Do You Know What Your Options Are
For Getting A Campaign Started?

Have you decided to use Direct Response television advertising to market your product or service, but don’t know how to get started?

Whether you are new to the game or an experienced marketer, all too often it is choosing the best DRTV entry path where marketers get off on the wrong foot.

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Related Links & Courses::
>> Why DRTV?
>> Why DRTV Training?
>> DRTV Management Boot Camp
>> General Advertising vs. DRTV
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Following are three main entry paths to DRTV, according to how the profits of a marketing campaign are distributed:

• The first is the Turnkey Royalty avenue, where a direct response marketing company will attain the license for your project and take over the campaign from A to Z. In this scenario, you will end up with a royalty;
• The second path to getting started is the Joint Venture way, where you share 50/50 with a partner;
• The third option is the DRTV Marketer path, where you manage the project yourself in-house, take all the risks and get all of the profit.

THE TURNKEY ROYALTY AVENUE
If you have a great product but don’t want to raise capital or invest your time in marketing, the best thing you can do is find a reputable “turnkey” marketing company that specializes in building brands through DRTV.

PROS

• Experienced marketers have better success rates;
• Experienced marketers have expertise in a complete marketing strategy from concept to household name;
• Direct response marketers know how to leverage a successful DRTV campaign into a worldwide product launch;
• They have the capital to make it happen;
• They have the infrastructure, capital and human resources to keep trying until it works.

CONS

• It is difficult to get the interest of turnkey marketing companies;
• After expressing initial interest, it is often hard to read the intention of the marketing partner;
• It’s often slow to make a deal, jeopardizing the entire product because of similar products coming to market;
• Royalty deals typically are not as lucrative as the inventor or entrepreneur had hoped.

THE JOINT VENTURE WAY
The second way to get into the DRTV industry is a joint venture. If a project is beyond its initial stages, but still needs further funding or a partner with DRTV experience, a joint venture may be the best alternative. Unless there is a disproportionate equity position between partners, joint venture deals are often a 50/50 split. If neither partner is an experienced DRTV marketer, however, it may be very risky going into DRTV under this arrangement. Additionally, very good legal advice is needed for joint ventures, and total agreement is necessary for a strategy to be implemented.

PROS

• Most 50/50 deals come from investors outside the DRTV industry that don’t have expertise in marketing but do have cash looking for investment vehicles;
• Considerable development beyond “concept” makes a joint venture a more attractive deal for both parties;
• Other gaps in knowledge can be bridged by experienced DRTV educational organizations (like Direct Response Academy), which don’t have a hidden agenda.

CONS

• Lack of DRTV marketing experience;
• Partners don’t usually add core talent needed for implementation;
• Often, final decisions can be based upon shareholders’ equity, not sound marketing judgment;
• Additional funds for legal advice can be considerable.

THE DRTV MARKETER PATH
There are several situations where the only path to consider is learning to become a DRTV marketer yourself. Taking a DRTV project in-house and either utilizing your own resources or outsourcing can simultaneously be the most rewarding and the riskiest of endeavors.

PROS

• You will receive the greatest financial rewards when successful;
• You will be translating and communicating your vision into a marketing plan better than anyone else;
• You will be closest to the data for project evaluation.

CONS

• This method poses the greatest capital risk;
• Only one out of 15 DR campaigns are successful;
• Over-confidence needs to be compensated by experienced team members who are listened to;
• Lack of funding can increase costs and limit opportunities (oftentimes seen in very successful projects).

Experience, capital and time. These three resources will be the key determining factors when deciding the best approach for getting into the direct response television industry. However, “Product is still king!”

The Direct Response Academy’s DRTV Management Boot Camp contains a complete, detailed overview of these considerations and more, providing the industry’s most comprehensive instruction in DRTV project management. Each management area is thoroughly investigated so that marketers can have the tools necessary to utilize industry best practices for their own Direct Response enterprise.