5 Long Form Trends to Watch in 2011

Long form infomercials remain the venerable underpinning of the DRTV industry, which decades ago got its start when half-hour shows hawking everything from business opportunities to knife sets helped pioneer the industry. And while these hard-hitting DRTV commercials continue to air on many TV channels, it looks like there are some changes in store for the long form arena this year.  Here are five trends that you'll want to keep an eye on in 2011:

Networks are scaling back on their paid programming blocks. And some of them are pulling out of long form altogether in lieu of regular programming. The Game Show Network and WGN, for example, recently backed away from selling infomercial time for 8am to 9am weekend and weekday morning slots. Credit the strength of the DRTV short form market with driving part of this trend, and expect it to continue as pricing for 30-, 60- and 120-second commercials becomes increasingly competitive (meaning higher) compared to long form’s rates, which have remained flat since 2008.

Per inquiry (PI) advertising is coming on strong. Performance-based media has really taken off over the last two years, and is expected to continue on its growth path in 2011. Marketers are pouring money into their PI media channels, and the networks are responding to that trend. A quick glance at DIRECTV’s channel guide, for example, reveals 10 PI platform networks, the strongest-performing of which is nested between CNN and Headline News. These PI “networks” have strong channel positions, are greater in number than they were two years ago, and are able to produce the performance numbers that clients are seeking (while allowing marketers to continue making money off of 3 to 5-year-old commercials).

Response rates won’t rebound until the credit markets do. If there is one area that’s been hit hard by the recession, it’s the national credit market. Consumers simply don’t have a free and easy feeling about their credit card debt they may have had five years ago, and as a result are more cautious about shelling out “five payments of $29.95,” for infomercial products. These restrictions have hurt the long form market, and will likely prevail until the economy rebounds, unemployment eases and credit loosens back up.

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies continue to plow into the long form arena. Brand marketers who have traditionally only done general advertising revel in the accountability and immediate metrics they get back from DRTV. For example, P&G (a long-time DRTV short form marketer) and GlaxoSmithKline both recently jumped into long form. These big corporations enjoy the flexibility to test different offers on TV and on the phone. As more of these companies achieve long form success, the word will spread through the corporate grapevine, opening up many opportunities for DRTV agencies.

As more brands use long form, media avails will get squeezed and prices will go up. Call it a double-edged sword:  brand advertisers help advance DRTV’s reputation and status, but they also bump up media rates. We’re seeing traditional DRTV advertisers aggressively moving forward at low MERs (media efficiency ratios, or snapshots of an infomercial's overall success or failure) in order to create a feeder for continuity programs or retail demand. We see this trend as continuing well into 2011, and expect it to continue as the “go to” infomercial financial model.