Archive for DRTV

Why Spanish language should be added to your DRTV mix

Why Spanish language should be added to your DRTV mix

Significant growth in an industry is usually good in a world where advertising revenues are continuously fragmenting. According to iSpot.tv, Spanish-language advertising has been thriving with a 13% gain in national ad revenues through the first three quarters of 2023.

The appeal of Spanish-language media and the active and diversified audience they engage can add additional eyeballs to your infomercial or DRTV audience often at very attractive rates.

The Spanish-language advertising market has always been a vibrant and significant area within the media landscape. It serves a wide range of consumers in the United States with Spanish as their preferred language. Due to its general audience, Spanish-language media now plays a significant role in advertising campaigns, drawing in a diverse range of sponsors and companies.

Throughout the period, the Media Post statistics indicate that the top four Spanish-language TV brands with the highest impressions results were: With 1.3% of the total brand share, Sonic Drive-In is ahead of Burger King (1.25%), Wendy’s (1.09%), and Domino’s (1.00%). While these are not DTC brands per se, they have larger ad budgets than the traditional DRTV brands and thus can act as a barometer for DTC brands regarding increased budgets.

The rise in national ad income for Spanish-language media reflects an active and changing demographic, not just a passing trend. This tendency is anticipated to continue and possibly pick up speed in the future.

Reaching Spanish-speaking consumers should become increasingly important to DRTV marketers. Incorporating the Spanish language and culture into DRTV campaigns can help businesses connect with a larger audience, build trust, and gain a competitive edge in markets where Spanish is spoken. Marketers need to understand the cultural traces and preferences of the target audience to create effective impactful advertising. In DTC marketing, where there are continual efforts to refine ROI targets, adding the Spanish language to TV, Radio and digital marketing can be a huge lift to the bottom line adding mucho dinero.

How will Amazon Prime video ads change the DTC landscape?

How will Amazon Prime video ads change the DTC landscape?

With millions of subscribers worldwide, Amazon Prime Video has dominated the ever-evolving streaming market by providing a massive collection of films, TV series, and original content. With its vast movie library and original content, Amazon Prime Video has proven itself to be one of the leading entertainment streaming services in a landscape of growing competition ad-free…. until now!

Well, until 2024. Amazon Prime Video has taken the risk of not going entirely ad-free as of 2024. There will undoubtedly be both enthusiasm and skepticism surrounding this decision.

Amazon strives to strike a balance between the viewing experience and marketing. To ensure that users continue to enjoy high-quality content with appropriate ad breaks, the company has committed to maintaining minimal and non-intrusive ad breaks. Initially, adding advertisements to Prime Video was a calculated business decision made by Amazon. Even though Amazon’s membership business has proven profitable, ad revenue has the potential to greatly increase company profits and free up funds for content creation. Amazon may be able to stabilize or possibly reduce subscription costs with the help of ad income, which would make Prime Video more accessible to a larger number of people. View data will be available to advertisers, enabling more customized and pertinent advertising.

Will digital advertisers come on board? Direct-to-consumer advertisers are continually seeking new platforms and new eyeballs to get in front of. Like anything, it depends on evaluating the cost to determine potential ROI. This action has the potential to change consumer perception and interactions with streaming media. It can bring direct-to-consumer marketers, customers, and the behemoth of Amazon together. Will purchasing follow? It ultimately illustrates how the digital industry is evolving and how advertising and entertainment are continually blending.

Female Empowerment Speech – Ava Seavey

Female Empowerment Speech – Ava Seavey

In the following video, Ava Seavey delivers a compelling address on the subject of female empowerment during the PDMI Women’s Council Breakfast held in San Diego, California. In her speech, she explores the contrasting treatment of men and women in the business world, her early years, and the significance of embracing your individuality, having courage, and not worrying about criticism.

The Power Of Urgency In Advertising

The Power Of Urgency In Advertising

Getting a customer’s attention in today’s competitive business environment is more challenging than ever. Advertising is increasingly fragmented into millions of messages, pictures, and ads culminating in a cacophony of endless noise.  Understanding the psychology of advertising is advantageous for customers, advertisers, and marketers, as well as for society in general. It encourages and educates customers and gives them the power to make knowledgeable decisions.

A huge tool for marketers and advertisers is to use scarcity, which is a method to increase customer action. Creating an urgency indicating offers are short in supply or are for only a limited period of time, tends to increase the propensity for consumers to take action. FOMO can be a marketer’s best friend when creating the selling proposition for products or services within a window of time to take advantage of an offer

Psychology is the secret element in the world of advertising that transforms marketing efforts into engaging storylines and powerful messages. It is the driving force behind consumer behavior, influencing choices, and shaping brand perceptions. Understanding the power of psychology and scarcity is more than a skill for marketers and advertisers; it’s an art form that can transform enterprises and grab hearts and minds in an effective marketplace.

It is effective in the DRTV space as well as in digital promotions. When done properly it can be the difference between a hit and a miss.

National Women’s Small Business Month

National Women’s Small Business Month

October is not just the month when the leaves turn brown and people bring out their warm jackets to prepare for the cold weather. It’s also the month to acknowledge and celebrate National Women’s Small Businesses Month.

National Women’s Small Business Month was established to honor the tenacity, innovation, and noteworthy contributions that women make to the business and entrepreneurial world. The moment has come to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of women in business throughout this month. It’s a celebration that recognizes the crucial part that female entrepreneurs play in promoting innovation, job creation, and economic progress. It is an opportunity to value the contributions that women make to the country’s ideas and abilities, as well as to promote and inspire prospective female business owners.

Women still face some significant obstacles that might make it difficult for them to succeed, despite the advancements they have made. The major hurdles include access to the market and gender stereotypes. It can be challenging for female entrepreneurs to win the trust and respect of investors, clients, and business partners due to lingering gender bias that affects how they are seen and treated in the business world. Additionally, it might be difficult for women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields and businesses because they may encounter discrimination and resistance.

So, what can you do in order to empower and support women entrepreneurs? 

Promoting gender equality in entrepreneurship raises awareness of gender discrimination and stereotypes in business. Encourage the development of educational tools and training courses that give women knowledge and skills. And of course, support small businesses owned and run by women.

Avalanche Creative Services is a woman-owned small business. We are proud to be nationally certified by the WBENC.  As an advertising agency that has focused on direct-to-consumer advertising and performance marketing in the TV, digital, audio, and print space for the past 20-plus years, we’ve seen the roller coaster ride and challenges women face.

National Women’s Small Business Month is a time to honor the tenacity and creativity of female business owners and let’s join together to support women-owned businesses this month and every month.

The Effectiveness Of Storytelling In Advertising

The Effectiveness Of Storytelling In Advertising

Storytelling has long been acknowledged as a powerful and successful technique of branding. It is the key to efficient advertising and an essential component of any successful marketing effort. It is a method for DRTV marketers to send a message to their target audience by combining truth and narrative. While many use true stories, others combine fiction and improvisation to emphasize crucial components of their brand’s fundamental message. The ability to engage is one of the primary reasons narratives are so effective in advertising. In an age where people’s attention spans are shortening, a well-crafted story may attract and hold the viewer’s attention.

Stories leave a lasting impression and keep the brand at the forefront of the consumer’s mind, whether it’s a moving narrative or an intriguing plot. It is possible to smoothly incorporate a company’s values, mission, and vision into a narrative so that the audience is made aware of more than simply the products the brand offers. This helps the brand, and its customers feel more connected and have similar values.

The existence of a major character in a tale and their activities in the storyline assist a viewer to relate to the story in the advertisement, which generates more pleasant sensations in the viewer. This type of link is known to encourage vicarious learning through the main character’s feelings and thoughts, and it is likely to reduce the viewer’s resistance to the ad tale.

A major problem for brands in a competitive market is differentiation. By giving a brand a distinct identity, storytelling helps it stand out. A compelling narrative sets a company apart from its rivals and establishes a lasting impression on consumers.

To make sure that storytelling improves the brand’s messaging and value proposition, marketers must approach it intelligently and sincerely. It connects, resonates, and engages consumers in ways that conventional advertising frequently cannot.

Is TikTok the new infomercial channel?

Is TikTok the new infomercial channel?

TikTok is one of the most popular platforms today. It first debuted in 2016 and then in the United States in 2018. Users can utilize the social media platform to produce, share, and discover short-form video content. And, with recent software modifications, it has evolved into a major marketing platform.

TikTok users in the United States can now purchase items directly from the TikTok app, as the business expands the TikTok shop, its online marketplace that is already available in the United Kingdom. With this shift, marketers and creators can sell directly to you in their videos, and TikTok may even deliver the order.

“The shop will bring shoppable videos and LIVE streams directly to your For You feeds across the country, and give brands, merchants, and creators the tools to sell directly through shoppable content on the TikTok app,” the business said on its website. For creators, the functionality might open up new revenue sources by connecting them with businesses for commission-based marketing relationships. TikTok also provides “Fulfilled by TikTok,” a platform that manages all logistics for vendors, such as storage, packing, and shipment.

The newly established shop in the United States offers a number of advantageous features, such as new revenue streams, which provide TikTok with an alternative cash stream, allowing it to monetize the platform beyond advertising. Influencer marketing enables firms to collaborate with TikTok influencers to promote their products directly through TikTok shops, thereby capitalizing on the platform’s influencer marketing potential. E-commerce integration boosts user engagement by providing interactive and shoppable content. Users would spend significantly more time on the platform interacting with content and investigating products. Even though the shop has had major positive feedback some people have expressed concern about the new feature. One of them is privacy worries; users are concerned that the social network would collect more information about them, such as their financial information, shopping habits, and addresses.

Marketers in the direct to consumer space and DRTV marketers have been slower to adapt TikTok into their mix  the big brands, but perhaps this will incentivize them to do some testing now.

Ultimately, the success of the TikTok shop depends on how well the feature is implemented, how it aligns with user expectations, and how it balances the interests of users, creators, and advertisers.

How should D2C marketers choose between Facbook and Instagram?

How should D2C marketers choose between Facebook and Instagram?

Conversion rates are one of the most critical KPIs that direct to consumer marketers monitor on Facebook and Instagram. A conversion is typically defined as the point at which a user transitions from being a browser to a buyer. Conversions are a primary objective for D2Cmarketers. A high conversion rate is one of the best indicators of success and is critical to generating a positive ROI on spend. Another KPI for service companies is to generate leads for adding to databases or to book follow up appointments. Form fills are dynamic and underutilized on both platforms.

Because Facebook is the most popular social media platform for driving conversions and leads, creating effective Facebook advertisements is critical. Social media marketing is an area in which brands are investing heavily these days, owing to its ability to quickly and effectively connect them to their target customers.

Given that it is one of the largest social media platforms today, it is not surprising that Facebook is the platform in which businesses invest the most money. Facebook has almost two billion users, while Instagram has over 800 million. Facebook’s demographics cover the most people of any social media network. When it comes to large groups of individuals in general, Facebook clearly has the upper hand. If you need to reach more of a mass market, especially in higher age groups, Facebook will be the clear victor.

In terms of everyday usage, Facebook, has 54%, followed by Instagram (46%). Even when it comes to weekly usage, Facebook comes out on top (62%). Facebook has significantly higher activity from older generations than Instagram. People in their forties, fifties, and sixties are significantly more likely to use Facebook. Instagram, on the other hand, is popular among the younger generation. In recent years, digital marketers have underlined the importance of reaching out to the younger generation to start creating brand loyalty for the next several decades..

Acceptable conversion rates are generally between 2 and 5 percent. Conversion rate for Facebook is between 9 and 10% and Instagram 1.08% on average.  While costs per clicks have gone up since the IOS changes, Facebook consistently delivers less cost per click on average than Instagram as well

It is clear that both Facebook and Instagram are great platforms for ad conversions and lead generation, depending on the target audience you want to reach. Instagram is a winner for the younger generation which is also harder to reach through traditional DRTV channels ,  but if you want to reach a higher number of people all at once, not depending on the age or preferences then Facebook is the best alternative.  

With that said, since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, you can do tests and allocate percentages of the budget to each platform or allow Meta to use their own algorithms to do so, bearing in mind closely monitoring the KPIs and adjusting as needed.

Many DRTV and infomercial marketers were late to the game on social media advertising, but are catching up now and finding fertile ground on Facebook and Instagram for purchasing their products and services.

Do brand logos influence purchasing?

Do brand logos influence purchasing?

 
Brand logos possess the power to influence consumers and drive brand recognition. Logos are the direct representation of a brand, and its power lies in its recognition and credibility. The more well-known they are, the more influence they have on people’s behaviors relative to purchasing. fact, research from Zippia states that, “73% of consumers are more likely to trust and buy from a brand that they know” and logos are a driving factor for this. 
 
Logos are created with several components including design, colors, and symbolism all working together to create a unique image that helps consumers instantly recognize and associate with a particular brand. An example of this would be the McDonald’s “M” logo, with its bright yellow and red colors etched vividly into the minds of millions of people worldwide. In  a survey by Sponsorship Research International of 7000 people across 6 different countries, it found that more people recognized the golden arches symbol (88%) than the Christian cross (54%).  
 
The main purpose of a brand logo is to create a positive association to its brand with the consumer which sticks in the consumer’s mind. In digital marketing and digital advertising, logos represent their brand to uniquely stand out from other brands and make their image known and recognized through that logo, and the same can be said with all other forms of advertising. TV advertising, such as direct response TV (DRTV), CTV, and infomercials, all generally advertise brands with logos, and the more these advertisements are seen, the more people are able to effectively make that association with the brand. 
 
The logo of a brand is a big symbol in social media marketing, as brands doing TikTok advertising, Facebook advertising, Instagram advertising, and so on, can incorporate logos into ads, with video advertising being the most effective. 
 
The importance of the logo and a negative impact of such is the social media platform Twitter rebranding its logo. Instead of the iconic blue and white bird that the world is used to, it is now a black and white X. Daily Dot states, “From a branding perspective, it’s a bizarre and self-sabotaging move. Twitter is an established, internationally recognizable name. It’s cited in untold numbers of books, broadcasts, TV shows and news articles. Every internet-literate person knows what a tweet is.” This logo has change left users mystified and unhappy and has caused an exodus of users
 
Smaller companies and startups can create unique and memorable logos and due to the digital marketing landscape can have more of an edge than having to compete for big budget PR and TV dollars.  A smart, savvy design with meaning can go a long way to engendering trust with consumers and thus purchase intent. 

Is the Barbie movie an infomercial or entertainment?

Is the Barbie movie an infomercial or entertainment?

The lines can blur between advertising and entertainment and none more visible than the recent
blockbuster Barbie movie, based on the popular Barbie franchise. The Barbie movie attracted
much attention and hype worldwide, with Instagram advertising, Tiktok advertising, Facebook
advertising, and other forms of advertising on social media. Because of the widespread
popularity of the movie, Mattel is also working with other companies in collaboration, such as
Burger King’s Barbie meal, Crocs’s Barbie products, Gap’s Barbie wardrobe, and other widely
known corporations in cooperation with the launch of the movie. In addition to selling dolls,
there is additional merchandise with the Barbie brand that can be sold thus extending the brand
beyond just movie tickets and into retail and online sales.


As a matter of fact, an article on The 1014 states, “The marketing efforts have been estimated to
cost $150 million, surpassing the film’s production budget.” From a marketing perspective, this
would definitely make the Barbie movie seem like a huge infomercial and a gateway to other
Mattel products. This move did in fact turn out well, as Mattel’s stock prices are “seeing a 20
percent increase.”


Product placement in films and TV has been prevalent for decades. This is where companies pay
producers to hold that particular can of soda in a scene or use that particular luggage or beauty
product, but Barbie has taken this way beyond product placement and into a whole new echelon
of infomercial entertainment or infotainment.


Recent TV shows such as Ted Lasso and Yellowstone have manufactured merchandise to be sold
with the show themes. In fact in the Yellowstone series, actors from the series appeared in
commercials on set and in character pitching brands that align with the demographic of the
audience. Is Yellowstone then a giant infomercial as well?


Is this the beginning of a greater trend toward blending marketing and entertainment? The public
has embraced the movie with over 1 billion in box office sales, so that would indicate yes. So
now it is up to all of us in marketing and advertising to find new ways to blend advertising and
entertainment.