It was “My Fair Lady”‘s Professor Henry Higgins who bemoaned, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” Well, why can’t dot-coms be more like direct marketers? By applying the rules of sound direct marketing to their ventures, they can.
During 1999, hundreds of millions of dollars were poured into traditional media by dot-coms. New dot-coms seemed to be sprouting up every day with radio and television commercials and print ads. Many were so very creative that they left their selling message and purpose out of their commercials and ads. Unlike print, broadcast is comparable to the commodities markets. It’s a matter of limited supply. Many of the new dot-coms bought every available spot, regardless of cost. General advertisers look to efficient CPMs. Direct marketers demand an allowable and acceptable CPO. The dot-coms ignored CPMs and CPOs and paid willy-nilly whatever it took to get on the air, preempting countless general advertisers and a host of direct response advertisers.
Now tell me…is there really any difference between the raison d’etre of a dot-com and a traditional direct response advertiser? The fact that a dot-com directs prospective customers to a Web site is really the same as directing them to your mailing address or toll-free phone number. Ergo, shouldn’t dot-com advertisers use some – if not all – of the techniques that successful direct marketers use? Have they provided the selling proposition clearly? The advantages of their services? Adequate time for the offer and response mechanism? Have they tested to determine the need for their service and the effectiveness of the message and medium? Are they taking advantage of DRTV buying opportunities? Do they know what the response has been from each commercial and print exposure…and each medium used?
A successful direct response advertiser constantly tests and measures offer, message, medium and time of day/time of year. A DR advertiser moves cautiously, slowly, efficiently and with great flexibility, constantly fine tuning.
It would be considered foolhardy for most direct response advertisers to advertise in the Super Bowl. Aside from name recognition and branding, it’s most unlikely that the Super Bowl at current prices could ever pay out for direct marketers. There were 17 dot-com advertisers in Super Bowl XXXIV. A 30 second spot in the game is purported to range from $2.2 million to $3 million. That’s a paltry $220,000 to $300,000 a second. Put a few of those spots together and you could pay Derek Jeter’s salary.
These dot-com companies are behaving as if it’s a matter of do or die. Considering how they’ve spent their money, perhaps they’re right. It’s almost like gambling addicts rolling the dice. Dot-com ad agencies have been only too happy to act as cash registers with revolving door clients who may or may not realize that they are in a state of rigor mortis. As for the media, they’ve not been too shy about taking the inflated rates that they have been able to charge on a cash up front basis. What a wonderful windfall this has been!
Dot-coms, consider this proposition before plunging into the fray. Take 15% of your advertising budget or even 15% of the cost of a single 30 second Super Bowl spot – $330,000 to $450,000 – and test with it. That kind of small change can buy you a substantial TV/cable media test along with full production 20 second and 60 second commercials. You will gain a wealth of important information very quickly and be able to refine your message and ideas. Perhaps the information may be a warning to proceed slowly and do more testing or to stop the venture dead in its tracks. If you find that you’re on the right track, you will – with great assurance and evidence – be able to convince the financial community, potential investors, employees and prospects that your idea, your dot-com, is not just another bubble, but a solid business proposition. You will be separating yourself from the pack.
If you are a dot-com advertiser that has survived the first landing on the beach, if you are a new dot-com advertiser, it’s time to come home to the world of direct marketing. You will make your investors, employees, prospects and yourself happier and wealthier.
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