Читать книгу Direct Mail in the Digital Age - Lin Grensing-Pophal - Страница 7

It’s late and you can’t sleep. The program you’re watching is interrupted by a musical performer from days gone by strumming a guitar and promoting a collection of greatest hits. To order, all you have to do is call a toll-free number now.

Or, you’re watching what you think is a regular program, only to discover that you’re in the midst of a long commercial known as an infomercial. The infomercial idea is not new; only the name is. The 30-minute commercial actually emerged in the 1950s. As programming time became harder and harder to get, the Federal Trade Commission outlawed these commercials. Now, however, with the renaissance of cable networks, they have become a staple of the airwaves.

Television direct marketing offers the strong impact of both visual and auditory messages at the same time. It is, however, much more expensive than other forms of direct marketing, and although some cable stations now offer marketers the opportunity to target specific market segments, the message will still reach a large number of people who are not part of your desired target audience.