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August 1, 2003 Rick Petry
Response Magazine
This article has been taken from Response Magazine which has no affiliation with www.howtoadvertiseontv.com. This is their content.
If you are an inventor who has developed a product or someone who owns the rights to one that you think is ideally suited for direct response television (DRTV), you may decide to partner with one of the many marketing companies that have made this powerful form of advertising their specialty. While the ability to bankroll your venture may be the most compelling aspect of this avenue at first, you will soon realize the kind of hard-earned expertise these companies possess is of equal if not greater value.
You Are Welcome
The good news first: these companies want to talk with you, assuming you have a product that fits some basic criteria. The reason is simple - the biggest challenge facing such marketers is finding innovative products with broad appeal. So what is that criteria, you may ask?
1. Is the product truly unique vs. a "me too" type of product? Finding a breakthrough product that captures the public's imagination is the real key. Obviously, the more unique the product's properties are, the more enticing it will be to a company looking at investing a significant amount of time and money in developing a new market.
2. Does your product solve a common problem and have broad enough appeal that it makes sense to bring it to market in this broadest of media? Have you determined its potential consumer base? In the domestic marketplace, if the answer isn't at least 10 to 20 percent of the total 103 million U.S. TV households, then DRTV may be too broad a form of advertising for your product.
3. Is your product highly demonstrable? There is a unique showmanship quality to DRTV that affords you the opportunity to create a virtual one-to-one personal selling environment that, optimally, your product will be able to take advantage of.
4. Can the product be developed into a brand? Does the product have legs? Legs can be line extensions that draft from the goodwill created by the introductory product offering or continuity that creates a lasting and repetitive relationship with the customer. Marketing companies are looking for products can become a long-term franchise.
5. Does the product relate to the current consumer environment? In other words, is there something about the product that speaks to the here and now of what consumers are looking for?
6. Do the margins support the DRTV model? In order for you to have a solid chance at financial success, the relationship between the retail sales price and the manufacturing costs should support a four- or five-to-one ratio. This ratio is necessary to cover the total marketing costs involved.
Now for the bad news: you may not be the best person to answer these questions because, if the product is your brainchild and/or you have already invested significant time and money into its development, you may have the least amount of objectivity when it comes to answering such questions.
So what do you do? Begin by networking among your sphere of influence and ask those who have marketing experience how they would answer the first five questions in relation to the product. They must be brutally honest with you and not just tell you what you want to hear. Obviously you will have to run the financials yourself to answer the sixth question.
If the results are encouraging, you might consider hiring a research firm to provide quantitative data to support the notion there is a sufficient critical mass of consumers for your product.
Beyond a Hope and a Prayer
There is an old saying that suggests "first impressions are last," and you can imagine how many conversations marketing companies must have each year with entrepreneurs. Ideally, you would have some sort of inside connection to these companies, but, barring that, a bit of research can help you in your quest.
A review of the Web sites of DRTV marketing companies will frequently include a profile of the company's executive team and will help identify the individual you should seek out when you call. Such sites will also indicate what types of products the company tends to specialize in.
Most marketing companies interviewed for this story indicated they would prefer to have a conversation first as opposed to receiving an unsolicited letter. Alternatively, a succinct E-mail (that gives a brief, compelling description of the product) sent to the head of marketing or new product submissions department could be another icebreaker that helps distinguish you.
Once you have determined there is initial interest, you should be prepared to send a packet of information that demonstrates the unique properties of your product. As one head of marketing comments, "They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and in our business, this is especially true. Even a poorly produced home video demonstrating the product is more compelling that a lengthy document." Your materials should emphasize the sizzle elements of your product, but be anchored by sound business principles.
From there, a meeting or series of meetings may take place. Your product will be reviewed by a committee of senior-level executives who will then debate its potential and determine whether or not to green-light a project. If your product is selected, make sure that your contract puts specific timelines in place to ensure you don't get bogged down in a development cycle that takes months to get off the ground.
In terms of remuneration, the specifics are hard to pin down because it will depend upon how far along in the development process you are with the product and how much investment you are willing to make in relation to the marketing company.
Some inventors prefer a royalty arrangement in the form of a low single-digit percentage of gross sales. In other cases, a deal could be structured that splits net profits. These are two of a myriad of arrangements that can be negotiated between product developer and marketer. Regardless of the nature of the financial arrangement, the inventor should be prepared to collaborate throughout the process.
What Time Is It?
Where do marketing companies go to discover innovative products? Anywhere and everywhere. While they certainly mine places as seemingly ideal as home shopping networks or the Electronic Retailing Association's (ERA) New Product Showcase, your own neighborhood might be just as likely a place.
The alchemy that combines the elements of uniqueness, broad appeal and the right financial structure is a rarity even for the most seasoned of DRTV marketers. While such success doesn't grow on trees, savvy DRTV marketers acknowledge the seeds of such success can drop out of the sky at any time.
Be encouraged, because your product's time may be now and finding the right partner can help accelerate your path to success.
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