Written by Eddie Treizman.

Eddie is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Dial800, a

Marketing Optimization firm helping companies run more

profitable Direct Response campaigns.

How to Solve A

Problem All DRTV

Advertisers Have

"Honey...What was the

phone number on that

commercial?"

TV viewership is not anymore a focused, quiet

family time as it was long ago. Lower attention

spans, simultaneous usage of electronic devices

and multitasking are well documented realities.

For example, Forbes reports that Using A Second

Screen While Watching TV Is The New Normal.

Market Research firm TNS Global surveyed 55,000

internet users from 50 countries in their Connected

Life 2014 report. They found that 41% of

respondents watch TV while visiting social sites

such as Facebook, using email or shopping online

("screen stacking").

Discovering the opportunities that this trend

creates for Digital Marketers, as well as the

challenges that it presents to traditional media

advertisers in terms of media attribution, are some

of the key topics of common discussion.

The impact of Second Screen viewership on

Direct Response TV advertisers is less frequently

discussed, but requires serious consideration due

to its potential effects in the form of:

a) Suboptimal media budget performance and

sales

b) Higher average costs per order

Been here before?: You sit on the couch to relax

and watch your favorite program. Soon after, you

get three Facebook messages on your phone,

which you force yourself to ignore. Exactly at the

moment you feel something unexpected is about

to happen: Commercials!!!

Frustrated for the interruption you decide to

quickly reply to those messages, check email,

and listen to your spouse who wants your

attention for a very important "quick thing”.

THE PROBLEM

In the midst of all that, the TV commercial catches your

eye. The product (or service) looks really useful, the

price is reasonable...and suddenly you start feeling the

desire to “Call Now”.

"Should I do it or not?” You finally decide to call…but,

by then, you can’t remember the phone number: Was it

877 something or 800 something?”...

“ Honey...What was the phone number

on that commercial?”

Later that night you Google the product to try to buy it

online. At least 4 alternatives you didn't know about

come up. Now you feel the need to research each

one and read the reviews to find the best deal

possible. A few days pass and you still have not made

a purchase.

The scenario does not intend to oversimplify the many

factors that influence success in Direct Response.

Generate the maximum volume of calls possible

and find mechanisms to counteract their target

audience's increasing lack of attention.

It does speak clearly though to the problem that

traditional DRTV Advertisers in Consumable

Products, Health Care, Education, Financial or any

other "Call Now" type of vertical have:

A very simple, but often ignored, way to address

this need is to consider what I call the “Recall

Ability” that advertisers intrinsically build into their

spots. By this I mean:

- How easily can the average consumer respond

to the “Call Now”?

- How long after the spot ends will calls continue

to come?

The Solution: Build "Recall Ability"

For example, which of the following two

commercials do you think will generate more calls if

they play on the exact same stations and schedules:

Most certainly, all things being equal, the one on

the right will outperform the other in call traffic

volume and sales because of the higher "Recall

Ability" built in the spot by the Toll-Free used. It

requires viewers to remember only two things:

885 and 8000. Contrast that with the need to

remember seven unrelated digits.

IN CONCLUSION

• 1. They only have a few short seconds to get their buyers

mental attention and make it very easy for them to remember

how to call them back.

• 2. Increasing the "Recall Ability" of their Ads depends greatly

on using easy to remember (800) Toll-Free Numbers.

• 3. Highly memorable phone numbers are the actual conduits

that will generate the success they strive to produce.

Regardless of their industry, highly profitable TV (and Radio)

Direct Response advertisers know that:

Considering the significant time and resources invested in

creating successful DRTV campaigns, it makes sense to

reduce the chances of losing sales from willing buyers that

may say at the end of their spots:

Disclaimer: The choice of RapidRoaster is for illustration purposes only. It does not

represent a critique, endorsement or promotion of the product or the company responsible

for its production and marketing. I have never conducted business with them in the past.

“ Honey...What was the phone number on that Ad?”

HOW TO CONTACT EDDIE

Email: eddie.treizman@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eddietreizman

Twitter: twitter.com/EddieTreizman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eddie Treizman is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Dial800, a

Marketing Optimization firm helping companies run more profitable Direct

Response campaigns. He enjoys blogging on LinkedIn about various

thought provoking topics. Unless otherwise noted, all statements or

opinions made reflect only his personal views.