BIG's Blog: Have you considered DRTV?

I recently attended the Direct Marketing Association of Washington's monthly luncheon on Using DRTV to Affordably Increase Response from ALL of Your Media. Ron Guberman, President of Media Reactions, Inc., gave a persuasive presentation on why DRTV should be a part of your marketing/fundraising strategy.

Ron spoke to the fears that hold most organizations back from testing DRTV in their strategy. The list included:

• Initial costs too high
• Threshold too high in TV as well as risks
• The ability to work with new media (daunting)
• Concerns on the ROI

Ron addressed the myth about the high cost and stated that this is no longer true. The costs to create an ad can be less than $10,000 by using existing photos, voiceovers and other resources.

Using DRTV allows you to show and tell the audience about your mission. But, the presentation must be: compelling, persuasive, impressive, engaging and delivered with high fidelity. Incorporating these touch points effectively will influence the behavior of the audience: your prospective constituent.

So, what is stopping your organization from testing DRTV in you marketing plan? The concerns about ROI can be put to rest. The analytics that monitor both Web and inbound calls are extensive.

I would suggest that if you have not considered DRTV because of fear that you should consider speaking to the experts in this industry. The nonprofit and profit examples presented were compelling.

My take away from this event is: Let the experts do their job and your organization’s mission will reap the benefits.

-Gail