together–you boost the results of both formats.

Short form creates a strong branding presence–regardless of its direct response nature–and over time builds brand presence with tangible benefits for selling your product now and in the future. Whether it’s attracting investors, moving into retail or lifting retail distribution, people have a higher tendency to trust a brand that they have repeatedly seen portrayed in a positive light. Short form provides the frequency and placement in key programming to accomplish this.

Advertisers should not get discouraged if they don’t see strong results with their short-form campaigns immediately. Short form takes time to ramp up. Because of this, some of the more traditional media measurements like reach and frequency play more of a role in short form. You don’t have a half hour to engage people, but over time the cumulative reaffirmation of the product will produce continued lift. With short form, especially on longer running campaigns, you continue to get response over an extended period of time. For some campaigns that you advertise over several years, you receive response levels in the 15 to 20 percent range of your normal response, even while on hiatus. Short-form results need to be looked at over a period of time, as opposed to individual airings.

With any product, it’s critical to continually reinforce the message of “buy me, not my competitor.” By taking advantage of the benefits of both long form and short form, an advertiser is better poised to accomplish this.

Michelle Short is short-form media director at Cesari Direct in Seattle, Wash. She can be reached at (206) 281-7975.