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DRTV firms turn to interactive TV as their next channel of choice
In the wake of numerous dot-coms hemorrhaging with financial losses, some industries are cutting back on their new media initiatives. But the direct response television sector is preparing for what it sees as the next marketing technology revolution: interactive television.
In anticipation of interactive TV, many large infomercial marketers are investing in the Internet, beefing up what is already a substantial part of their business. Thane, for example, garnered $8 million worth of Internet orders last year, and expects online sales generated by 30-minute infomercials to double in 2001.
Typically, DRTV companies get their Web feet wet by answering customers’ questions via text chats, upselling additional products and taking orders online. And some firms have begun inserting barcodes in infomercials so in the future, consumers can click back and forth between Web sites and infomercials on television or online, notes Brett Saxon, an infomercial consultant at Transactional Partners, Santa Monica, CA.
The proliferation of broadband connections for cable TV and the Internet, streaming video online and advances in data compression technologies are driving the development of interactive TV. But because the medium remains stuck in a test mode due to a lack of standardization, DRTV marketers are taking a cautious approach. They’re wary of repeating the mistake made by many dot-coms of investing in technology without developing a viable moneymaking strategy.
