Electronic Retailer - October 2011 - 42

BY AVA SEAVEY

Is Creativity a Dirty Word in DRTV Production?
CHANNEL CROSSING: CREATIVE
Recent polls show that U.S. consumer confidence is at its lowest level in more than three decades. Americans are buying less and personal spending keeps slipping. Gas prices remain high, home prices remain low and unemployment looms at a high rate. Not only is Washington playing roulette with our money, it is also more heavily regulating what can be said in advertising. What does a DRTV marketer need to do to get attention and sell products and services in an increasingly challenged economy to consumers who are afraid, fed up and already oversaturated and bombarded with thousands of advertising messages? Logic would dictate that marketers would try innovation and ingenuity in an effort to shake things up and get noticed. That is not always the case. Some DRTV marketers out there seem to be stuck on imitation, as opposed to innovation. In fact, there are marketers who seem so afraid to take risks and be different that they stifle their own message from being heard. DRTV marketers are, by their very definition, brave people. They are risk-takers with their products, services and finances. So it is befuddling when they do not take risks in their approaches to advertising. There seems to be a fear of creativity in direct response advertising. There is also a good deal of misconception about what constitutes creativity, specifically as it regards to long-form and shortform direct response television. Creativity can come in many forms. A high end, expensive and slick execution with top-end production values is not necessarily creative, and a low-budget, simple and direct execution does not necessarily lack creativity. There seems to be some confusion in this industry relative to equating creativity with dollars when, oftentimes, it is just the opposite. Counterintuitive though it may be, excessive art direction, cameras, lenses, costume design, 3D animation and original music can create a dull and lackluster, yet visually pretty, campaign with no strong point of view and no call to action. What marketer today wants to spend $800,000 for an infomercial and then have nobody call and order? By the same token, an infomercial with a point of view, a hook and a trend-setting angle that did not cost top dollar could have real staying power. The point is that money alone does not necessarily make good ideas. Talented, out-of-the-box thinking creates good ideas, and good ideas get noticed by consumers. A good idea is about the strategy and position of the product or service and its value in relation to what is going on in the world today. A good idea includes a unique product description, a great product name and a specific benefit that will appeal to customers. A good idea is an offer that is articulated in new ways that will engage the consumer. There are many ways to tell a story – infinite ways. Be as brave with the advertising as you are with your products. Step out of your comfort zone. Aren’t you already out of your comfort zone just by entering into the DRTV world in 2011? Most successful commercials and infomercials that I have been involved with happened when consultants, lawyers and layers of marketing people were not overly involved. Conversely, some of the biggest failures that I have seen occurred when many layers of people offering multiple opinions dictated the creative direction, oftentimes based on imitation. Real collaboration is a mandatory element of successful DRTV, but too many opinions can and do water down great ideas. While it is true that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, as soon as a DRTV marketer tries to imitate someone else’s ads, they inevitably go down a road of disappointment. How many people have tried to imitate Billy Mays for example? They can’t do it. Why? There was only one Billy Mays, with his unique style and delivery. Instead of trying to copy him, create your own unique style and delivery. Marketers are understandably scared. So they try to play it safe and copy other formats, genres, styles and offers that they feel were successful. Step out of your comfort zone and dare to have your product look uniquely its own. Tell your story in a new way. Play with color, sound and concept. Try something unique with your casting. Try different locations. Test different media lengths. Create new looks, tones and formats so that everyone else will try to imitate you – because they will. But at least you will have been first. Ava Seavey is Queen Bee and executive producer at Avalanche Creative Services, Inc. She can be reached at avas@avalanchecreative.tv.

electronicRETAILER | October 2011

Electronic Retailer - October 2011

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