System Pavers, an outdoor home remodeling company, has begun a lead-generation campaign to promote installations of decorative paving stones. The effort includes DRTV, radio and a digital videodisc.
Sixty-second DRTV spots are running on broadcast stations in Portland, OR, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington, suburban New York and Boston, according to Doug Garnett, president of Atomic Direct, System Pavers' agency. The company previously had tested 120-second spots and found the shorter form to be more effective. Minute-long commercials on talk and news radio stations will air in the same markets, Garnett says.
The DRTV ads, which include a toll-free 800 number and a Web address, are aimed at lining up appointments for local company reps to visit prospects' homes.
Respondents receive a DVD in the mail. The company decided to include the 10-minute discs as a so-called long-form component. (Even though “long form” usually applies to half-hour TV infomercials, Garnett argues that the DVD, with its detailed product and installation descriptions, fits that category as well.) Atomic Direct is developing another version of the DVD for System Pavers salespeople to use during in-home sales appointments.
The TV spots generally target homeowners with higher incomes. They stress that installing the stones can enhance a home's resale value. The stones cost between $4,000 and $30,000, though a typical installation runs $10,000 to $20,000. The stones are said to be more durable than concrete or asphalt.
Visitors to the Web site (www.dreaminstone.tv) are asked to give their name, home address, phone number and e-mail address and are queried about what parts of their outdoor living areas they'd like to improve and which stone styles interest them. The site provides information on financing, return on investment and probable construction time, plus free digital renderings of prospects' homes. Respondents who answer these questions get DVDs by mail and appointments with sales reps.
How well will this service sell in the current economic climate with falling home prices and rising mortgage defaults?
“I think we're all expecting that it's going to be harder to get leads,” Garnett concedes. “On the other hand, the specific offer to make an appointment includes free financing with no payment until September 2009. That kind of helps.”
