DRTV

In a recent edition of the TM Tipline, the e-newsletter from FundRaising Success sister publication Target Marketing, Beth Vendice, president of Advanced Results Marketing (www.armdr.com), offered the following suggestions for questions that any company/organization needs to explore before hiring an agency to help it embark on a DRTV campaign: 1. Does the agency have a history of success on TV? 2. What is the agency’s experience in my category/vertical (or mission)? 3. Does the agency have the buying power to negotiate the cost savings I need, and can it subsequently deliver improved ROI or reduced acquisition cost? 4. How hands-on is the agency’s account

There are seven key steps to creating successful DRTV spots, says Ian French, president and executive creative director of Northern Lights Direct Response Television — a creative and production services firm for short-and long-form DRTV commercials. French discussed these steps in a session he co-presented on “Decoding the DNA of Brand-Based DRTV” at the DMA 2006 Annual Conference & Exhibition in October. They are: 1. Use emotion. The DRTV spot needs to be emotionally engaging “to the point where people are dramatically and profoundly moved by what they see,” French says. 2. Keep it simple. “In any cause, whether it’s raising money for

There seems to be a general misconception in our industry that the elements of successful DRTV are a well-kept secret shared among a few nonprofits. But the truth is that good DRTV follows the same principles of any good direct response, and it requires the same dogged discipline of testing and measuring. But it must be worth it. Through July this year, nonprofits have a reported spending of $27 million in short-form (generally two minutes or less) TV advertising, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nonprofits that use DRTV successfully are able to manage each of the medium's five critical components: offer, creative, media

There's an old saying that a person doesn't buy a drill because he needs a drill; he buys a drill because he needs a hole. In order to effectively reach an end-results-oriented audience, DRTV campaigns need to have compelling messages and offers that resonate with prospects and communicate “what's in it for them.” Below are some tips on creating successful DRTV spots offered by Ava Seavey, president of advertising and marketing communications firm Avalanche Creative Services, in a session at the DMA 2006 Annual Conference & Exhibition this past October: 1. Position your Web site URL as big as, if not bigger than, your

When used in concert with each other and with your other fundraising strategies, omnipresent technological companions such as TVs, cell phones and computers can help you net more quality donors and perhaps even nudge them into the fundraising holy ground that is monthly giving.

Multi-channel fundraising is simply the idea that an organization uses more than one medium simultaneously (mail and telephone, for example) to conduct fundraising campaigns. Integrated fundraising is merely the process of making sure these campaigns are designed to work synergistically with one another.