What makes a Direct Response Video successful?

When I was a young boy my mother used to take me to the market every Saturday to help her carry the food and groceries for the week ahead. The market was full of colorful characters hawking their wares and all vying for the attention of the shoppers. And certain characters could hold the audience attention better than others, even if they were essentially selling the same products.

Direct response TV has adopted the sales technique from the market trader to the television set, and from here to sending the DRTV advert directly to target customers in the form of video embedded into direct mail cards and letters.

As its name suggests, a Direct Response Video is designed to encourage the viewer to pay attention, engage – and then respond to a call to action. It’s kind of like being in that market again.

That call to action could be to make a donation, or buy a product, or register for an event. The trick is to make it simple - the fewer steps required for the viewer to complete the transaction, the more likely the seller is to make the sale.

So here are 5 key ways to make your direct response video a success.

1 - Deliver your message in a clear and compelling manner and make sure that it’s a good story with a clear objective and call-to-action. 

2 - Engage the viewer with high-quality visuals and audio to give them a first-hand experience of what you are trying to convey.

3 - Use the right presenter, someone with charm and charisma who’s engaged with what they are selling.

4 – Keep your audience engaged throughout the video

5 – And above all, have a clear, concise, compelling - and simple - call-to-action   

The corporate video is dead.

It my all be very well creating a series of corporate videos, but getting anybody to watch them is quite another matter. Approximately 48 hours of video is being uploaded to YouTube every minute, so there’s plenty of competition out there.

The trick with video is to make it relevant, engaging and memorable. I work with a number of technology companies, often with products to sell that are difficult to differentiate form the competition. Do I really want to see two men in suits discuss the relative merits of a particular piece of technology? Does anybody?

Recently this issue came about with a large manufacturer that wanted to show off an environmentally friendly printer. The product manager was armed with a long and verbose presentation followed by a video of a man talking to camera. He was good, but it didn’t work.

Our team came back with a story board – an animated child with pigtails walking into her dad’s office and proceeding to tell all of the staff off, one by one, for the different aspects of office mistakes that were wasteful or environmentally unfriendly, or both. The only thing she approved of was the printer.

The client loved it, because we were able to bring out all the relevant points of the product in a relevant, engaging and memorable way. And only relevant and engaging video works. 

The Power of Video Direct Mail as an opportunity for luxury brands

Continual technological advances and mass production capabilities now allow the commercial application of flat micro LCD screens to be embedded into Print Media. This is enabling corporations to seriously consider incorporating this new innovation into key budget expenditure. Advances in data and customer profiling have also made it easier for brands to better identify their target customers and send their video advertisements directly to those most desired and hardest to reach clients in a manner that both attracts their attention and is highly viral i.e. customers are inclined to show off this innovative technology within their own social groups thus creating an even wider reach from a single piece of direct mail.

Direct mail may be contracting due to the expansion of email marketing, but video in direct mail may buck this trend, particularly for high value goods and services. And in terms of price? A recent successful campaign for Land Rover was carried out by Wonderman using traditional direct mail (i.e. without the use of video) at a cost of $90 per unit shipped to customer. So video cards – at about half the cost - would compete well with this. And don’t forget, even allowing for contraction, the predicted spend in the US alone for 2012 is set at $29.8 billion on traditional Direct Mail

So we are not talking about a small market here.

Among the biggest users of direct mail - Financial Services, FMCG, Automotive, Telecommunications, Retail, Travel and Home Shopping – there are plenty of opportunities for using video to promote high value goods. And with the increase in popularity of social media, luxury brands, which have traditionally viewed above-the-line advertising as a better route to market, are increasing their use of direct mail as a starting point for dialogue with target customers, to encourage further conversations through social media and community sites such as Facebook as well as their own websites.

What is Video Direct Marketing?

Video Direct Marketing (v-dm) is the process of sending flat screen video advertising to prospective customers directly in the post. When the recipient opens the envelope a high-resolution LCD screen embedded within the card plays out a live video advertisement.

This is the latest innovation in advertising, merging above the line TV advertising with below the line direct mail and it represents a paradigm shift in the way companies market their products and services. Where e-dm (electronic direct mail) concerns itself with a “scatter gun” approach - mass marketing with increasingly low customer interest and open rates, v-dm (video direct marketing) uses carefully targeted customer profiling techniques with low volumes - and exceptionally high customer interest.

The shift has come about because of the fragmentation of media and the changes in the way that people consume media that have taken place in the last decade.

Where previously advertisers could probably catch a fair slice of their target audience with a few carefully chosen slots on the TV networks, now there are hundreds of TV channels to choose from, and then of course the internet, which today has quickly overtaken TV in percentage share of people’s media time.

Whilst TV is undoubtedly still the most potent form of media, advertisers are now looking at ways to ensure that the high production costs of TV commercials are maximized and by combining the most powerful form of media (TV advertising) with the most targeted form of marketing (direct mail) advertisers can pick and choose their prospective customers and “take the water to the horse” by sending each individual a video copy of their advert directly in the post. This guarantees the highest response rates to their advertising.

Where companies have related products or services, they are able to make this media very cost effective. For example, a credit card company which has a target audience of 10,000 customers who have all be pre-qualified as eligible for a particular card, sends out a video direct mail to the customers which advertises not only the card itself, but also the types of things that a customer’s might wish to purchase, a holiday, white goods, electronics etc., all of which will earn additional credit card points if purchased using the card. This is just one example of how multiple vendors work together to profile and target customers while sharing the cost of the delivery mechanism

Whilst it is accepted to be a highly potent media, the costs of v-dm are high in comparison to e-dm and therefore it is important to measure the effectiveness of this media in terms of Return on Investment.

Generally speaking, companies who use e-dm find a response rate of 1-2%. That is around 98 out of 100 people not responding to the email.

Companies who carry out customer profiling methodology and use carefully targeting mailings can expect a higher response rate, but response rates rarely rise above 5%. That is around 95 out of 100 people not responding.

By contrast a test mailing carried out by Blackscreen Media Dubai to a random sample base of 100 people produced a response rate of 48% which rose to 76% with follow up calls to those non-responders. Whilst this is only a small sample, Blackscreen Media reports that of its current client base, all have expressed an interest in re-orders, with many companies ordering now in several multiples of their first order. This would seem to indicate the effectiveness of the medium in addition to the existing statistical data.

An interesting further aspect of v-dm, which may outweigh even it’s immediate effectiveness, is that it is also extremely viral – recipients want to show off this new innovation, which in turn spreads awareness of the advertisement to among their social network and beyond.

A UK based company, Vidioh!, reports client observations that many respondents have been as interested in this new technology as the product or service being offered by the advertisers. This is seen as an additional benefit, creating a dialogue between the advertisers and their target audience, which, in a world a digital noise, is seen as vital for any advertiser that wishes to stand out and have their message heard by the prospective customer.

V-dm is also exceptionally “sticky”, as customers can also re-use the video cards and even load additional video content directly from a PC or Mac, they retain the cards, in turn continually advertising the companies branding and own video advertisement.

Vidioh! also reports another interesting aspect of this new form of marketing; it requires very low minimum run rate to make it effective. With a cost per card in the region of $50, companies can send out 200 – 300 cards (and outlay of $10 -$15,000) and expect a response rate of 40% - 60%; which means 80 to 180 new customers.

Prospective customers who respond are also more aware of the product or service being offered, both because video tends to be more easily absorbed than print and because customers tend to watch the advertisement more than once due to the innovative nature of the medium. A trend that has been also recognized from the early stages of product videos online is that customers are less likely to return products having viewed a video demonstration.

Initial interest in the video media cards has been from technology and events companies.

HP, one of the world’s largest technology companies, recently used video cards provided by Blackscreen Media for the worldwide press launch of a new 3D printer in Dubai at the end of February 2012 and has subsequently placed eight new orders for video cards across several divisions of the company.

Xerox Emirates recently used video cards for an event to showcase the company’s new Managed Print Services offering, while The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), the ocean liner now now stationed in Dubai, send out video cards to VIP guests as a keepsake with a video for those attending the New Year’s party on board.

The mail video advertisements come in MP4 or AVI format and the video auto-starts when the card is opened. Manual control buttons can be positioned under the display which allow for the playing of multiple videos.

The high resolution, 16:9 aspect LCD display is powered by a custom board with built-in storage for about 30 minutes of video footage. There's an included speaker, and the Li-ion battery is fully rechargeable via the included USB port.

If required, battery capacity can be increased to up to 7.5 hours and onboard storage boosted up to 4GB – which is enough for 8 hours of video.

The Real Power of Social Media

I’m competing silently with a colleague to see who can acquire the largest community of contacts on social media sites. He peers at me disapprovingly from above his spectacles and remarks that ‘it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality’.

And he’s right, of course.

But not in the way you might think.

Because although we are all rather good at counting how many contacts we have – be it Twitter followers, Facebook friends, or LinkedIn connections - most of us aren’t very strategic when it comes to the best way to take advantage of the enormous potential of our own social networks.

Almost 30 years ago, a landmark study, entitled "The Strength of Weak Ties", showed conclusively that the best new business opportunities come from your more distant colleagues and friends, as opposed to your closest ones. This isn’t because close friends don’t give good recommendations; it’s because you and your close friends are more likely already to know about the same opportunities. Opportunities known to more distant colleagues--those who you don’t interact very often--are not as likely to be known to your own friends - and therefore to you.

So start thinking more about how your network operates, and how you can better operate within it; if you want exposure to more opportunities, make better connections with people and groups you don’t know much about.

An excerpt from Russell’s facebook (where some words may have been edited to remove bad language or drunkenly misspelt words)
Saturday 5^th November 12.47 -  Heathrow
Is sipping champagne thanks to those wonderful people at Emirates Airlines. Flying to Hong Kong with a brief stopover for Sunday lunch on the Palm. Chocs away.
Sunday 6^th November 17.26 - Dubai International Airport
Lady at check in: "did you pack your bags yourself?"
Me: "good heavens no. My wife packed them."
Lady at check in: "Why is that, sir?"
Me: "because if I packed my own bags they would contain an elephant's foot warmer, an automatic card shuffler, a tennis racket and no clothes. It's a constant source of surprise and delight to me when I open my bags that I actually have useful items inside them".
Lady at check in: "you need to say "yes" to this question, sir".
Me: "yes"

Sunday 6^th November 18.03 - Dubai International Airport
Bit of a drama whilst on walkabout to see if I can find anyone to upgrade me. Return and pass chap in green combos with large gun standing over my luggage. Smile at him. Wander. Pass him again a few minutes later. Nod happily.
“Is this your luggage sir?”
Me: “yes”.
“You must not leave your luggage unattended, Sir”
Me: “It’s not unattended. You’re standing over it with a large gun. I doubt anyone is going to try to steal it”
This is not the correct response. “I was kidding” doesn‘t help enormously, either.

Sunday 6^th November 18.24 - Dubai International Airport
I have been ushered to the relative sanctuary of the Emirates Lounge and introduced to a rather nice looking bottle of Chateau St Georges 2002.
A breezy girl in a fetching uniform says. "We'll do what we can to upgrade you. You don't have to go anywhere. You can stay here" which could possibly be translated as "you are not funny. Now for goodness sake leave us all alone".
"No problem at all" I say cheerfully. "I'll check in on you in an hour or so". China here we come. Chin Chin

Sunday 6^th November 18.55 - Dubai International Airport.
Just stood up to get a further bottle of this French number and immediately intercepted by a waiter who has possibly been briefed about my predilection for popping along to see how they are all getting on with the busy task of upgrading me.
"I will bring you whatever you need, sir", he says.
"I'll start with another one of those please. But don't go far away", I say.
"I won't" he assures me, in a tone that underlines these words.
Sunday 6^th November 19.09 - Dubai International Airport.
I seem to have mislaid my passport.

Sunday 6^th November 19.33 - Dubai International Airport
Clandestine Search of luggage and person reveals passport is AWOL. Unsure whether to alert waiter / Guard at this early stage as may compromise existing supply of Nuits St George.

Sunday 6^th November 19.57 - Dubai International Airport
Waiter has brought passport. We didn't discuss where it was. We just nodded.
Sunday 6^th November 20.27 - Dubai International Airport
I will hear news of my upgrade request at 2.30am Dubai time.

At 2.30am I was rather tipsy, but I can report that I was, indeed, upgraded.

Monday 7^th November 05.12 - Bangkok
Just landed at Bangkok. I thought I was going to Hong Kong

It is Olivia’s birthday party today. She will be thirteen, which, according to Mrs LG is “a very important age”, which means that everyone in the LG family except for yours truly and Tom is out getting their hair and nails done.

Her actual birthday is on Monday and because I will be away for this, and because I was in Hong Kong last week where everything is cheap, Mrs LG suggested that I buy something to put in what I like to call the “going-home now thank God” party bags.

So I decided to check out one of Hong Kong’s most famous street markets.

 “I want to go to a market” I said to the taxi driver

“WHA?” shouted the taxi driver. Taxi drivers tend to shout at me a lot.

“A market” I said “where I buy cheapy cheapy”

“YOU WAN RADYS MARKET” the driver nodded sagely

“Ladies Market?”

“RADYS MARKET CHEAP CHEAP”

“Yes, but I don’t want to buy any ladies?”

But it had been decided and I was slammed against the back seat and we were off with my head swimming with thoughts of being tossed into some back road nightclub. But twenty minutes later we were amidst large crowds and market holders adept at untying even the tightest of purse strings. And of course I realised immediately why it was called “Ladies Market” because it was full of pretty, shiny things that nobody needs.

So I jostled my way happy among the stalls, smiling “no” politely, until I stumbled upon a group of children slapping brightly coloured plastic watches onto their wrists.

The watches were rigid, but as they hit a hard surface (aka a wrist) the straps sprang to life and coiled tightly around the object. Utterly brilliant, I thought. Shiny. Tick. Novel. Tick.

But were they cheap?

“How much are these watches?” I asked

“ONE HUNRED THIRY DOLLA”

No tick there then. There are just over ten Hong Kong dollars to the pound, making these watches just shy of thirteen quid each. So if Olivia was inviting ten friends to the party I’d need over a hundred quid.

“How much for more than one?”

“HOW MA YOU WANT?”

It was a good question and I held up an index finger to indicate a hiatus in our negotiations and called Mrs LG, who was lunching somewhere in the UK. I explained the story so far and repeated the stall holder’s question.

There was a pause.

Pause are not good signs in the LG household, for they indicate Mr LG has unwittingly stumbled across information that has previously been hidden from Mr LG on a Need To Know basis.

“Thirty” said Mrs LG.

“THIRTY?” I spat into the phone.

The stall holder perked up.

“Where is she having the party?”

“At our house” said Mrs LG, calmly. “It’s going to be a disco. And actually it’s more like thirty five”

“FOR THIRY I GIVE YOU SEVENY DOLLA EA”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” 

“No I’m not crazy” said Mrs LG

“OK. OK. NOT CRAZY. SIXTY DOLLA” said the stall holder

“Who are you talking to?” asked Mrs LG

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING”

“OK. OK. NOT KIDDING” shouted the stall holder. “FIFTY DOLLA LAST PRICE”

“Are you talking to me or him?” asked Mrs LG

“YOU”

“Well, i think you should be talking to him. That sounds like a jolly good price to me” said Mrs LG. “Get forty five to be safe. Probably a few will drop out”

“FORTY FIVE?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA” the stall holder belly laughed before leaning in towards me and the phone “OK, OK, FORTY FI DOLLAR. NO MORE.”

“DONE” said Mrs LG.

And I had been.